172:. They were known to deliver brownies in flashy, attention-grabbing outfits. Doug later explained, “The way to be invisible in a situation is to stand out.” Meridy and Doug had a daughter, Alia, in 1977. They were known to push the baby stroller with bags of brownies hanging from the sides. By 1977, the business was distributing about 10,000 brownies per month. The brownies were often split into four separate doses by customers, and Volz never charged more than a couple of dollars per brownie.
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horrible, horrible thing was going on. And in the case of the wasting syndrome, it helped them eat. It helped them hang on longer. It became very important... And my mom, meanwhile, stayed underground. She didn't get busted. She didn't go to the press. But she worked throughout all of these years to get edibles to people who needed them.
195:, and the Village Deli. As described by Alia Volz: "My mom came up with this really innovative business plan where she sold exclusively to people on the job. So she would go around to boutiques and restaurants and real estate offices and even medical offices and only sell to the people who were working."
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Nobody thought weed was going to cure AIDS. But it helped with the wasting syndrome, which manifested with a total loss of appetite and crushing nausea. Cannabis was good for that. It helped with insomnia, depression, pain. So people began to turn to cannabis to help feel a little better while this
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In 1976, Volz officially established Sticky
Fingers Brownies. The name came from the fact that, when handling the brownies, one had sticky fingers. Volz ran the business and Barbara Hartman-Jenichen was the primary baker. The brownies were all baked in a "tiny Wedgewood oven." They used the castoff
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community of San
Francisco. Marijuana began to be seen as a therapeutic aid, which could help with pain and nausea relief. By the mid-1980s, Meridy had divorced Doug, and she moved back to San Francisco with her daughter. Many members of the Castro community, including
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counties. When baking the brownies, they found that, if they added less flour and cooked for less time, the brownies became more potent. This recipe became a signature part of their business. Later, Barbara left, and Carmen Vigil became the primary baker.
140:. She explained, "I picked up the coins and I tossed a hexagram, and then asked, 'Is it correct to start to sell brownies?' And very quickly, my answer became clear that this was my destiny."
116:... Big head of frizzy hair, no makeup, no bra, lots of jewelry, and a leather vest with fringe." She needed money as a young artist, so she joined a friend to sell coffee and baked goods at
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In total, Sticky
Fingers Brownies operated for about 25 years. Meridy Volz was never arrested during those years, although other marijuana distributors and activists, such as
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patients, becoming a part of the burgeoning medical marijuana movement. At its height, Sticky
Fingers Brownies sold 10,000 brownies per month. The business was profiled in
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worked as magicians in the area. Volz and her friend found the most success selling marijuana brownies, stored in a
Guatemalan pouch. Her friend decided to move to
84:. It was an early example of a large-scale cannabis delivery service, patronized by recreational users in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the business shifted to provide
250:. Meanwhile, Volz and her primarily white clientele experienced minimal police issues. As Alia Volz, daughter of the founder later commented, "There's certainly
112:. She said, "San Francisco was like a land of promise: liberal and artistic and free." She described her look at the time as "I was a full tilt, full on boogie
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in
Mendocino County. However, they would regularly visit San Francisco to deliver brownies. By that time, HIV/AIDS had begun to ravage the
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168:. Meridy married Doug Volz, and he joined her in the business. The couple worked and operated out of a large warehouse in the
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hexagrams said there would be a drug bust. In his weekly column, Herb Caen wrote, "Fridays will never be the same.”
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became common in the San
Francisco Bay Area, which decreased demand. Volz is now retired, and she lives in
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318:(a friend and customer), Cleve Jones, and other prominent members of the LGBT and cannabis community.
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was a customer, out of his unofficial office at
Village Deli. It was also rumored that columnist
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120:. At the time, the Fisherman's Wharf district had a range of performers and personalities.
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At some point, Volz became romantically involved with Doug Volz, who had dropped out of
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541:"My Mom's Pot Brownies Were Legendary During the AIDS Epidemic. This Is Her Recipe"
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447:"In memoir 'Home Baked,' Alia Volz remembers her parents' illegal edible empire"
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415:"Home Baked: How Pot Brownies Brought Some Relief During The AIDS Epidemic"
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In July 2016, the story of Meridy Volz was featured in the 47th episode of
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In 1975, Meridy Volz (née
Domnitz), an artist, moved to San Francisco from
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482:"A 'Home Baked' Childhood: When The Family Business Is Marijuana Brownies"
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578:"'Home Baked' is a Potent Read About SF's Underground Cannabis History"
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bought the brownies through a friend, as well as
Sheriff
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involved in the fact that my mom never got busted."
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175:Sticky Fingers Brownies delivered bulk orders to
80:delivery business, established by Meridy Volz in
214:Meridy and Doug Volz were deeply interested in
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230:. They believed that, if they followed the
352:"When the Family Business Is Pot Brownies"
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602:"Episode 47: Brownie Lady (7.15.2016)"
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643:LGBTQ history in San Francisco
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539:Volz, Alia (20 April 2020).
380:"My Mother the Ganja Dealer"
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337:HOME BAKED | Kirkus Reviews
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62:January 2021
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545:Bon Appétit
384:Narratively
308:Home Baked,
197:Cleve Jones
627:Categories
619:Categories
607:2020-05-02
587:2020-05-02
550:2020-05-04
518:2020-05-04
491:2020-05-02
456:2020-05-02
424:2020-05-02
390:2020-05-02
362:2020-05-02
322:References
216:divination
146:sinsemilla
94:Home Baked
88:relief to
53:; try the
40:link to it
303:podcast.
268:Sylvester
224:astrology
201:Herb Caen
154:Mendocino
110:Milwaukee
98:Alia Volz
43:. Please
451:Datebook
301:Criminal
228:psychism
150:Humboldt
128:, while
90:HIV/AIDS
486:NPR.org
259:Willits
232:I Ching
209:I Ching
138:I Ching
104:History
240:Latino
226:, and
134:Europe
124:was a
114:hippie
36:orphan
34:is an
220:tarot
582:KQED
263:LGBT
246:and
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