Letter from the Editor
Happy Pride, fellow potheads!
June is a special month, not just because it marks the start of summer and brings good vibes all around, but also because it is Pride Month. For many, this month is significant as it encourages intentional reflection on the history of the LGBTQIA+ community, the road ahead, and the present struggles and moments of joy within the community. Pride started as a riot in response to police brutality against queer folks and though there have been incredible strides made, there are still so many fights being fought for queer rights for our trans siblings, trans youth, and queer folks of color. I hope that this issue highlights areas where the battle for LGBTQIA+ liberation is still ongoing, offers glimpses of queer joy and celebration, and sheds a spotlight on the queer community here in Eugene, OR.
Now, go scream your pride from the rooftops with some good green and enjoy the month and this edition!
Be blazed!
Javay Frye-Nekrasova
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for reading Green Eugene. Please note that our publication and site spotlights content about substances that are illegal under federal and state laws in certain places. We do not promote, advocate, or condone illicit drug use. All content produced by Green Eugene is for educational and entertainment purposes only for readers 21+.
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High Recommendation: Stoned Book Club
Watermelon Zkittlez
Written & Photographed by Javay Frye-Nekrasova | Designed by Eva Andrews
What says summer AND gay better than the fruit of summertime — watermelon — and a rainbow colored sweet treat?? How about a summertime strain selected from a queer-owned dispensary? Well, that’s exactly what this month’s strain of the month is: Watermelon Zkittlez.
I wanted to support a queer-owned dispensary with this month’s strain of the month in honor of Pride Month, and was over the moon elated when I learned that Better Daze wasn’t just queer-owned, but was BEAR-owned. For those who don’t know, a bear is an identity and subculture within the queer community. A bear is a gay man who is similar to a bear in the sense that they are typically fat, hairy, or both. You can spot bears in the wild with their seven-colored striped flag of brown, orange, yellow, cream, white, grey, and black, with a black bear paw print in the top left corner. And now that you know a little more about the bear community, let’s get
of the Month
I walked into Better Daze and straight up asked for the gayest strain they had. In terms of the delivery of that question, I should have prefaced with why I was asking, but my budtender just rolled with it and gave a good chuckle when I finally explained I was asking because I wanted a strain to lean into the vibes of Pride Month. We explored several options but ultimately settled on the indicaleaning hybrid for a few key reasons.
First, the name made me think “gay summer”. Watermelon is my favorite snack during summertime, so that was no brainer, and Zkittlez added some gay flair to edible rainbows (iykyk). Second, Pride Month is a busy time and can be overwhelming, so I wanted an option that could provide a level of calm after nights out dancing to Kylie Minogue or roaming the streets in bisexual crop tops. Lastly, the nugs looked too good not to choose Watermelon Zkittlez.
Now, I would recommend this strain if you are looking for something to gently ease you into a good night’s sleep after a full day of being your fiercest self, because that’s exactly what she did for me. I thought I would enjoy my usual nighttime chattiness with this strain, but she slapped me with the rainbow and tucked me into bed better than any drag mother ever could. Her fruity aroma had me excited to enjoy my high snack of fruit popsicles after getting a whiff of her. After a good hit of my bong, I was asleep in under 30 minutes.
If you are looking for a relaxing strain to help you hit the hay faster than you can say “Shantay you stay,” then I highly recommend Watermelon Zkittlez from Better Daze, your neighborhood bear-owned dispensary!
Written by Noa Schwartz
Designed & Illustrated by Dew Mirihana
Stoners everywhere spend much of their social lives perfecting their ideal joint rotation. There’s something about sharing a bong rip with a friend or passing a spliff with roommates that simply can’t be beat. Socializing remains an integral part of recreational marijuana use, especially among college students. So what is it exactly about a good puff-puff pass that keeps us coming back, and are there any drawbacks?
