Jessica Churches

I am a people person at heart. My focus in caring for others began at a young age. My mother, a speech pathologist, had Cystic Fibrosis. We would attend regional meetings with other CF patients. I became her caregiver at age 15 after her double lung transplant & began American Sign Language studies to be able to communicate without speaking.

I became disabled at age 19 after a drunk driver hit my car. My mother went into hospice the following year. Realizing a need for alternatives to heavy pain medication after finding myself allergic to them, yet dealing with a collapsed lung, broken pelvis, and broken ribs, I tried a topical application of cannabis daily, and it saw me through my recovery with grace. I was able to extend this relief to my mother & later on, my grandfather, during their passing.

At age 20, I became a grassroots Medical Cannabis Activist. I lived with Dennis Peron, author of Prop 215 SB 420 for over a year in the Castro in San Francisco. I worked with Brian Landers & Americans for Safe Access in Sacramento frequently, attended city hall meetings, and conferences on medical advances in cannabis, and became a vendor of topical pain salves with 10 dispensaries in Sacramento and the East Bay Area of Berkeley, CA for half a decade. This broadened my perspective both in healthcare access as well as human rights, which are the cornerstone of the story of the origins of Medical Cannabis in California.

When cannabis legalization ended my ability to vend without a $150,000 license, I immediately began resuming studies in Environmental Sustainability & Green Building. Recognizing the issue of housing in Sacramento & beyond, I recieved Tenants Rights training & attended city development meetings. Most recently, I have been a member of California Straw Bale Association (CASBA) for a year and a half, putting my sustainable building education to use as a volunteer with hempcrete. An active voice for human rights, I have been involved in many demonstrations for peace, womens rights, lgbtq+ activism, housing, healthcare, and environmental justice.

• Americans for Safe Access Sacramento Chapter
• NORML (working to reform cannabis laws)
• Tenants Together Sacramento
• CASBA (California Straw Bale Association)