VIRGINIA RESNER, SAN FRANCISCO ACTIVIST

A San Francisco native who rose to national prominence in the drug
policy, human rights and medical marijuana movements, passed away on
July 18 in San Francisco, following a lengthy battle with cancer.

Ms. Resner was born in San Francisco on October 4, 1946 to Herbert
and Dorothy Resner. Her father was a longtime labor and plaintiff's
attorney who in the 1930s and '40s worked on behalf of labor icons
Tom Mooney, Harry Bridges and others.

Ms. Resner credited her father with inspiring her activism and
devotion to justice.

Ms. Resner attended Grant school in Pacific Heights and graduated
from Galileo High School in 1964. Though she never attended college,
she made a lifetime business of learning, whether the subject was
law, health, Judaism or macrobiotics. She also possessed a keen
artistic eye and explored diverse media including photography and
graphic arts.

After owning an eclectic clothing shop on upper Fillmore Street and
working in property management, Ms. Resner became involved in the
drug policy movement in the early 1990s. Inspired by the plight of
women and families swept up in the excesses of the War on Drugs, Ms.
Resner served as the director of California FAMM (Families Against
Mandatory Minimums) and became a strong advocate for first-time,
low-level, non-violent women drug prisoners; she was instrumental in
the effort to attain Presidential Clemency in 2000 from Bill Clinton
for Amy Pofahl, who served nine years on a 24-year sentence.

Ms. Resner later partnered with Mikki Norris and Chris Conrad in the
traveling Human Rights and the Drug War exhibit, and the three
co-authored the acclaimed book, Shattered Lives: Portraits from
America's Drug War, for which Ms. Resner received a Robert C. Randall
Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action from the
Lindesmith Center/Drug Policy Foundation in 2001.

Most recently, Virginia was intimately involved with the Ed Rosenthal
case as president of Green Aid: Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and
Education Fund, Inc. Ms. Resner was also deeply involved in the study
and practice of Judaism and was an active and beloved member of
Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco's Richmond District.

She is survived by her brother Hillel Resner, sister-in-law, Victoria
Resner and nephew, Sam Resner of Lafayette; sister-in-law, Robin
Dale, niece, Dylyn House, grandnephew, Duncan House, Jr. and
grandniece, Hannah House of Benicia and numerous devoted friends and
fellow activists in the Bay Area and throughout the U.S.

A Memorial Service will be held at Temple Emanu-El, 2 Lake Street in
San Francisco on Tuesday, July 31 at 1:00 p.m.

The family requests that donations in Ms. Resner's name be made to
Coming Home Hospice of San Francisco, Green Aid, and to programs of
Temple Emanu-El.