Although there are limited studies on social marijuana use compared to individual use, current research indicates a direct tie between social circles and marijuana consumption. A study from the National Library of Medicine found that a 10% increase in marijuana use among close friends results in a 5% increase in the likelihood of personal use. Another PubMed study on first-year college students found that participants were more likely to associate with peers who have similar smoking habits, a phenomenon they call social selection.
James Lejeune is almost exclusively a social smoker. His place is known for chill smoke nights—lots of laughs, the occasional TV binge (which he swears is essential when you’re high), and all-around good vibes.
“When I smoke alone and I don’t have anything to distract me, like a movie or a group of people to talk to, it tends to go less favorably,” Lejeune said.
Kyrnan Sechrist is a daily social smoker. He began smoking as an opportunity to make friends and
socialize, as well as test his personal limits and preferences.
“It’s definitely fluctuated over my college experience,” Sechrist said. “Earlier in my college experience, I met a lot of people just from smoking because we would go to the park and friends would bring their friends, and I would meet people that way.”
be smoking less if I didn’t do it with my friends.”
Recently, he’s been trying to stay away from smoking in party settings in favor of a more intimate group of friends. Close friends can make a smoking session legendary, but strangers or distant acquaintances can trigger unexpected existential crises.
Smoke when you want to and smoke as much as you think you should,”
- Kyrnan Sechrist
Studies also show a positive statistical correlation between peer influence and smoking. In short, peer pressure goes a long way. Sechrist discovered possible downsides the hard way.
“Some of my friends smoked a lot and I would smoke with them, trying to match them, but then I realized I couldn’t really do that,” Sechrist said.
Lejeune agrees that smoking with friends has increased his marijuana use, causing him to smoke more than he would alone.
“I don’t smoke alone, so I would say that it has influenced me to smoke more,” Lejeune said. “I’d definitely
“I just kinda shut down and get really self-conscious of what I say and do, which is not how you wanna be at a party,” Lejeune said. “I definitely go for alcohol instead because it makes me more social.”
Lejeune used to smoke in party settings as well, but has since switched to alcohol for more outgoing conversation. His parting philosophy: “I would say to each their own, because I’ve had some not fun experiences. But for some people, it loosens them up and they operate better.”
Sechrist and his roommates plan to continue their social smoking group. For fledgling social smokers, it’s important to know your limits while working to impress your new friends.
“Smoke when you want to and smoke as much as you think you should,” Sechrist said. “Don’t try and match people because you think they’re cooler.”
Smoking socially is undoubtedly fun (as proven by science), but just as important are the friends you choose to be with. Expand your circle, find new rotations, celebrate the joys of being high together, and as always, stay blazed.
Written by Javay Frye-Nekrasova
Designed by Abigail Raike
June is a jam-packed month with a multitude of activities, from Pride parades and festivals to one-off events scattered throughout the month. With all the hustle and bustle of the month, you are probably going to be looking for some alone time to unwind and decompress from the excitement. Might we suggest some elevated reading time?! You can cuddle up with a good book and marijuana of your choice to learn more about queer history, get lost in a fantastical world, or just catch up on your ever-growing to be read (TBR) list. If you need some reading recommendations here are five queer books that we love and highly recommend!
Go Tell It On the Mountain
by James Baldwin
Go Tell It On the Mountain is a classic that many had to read in high school, though let’s be real, none of us really took it seriously then. But now, if you pick it up, I am sure that the impact and meaning of this novel will hit a lot harder and encourage some deeper reflection. The book is an autobiographical novel that follows John Grimes in 1930s Harlem. Heralded as one of the top 100 novels, Go Tell It On the Mountain is a must-read for all, but essential for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Stone Butch Blues by
Leslie Feinberg
This choice is for fans of autobiographies and nonfiction writing. This novel is an autobiography deeply rooted in the politics of queer life, spanning labor to activism. Explore the experiences of stone butch lesbians with this novel and learn about how Feinberg worked to change the world. As a commitment to changing the world, Feinberg made Stone Butch Blues completely free to read ahead of the book’s 20th anniversary online at LeslieFeinberg.net.
