Worcester Cannabis Co.'s Coronavirus Gift Rooted In AIDS Crisis
WORCESTER, MA — Twenty years ago, Matthew Huron began growing marijuana to help people suffering at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Now, as the CEO of cannabis seller Good Chemistry, he's using his resources to help people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Huron and Denver-based Good Chemistry donated $50,000 to the Worcester Together fund and the same amount to the Colorado COVID-19 Relief Fund. The company has also donated hundreds of N95 masks, which were used in marijuana cultivation facilities well before becoming linked to coronavirus.
Huron decided to make the donations in part because the current crisis reminded him of seeing communities "ravaged by the fear and uncertainty" during HIV/AIDS.
Huron's father, a Holy Cross graduate who is originally from Worcester, and his father's partner both contracted HIV. That led Huron to begin cultivating marijuana in the late 1990s in San Francisco, whose gay community was devastated by the HIV/AIDS crisis. California in 1996 became the first state to legalize medical marijuana for people to treat chronic diseases like cancer and AIDS.
Although the two epidemics are very different, Huron sees parallels between them.
"There was a ton of fear and uncertainty," he said about the AIDS epidemic on Monday. "No one knew how you got it, let alone when a vaccine or medications were going to be developed."
AIDS has killed over 770,000 people since it was first identified in the early 1980s, according to the United Nations. Included in that total are Huron's father and father's partner.
As of Monday morning, coronavirus had killed at least 166,000 across the globe — and the virus was taking a toll on the economy. In Worcester, 1,199 have tested positive, and 60 people have died of the virus between Saint Vincent and UMass Memorial hospitals.
Good Chemistry, located along Harrison Street, was the first recreational marijuana store to open in Worcester last May (it was open for medical sales a year before that). Recreational sales stopped in March when Gov. Charlie Baker ordered non-essential businesses to close. Good Chemistry and other retailers are still allowed to sell to medical patients. The Worcester location is also seeking approval from the state to start delivering to patients.
Even under economic strain, he said the donations were made to inspire other organizations to help. The Worcester Together Fund is a collaboration between the city, the United Way of Central Massachusetts, and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. The fund, which had raised $4.4 million as of Monday, will help local organizations work on the crisis, and individuals who are out of work or vulnerable.
"We all need to work together to get through this," he said on Monday, which is April 20, or 4/20, typically a celebratory day for cannabis enthusiasts. "This is a time for the community to lock arms and give what you can give."
This article originally appeared on the Worcester Patch
