I will miss that loud shotgun voice shouting “BINGO!!” at Bong-o Bingo at Mission Cannabis Club. I never had a doubt who that voice belonged to: Wayne Justmann, cannabis pioneer, lover of bingo, and friend to the community. Sadly, Wayne has left us to be in the great dispensary in the sky, smoking a bowl with old friends like Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary.
The cannabis community is left with one less Original Stoner who can tell the story of how the plant became legal. Wayne loved his role as cannabis ambassador. He had a natural curiosity and enjoyed being social. He was always approachable and sometimes—usually—he would approach you!
There I was at Moe Greens four years ago, putting together my first night of drag cannabis bingo together. As I was trying to figure out how to get the music to play properly, a tall handsome man with long tousled grey hair approached me with a smile. He had a cane in one hand, and the other was outstretched towards me, looking for a handshake.
“Hello, I am Wayne Justmann. We are so excited to be here tonight,” he said as he shook my hand. “Ahh, if I was 20 years younger,” he purred as he looked me in the eye and gave me a wink.
Wayne and his wonderful group of friends would be at almost every bingo on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, first at Moe Greens Dispensary and later (currently) at Mission Cannabis Club. Most times, I would come dragging in and there they would all be waiting on me to get it set up and sell them some bingo cards. If he was late, I would get texts telling me to reserve his space.
Being a social animal, Wayne met, chatted up, and toked with any and every cannabis rep who worked the BONG-O BINGO shift. As soon as I would announce the brand rep, up Wayne would pop from his booth seat with that outstretched hand.
I made sure everyone knew that they were playing with Cannabis Medical Patient Number One, a true piece of cannabis history, sucking on a Tootsie-pop, holding a bingo card, in the booth right next to them. He loved it.
Wayne was right there in the beginning with Dennis Peron, Brownie Mary, Eddy Lepp, Jack Herer, and all the other cannabis pioneers. Wayne worked the door at Peron’s San Francisco Cannabis Buyer’s Club, which was the first medical cannabis dispensary founded in 1992, and became involved in the movement to make medical cannabis legal that became Prop 215. It passed in 1996. After that, Wayne became a pivotal compassionate care activist, making sure cannabis was available to everyone who needed it.
You can hear Wayne tell his own story in the many interview shows and podcasts he was on. Here is one of my favorites:
Considering all that he gave, it felt great for me to give back to him. I was so happy to provide a social outlet for him to enjoy his final years with his friends and community.
Wayne sat front-and-center at San Francisco Pride two years ago, as recreational cannabis was sold and consumed in its own special area for the first time. The stage hosted weed bingo, drag shows, DJs, and an outdoor smoking lounge. He told me he was so happy to be able to be part of history on that Pride weekend, excited to watch the progress taking place in the cannabis world.
Last November, I produced a game show fundraiser called San Francisco Squares, a play on the legendary TV show The Hollywood Squares. I wanted each square to represent an interesting facet of the city, and definitely wanted to feature cannabis because I think the industry gets neglected by the city, even while it brings in lots of dollars. Wayne was the first person I called up and invited to be a square. He eagerly accepted.
It was a wonderful show and Wayne was an ideal square. He was fun and informative, and he reached a lot of new people who did not know him from the cannabis world.
Wayne told me that being a square was one of the most fun things he had ever done, which is saying something when you look at the scope of his life. I was happy he could leave on a high high note in oh-so-many ways.
Throughout his life, he showed up continuously, and did the work that his heart and soul told him to do. That was why he was so good at it. Now it is time for us to pick up where he left off.
Let’s all remember Wayne Justmann and tell the stories that will become legends as we mourn his passing and celebrate his life and accomplishments. Through his love and kindness he has given us the seeds to nourish, grow, and continue to create our cannabis community.
We love you Wayne and will miss you. Stay forever high!
We will be commemorating Wayne at the next BONG-O Bingo on Sat/14 at Mission Cannabis Club (2441 Mission, SF) from 6-9pm. I will set up early at 5:15pm and provide music and a microphone for people to talk about Wayne. We can talk, toke out, and then play some drag cannabis bingo, just like he would want us to do! Bring munchies.
Now, I am going to light up!