I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat
by Christopher Gonzalez
This book is a collection of fiction short stories that centers Puerto Rican bisexual men. The stories exemplify vulnerability, desire, and yearning in ways that have largely been ignored in literature when it comes to bisexual men, but most especially bisexual men of Puerto Rican ethnicity. This collection of stories is both hilarious and heartwarming. This recommendation is also an attempt at bringing bisexual men into the spotlight, as they are so often ignored and erased from stories.
Black Sun by
Rebecca Roanhorse
Many reading lists often overlook more diverse authors, which largely ignores Indigenous literature. This is a shame, as the literary works emerging from Indigenous communities are incredible, such as Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. If you are a lover of out-of-this-world books that are more fantastical than you will love this one. It features queer and trans representation to a degree you probably aren’t used to, but will absolutely appreciate.
The
Collected Poems of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde Audre Lorde is a lesbian historical figure who rarely needs an introduction. Still, just in case, she was a Black, lesbian, poet, mother, and warrior who penned many classic pieces, from poems to essays, that have been influential in Black feminism, social justice, activism, and the queer lived experience. The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde is the entire anthology of Audre Lorde’s poetic works. The book is organized into ten sections, each of which is a previously published book of poems or a collection from a specific point in time. This anthology encourages the reader to sit with and dig deeper into Lorde’s poetic works in ways that many of us have not had the time or encouragement to do.
I hope that these books allow you to explore your identity and lived experiences in greater depth if you are part of the queer community. If you are not, I hope that you learn more about the queer community from these books and expand your view and perception of the world through them. Happy reading, friends, and happy Pride!
High Recommendation
People Have (Wrongly) Thought For A While That Smoking Weed Can Make You Gay
Written by Savannah Brown | Designed by Ryan Ehrhart
Like most ridiculous anti-drug propaganda myths, the notion of marijuana making you gay all started with the Reagan administration. It was October 21, 1986, and a Newsweek article broke news that was probably inevitable to appear in the height of Drug Abuse Resistance Education era under President Ronald Reagan. After a decade-and-a-half of right-wing presidents pushing ineffective anti-drug agendas throughout everything from legislation to education, one of the weirdest little blips to come out of this campaign came on this crisp October morning when Reagan’s drug czar allegedly made the very powerful declaration: pot can make you gay.
While this immediately made tons of people upset, this belief has never completely subsided (and became mainstream once again in recent years). Part of that is because he’s not completely wrong (but he’s about 99.99% wrong). This is the weird history of people believing that pot makes you gay.
It Started With Nixon:
First, let’s set the scene:
It was June 1971, and the witch-nosed WaterGOAT Richard Nixon declared a War On Drugs, famously deeming illicit substances “Public enemy number one.” During this time, he began cracking down on drug use, with actions such as creating the Drug Enforcement Administration and signing the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which classifies drugs into various schedules. Since the CSA was signed, marijuana has been a Schedule I drug, which means that, according to the law, it falls into the category of “substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” For over 50 years, marijuana has legally been placed in the same category as heroin, ecstasy, and LSD.
Minorities at the Forefront:
Though this is about weed and sexuality (I promise we’ll get there), I cannot move on without pointing out this essential factor in Nixon’s actions: Drugs have always been more accessible in lower income and minority communities, which means that
they will perpetually be the prime targets for drug enforcement (60% of all Hispanic prisoners are currently incarcerated for a drug-related crime). Activist groups and experts alike have been pointing out this purposeful biased disparity for years. Still, the most important voice in this discussion is John Ehrlichman, one of Nixon’s closest aides. In 2016, after being questioned by a Harper News journalist who tracked him down, Ehrlichman blatantly admitted and confirmed the long-standing speculation of the War on Drugs’ grim intentions:
“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and Black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
So yes, the War on Drugs has always been very racially and politically charged, based more on lies and fear tactics than it ever was on science. You can learn more about the raging war on minority communities shielded by a drug issue — and all of the harsh actions politicians took during this time, in the February 2025 Green Eugene article D.A.R.E And the Black Community: The Insidious history.
Reagan’s “Drug Free” America and his Wacky Drug Czar:
In the 1980s, with a failing new economic system that’s responsible for a ton of the class disparities we see today, and America’s participation in a bloody yet undeclared war in support of Saddam Hussein, president Ronald Reagan announced that the United States was faced with a rampant and violent enemy whose destruction would take top priority: drugs.
(Positively notttt a distraction from the chaos.)
He implemented several programs to clamp down on the issue, expanding heavily on Nixon’s actions. He increased the minimum sentence for a marijuana charge, doubled funding for the DEA, and, of course, tasked his wife with the “Just Say No” public education program. For the most part, his efforts were successful (If the ‘success’ metric here is based on the 173% uptick in adult arrests and 73% rise in juvenile arrests in the 1980s, then yeah, it was successful. If we’re measuring success by whether it actually curbed drug use, then no. No, it was a complete failure).
While all of these efforts detrimentally affected minority communities, Reagan’s drug czar, Carlton E. Turner (which is the informal, yet widely accepted title for Deputy Assistant to the President for Drug Abuse Policy), made sure to include another vital minority community. Just for reference: Turner determined that marijuana is a “dirty drug,” and a catalyst for laziness, while stating in his 2016 essay, “’Medical’ Marijuana is a Con” that suggesting one take medical marijuana to aid nausea and minor pain is equivalent to “telling a mother whose child is suffering from a bacterial infection that she should offer her child moldy bread instead of penicillin.” So that’s who we’re working with here.
The Statements About Being Gay and Smoking Pot:
To finally come back around, in October 1986, Newsweek published an article titled: Reagan Aide: Pot Can Make You Gay. It begins with a beautiful sentence that has aged wonderfully in the age of Gen-Z slang:
“Senior presidential aides looked on White House drug adviser Carlton E. Turner as a nattily dressed functionary with zero clout. He spent his time grinding out reports that nobody in the White House, save Nancy Reagan, cared much about.”
The article continues, “He believes that pot smoking may lead to homosexuality; at the very least, he says, gays who use marijuana are risking damage to their immune system and vulnerability to AIDS.” Then it says that when Turner visits drug-treatment centers, “he finds that roughly 40 percent of them have also engaged in homosexual activity.”
“’It seems to be something that follows along from their marijuana use,” says Turner, who is convinced that the drugs come first, the homosexuality second. “My concern is, how is the biological system affected by heavy marijuana use? The public needs to be thinking about how drugs alter people’s lifestyles.”
The article then highlights marijuana’s alleged (provably false) connections to AIDS. “No one is saying that marijuana will cause AIDS,’ [Turner] says,” (which really sounds like something you’d say if you think marijuana causes AIDS). The article continues, “but he argues that marijuana suppresses the immune system and ‘if you’re in a high-risk category, you certainly don’t want to use something that will impair your immunological system.’”
The article concludes that “Turner’s assertions befuddle drug experts and gay rights activists alike,” before citing a psychologist who confirmed there is no causal connection between homosexuality and weed (this is important later). The final sentence reads, “When asked about Turner’s assertions concerning pot and homosexuality, however, one aide groaned and said the White House didn’t want to get involved.”
The article is not online, but it is available in print at the UO Library.
Drug Denial:
The next day, The Washington Post published an article responding to this (and its subsequent outrage), interviewing Turner, who denied ever making these statements. He’s quoted as saying, “I have never said marijuana will make you homosexual,” while doubling down that most youths in drug centers have
“engaged” in “homosexual activity.”
“That’s the point I made — that we [should] accept this fact and help the kids and the parents deal with it…when you talk to young people who use drugs, you find their inhibitions against everything are gone. This is one of the things that goes along with it. That was the context under which it was discussed.”
The initial article was met with disdain, but for the most part, this myth died down, and many people have distanced themselves from Turner’s ideologies and misinformation. Mostly.
Fast Forward to 2015 of All Years:
Perhaps it was because gay marriage legalization was a hot topic at the time, but from the end of 2014, Reddit exploded with discussions about whether there is a correlation between smoking pot and being gay. Many men took to Reddit, explaining that they are typically straight in their normal life, but when they are high, they want nothing more than some sweet, sweaty guy lovin’. The original thread, from Reddit User throwaway15935745625 said:
“I feel very attracted to girls and not at all to men when sober, but when I get high I just want a big cock to suck and a man who fucks the shit out of me.
Anyone else happen to have the same effects? Just curiosity, not that it really bothers me since I’m still attracted to girls while high, but I sometimes feel weirded by male friends with whom I don’t usually feel attracted to.”
Over 100 commenters responded to this thread, many of whom agreed that they experience similar thoughts too, calling this phenomenon “Highsexuality,” a term that has been in the Urban Dictionary since 2009. After this, many other Reddit threads appeared pondering the same question. The term became so widespread that everyone from news outlets to SNL began covering the viral idea.
While science has known since at least Turner’s statements that smoking weed does not make you gay (even then, both articles had numerous quotes from psychologists and scientists disproving his claims), these ideas persist today. A simple Google or Reddit search of any keywords relating to smoking weed making people gay will bring up numerous threads of people asking these same questions, dating back anywhere from a few years to just a few weeks.
Here’s What We Know About Pot and Homosexuality:
In 1984, a study proved that marijuana lowers sexual inhibitions, and a 2023
study found that smoking weed makes sex better for a lot of people. We also know that sexual minorities smoke more weed than heterosexual people. There are also (for some reason — and this is crazy) several peer-reviewed studies that have found a correlation between marijuana and “condomless anal sex among adolescent and emerging adult sexual minority men.” That being said, there is also a study out there from 2003 titled “Homosexual Sex as Harmful as Drug Abuse, Prostitution, or Smoking,” and that’s so utterly bogus that it would almost be hilarious if that statement wasn’t such a problem. So basically, there are a lot of studies out there.
Long story long, despite what the old straight men of the Reagan administration and the waspy, sexually confused Reddit dudes have to say, smoking weed won’t make you gay if you weren’t already. Regardless of the studies, the correlations, and the scientific nothingburgers out there, if smoking weed is something you like to do, all it will do (generally) is make you have a good time. However you feel when you smoke weed is okay, so long as it involves being safe and happy. This Pride Month, just smoke weed and be gay or whatever, and don’t overthink it.
Written by Savannah Brown
Photographed by Javay Frye-Nekrasova
Designed by Rennick Coates
Stephen Wildermuth is a co-owner of the Better Daze dispensary. Having opened on 4/20 of 2024, this fur-ocious dispensary shouts its motto, “Better Daze Ahead,” from the rooftops. Another key aspect: it’s entirely Bear-owned.
Stephen Wildermuth, for the readers at home who don’t know, what is a Bear in the gay community?
Let’s see, how do I say this politely?
A “Bear” is a gay male with some fur and usually with a few extra pounds. We’ve got five bears. Three own the store, and then three bears that work within the store. They’re not the same three bears. I’m the only one that’s in both groups.
And what’s awesome about being a Bear?
Body positivity, learning to love yourself for who you are and being appreciated for that body.
Would you say that the positive nature of the Bear way is reflected within Better Daze? Definitely. Our main goal is we don’t want to feel like you’re going to the store to buy weed. You know the coolest part about buying weed is going and hanging out with a friend and buying some weed from them. Unfortunately, you can’t smoke in the store, but we want all of the other parts of the experience to be the same. We want to learn all of our customers’ names, and we want to make it feel less like a transaction and more like a hookup from a homie.
Describe Better Daze’s aesthetic and your favorite part of it?
It doubles as an art gallery. We host several local artists that curate their own stations. So we have some jewelry makers, some crochet art,
we have a painter, and we have a photographer. When you come in you’re waiting to go into the budroom for your turn, but you can browse the art and look at the prints, or look at the jewelry, or look at the photographs. That way you’re not just sitting in what a lot of dispensaries’ waiting rooms look like, which is a clinic waiting to get your name called to go back.
Why is that important to you?
I think that every local business should have strong ties to the community, especially in an industry like ours, where we’re kind of on the fringe. We should be pushing for more community values and finding ways to give back. It is a little hard when you’re in cannabis, so finding unique and different ways to support local art is important.
What is your favorite thing to do while you’re high?
I like to do karaoke, and honestly, I can’t do it without smoking some weed to get the nerve to get up there.
What’s your favorite karaoke song?
“All of Me” by John Legend.
What’s the weirdest thought or weirdest thing you’ve done while high?
Have you ever seen the movie Elf (2003)? You know that nasty spaghetti shit he makes? Me and my friend Melissa got super high one day,
and we made it. Ramen noodles and candy and all the shit we had in our kitchen. And it was not only the weirdest thing I’ve ever done when I was high, it’s also the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done.
Dream Pride Month Gay Icon Blunt Rotation?
I’m gonna say Katya of Trixie and Katya. She’s definitely gonna have to be there. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy is definitely gonna be there. I don’t think a single Bear is in this. Christina Aguilera and Cher have gotta be there.
Advice for newbies?
People new to being gay or new to smoking weed? The advice is the same for both: Taking time. You don’t have to go full speed ahead and do the most at the beginning. Let’s say you’re doing edibles. If you start taking edibles at 100 milligrams a pop, it’s gonna take 100 milligrams a pop to get you high. If you start with five milligrams, you’re going to get high on five milligrams. So start slow, take it easy. Don’t just jump into the deep end — wade out to the deep end. Because if you jump in the deep end, that’s the only spot that’s going to do it for you.
Marijuana Self-Medication During the aIDS Epidemic
Written by Zohar Wacks | Designed & Illustrated by Ava Klooster
The AIDS epidemic has a history of denial of treatment on every level of medicine. Doctors would refuse service to patients with HIV, medical journals showed intense bias towards HIV and AIDS research, and Reagan’s appointed head of the CDC spent years slow-rolling HIV patients and delaying both treatment and policy. President Reagan wouldn’t even use the term “AIDS” four years into the epidemic. People often discuss Reagan and his Christian-nationalist coalition’s actions and policy, but epidemic victims developing treatments while they fought for recognition don’t get as much attention. Some people smuggled experimental drugs in from Mexico, where drug regulations weren’t as strict, and some even tried researching and developing their own treatments. One common treatment used to suppress symptoms was marijuana.
Marijuana has been shown to reduce inflammation and “oxidative stress”, a condition that causes cell decay and speeds up immune collapse, in HIV patients. It can also stimulate appetite, which helps prevent one of the deadliest HIV symptoms, wasting disease. Many HIV patients have such reduced appetite and digestive function that they starve to death. If you’ve used marijuana before, you’ve probably experienced “the munchies”, which was a literal lifesaver for people living with HIV before treatment options or even official recognition.
The first HIV treatment, azidothymidine (AZT), wasn’t approved by the FDA until 1987, six years into the AIDS epidemic. Even after it was approved, one of its main side effects was appetite suppression, ironically worsening one of the most dangerous HIV symptoms, wasting disease. Even now, with more effective HIV treatments, many people choose to use marijuana to manage neuropathy, nausea, and existential anxiety related to HIV. Marijuana is cheap, fast-acting, and may have fewer side effects than some prescriptions, but nothing
is a panacea. While it has some amazing benefits, it can also interact with anti-virals used to treat HIV and other infections, as well as potentially worsen some psychiatric conditions. Please consult a doctor before taking medical advice from a magazine!
That being said, next time you light one up, take a moment to remember some of our great American heroes, such as ACT UP founder Larry Kramer, Artist David Wojnarowicz, and prominent vanguard liberationist since the 1969 Stonewall Riots, Marsha P. Johnson.
Written by Daphne Patrick | Designed by Gabriela Martinez Contreras
Photographed
by
Javay Frye-Nekrasova
Week 7, weeknight. I found myself on the picnic tables outside of Nelson’s as the sun dipped below the trees in the Whiteaker neighborhood of Eugene. The lights strung up outside the building twinkled off the ice in my glass, and even though I was there by myself, I wasn’t even close to being alone. I watched friends share plates and swap drinks, laughter passing between them, the energy was warm and communal. As I enjoyed my meal and looked forward to June, I wondered if this is what my community has been fighting for all along. Not just marriage certificates or flags, but moments like these, moments where a queer-owned restaurant in the heart of Eugene doesn’t have to be a statement but simply a place to exist, to break bread, to breathe.
The first time I visited Nelson’s, I was in the throes of transformative life changes and I realized that the story of Nelson’s actually mirrors many of our own. It began as a local food cart, Nelson’s Taqueria, and has since found its home at 400 Blair Boulevard, in the space formerly occupied by Papa’s Soul Food. The building has seen many phases, lives, and iterations, just as I have. After narrowly surviving the pandemic and a fire at their previous location in 2023, owners Nelson Lopez and his husband, TJ Mooney, have created something that feels more like a home than a business.
That night, I got to watch Nelson move through the restaurant, greeting everyone with the same genuine warmth. It felt rare, like an acknowledgement of “I see you. You belong here.” I think it’s a radical thing in this world—being seen. After enough years of wandering through a world that often misunderstands us or looks past us altogether, there’s a comfort in being welcomed exactly as you are. As Nelson told the Register-Guard, “Treat this like home. When you are here, you are family.”
Now, to get into the menu, I’m not sure exactly how they did it, but their Whiteaker Burrito nearly brought me to tears. The chicken was juicy and rich with spices; the pico and guac added freshness that was everything I could have wanted, and shredded cheese wrapped itself around these perfectly crispy fries. You heard that right, fries inside the burrito.
I also had a delightful strawberry margarita! It was sweet, salty, and unbelievably fresh. Strawberries remind me of the warmer months, and I think the margarita complemented the food perfectly. It wasn’t just “good munchie food,” though it certainly satisfied that specific type of hunger. It was food
made with the same intention that built Nelson’s: patience, care, history and joy. I sat at my table and watched gorgeous plates of fajitas, pollo a la parrilla, and a variety of tacos flow from the kitchen; the servers were smiling, people had their families and children there, it was truly a place where people could gather.
I’ll admit, I am a sentimental person, but I do believe there was something sacred in the unspoken at Nelson’s – a feeling of being present. In those quiet moments between conversations, I felt the weight of what spaces like Nelson’s truly offer. In a culture fixated on productivity and purpose, queerness has always carved out room for simply being. For resting, for celebrating. For sitting on a patio on a warm night, with nowhere else to be. For understanding each other without words.
We talk often about queer spaces disappearing as community centers lose funding, books and flags are banned, and as Spectrum, Eugene’s only LGBTQ+ bar, closed its doors last summer. This makes
the boldness of queer visibility all the more vital, parades, protests, public gathering places. But I think it’s also about those weeknights where we whisper “I see you” across a dinner table. It’s being welcomed with a “Hello, beautiful!” and “Hi, Handsome!” no matter who you are. When we’re exhausted from the work of existing loudly and proudly in a world that sometimes wishes we wouldn’t, the center holds at Nelson’s. Where a perfectly crafted burrito with unexpected crispy fries becomes a way we can take care of each other, and maybe that’s what we’ve been hungry for all along.
