Lester Grinspoon
Lester Grinspoon | |
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Born | |
Died | June 25, 2020 Newton, Massachusetts, US | (aged 92)
Alma mater |
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Children | 4, including David and Peter |
Relatives |
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Scientific career | |
Institutions | Harvard Medical School |
Lester Grinspoon (June 24, 1928 – June 25, 2020) was an American
Biography
Personal life
Grinspoon was born June 24, 1928, in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Sally and Simon Grinspoon.[3] His family was of Russian Jewish descent.[4] After dropping out of high school, Grinspoon worked as a merchant mariner before resuming his education at Tufts University, earning an undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1951. He then enrolled at Harvard Medical School, where he received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1955. He was married and the father of four children, including astrobiologist David Grinspoon and physician and author Peter Grinspoon. His oldest son died of cancer when he was 15.[5] In 2011, he revealed that he had cancer during the documentary Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis.[6] Throughout his career, he maintained a close friendship with science popularizer and onetime Harvard colleague Carl Sagan,[7] who was surreptitiously depicted as "Mr. X" in Grinspoon's groundbreaking book Marihuana Reconsidered; following its release, the book appeared on the front page of the New York Times Book Review.
Lester Grinspoon died in Newton on June 25, 2020, one day after his 92nd birthday.[8][9][10]
Cannabis research
Grinspoon became interested in cannabis in the 1960s when its use in the United States increased dramatically. He "had no doubt that it was a very harmful drug that was unfortunately being used by more and more foolish young people who would not listen to or could not believe or understand the warnings about its dangers."[11] When Grinspoon began studying marijuana in 1967, his intention was to "define scientifically the nature and degree of those dangers" but as he reviewed the existing literature on the subject Grinspoon reached the conclusion he and the general public had been misinformed and misled.[11] "There was little empirical evidence to support my beliefs about the dangers of marijuana," and he was convinced cannabis was much less harmful than he had believed.[11] The title of Marihuana Reconsidered "reflected that change in view."[11] He has testified before Congress, and as an expert witness in various legal proceedings, including the deportation hearings of John Lennon.[12]
In 1990 Grinspoon won the
Promotion attempts
Despite "a career that included pioneering research on
Former colleagues Ming Tsuang and Joseph Coyle have maintained that the denial of Grinspoon's promotion was likely predicated on his perceived neglect of "original research" in favor of "[synthesizing] the work of others". However, Coyle has acknowledged that Grinspoon's cannabis research "could have been an element" in the decision.[17] In 2018, The Harvard Crimson published an editorial called Grinspoon Reconsidered that was highly critical of Harvard Medical School for retaliating against Grinspoon for his (now visionary) work on cannabis.
Tributes
Lester had a cannabis strain named after him at one point; Dr. Grinspoon is a pure sativa heirloom strain that grows very tall with large, thin sativa-typical leaves.[18] The Australian band Grinspoon are named after him, due to his cannabis stance.[19] The legalization group NORML has a Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bibliography
Grinspoon is the author or co-author of several cannabis/psychedelic-related books, including Marihuana Reconsidered (publication dates 1971, 1977 and 1994[20]), Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered,[21] Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine and Psychedelic Reflections. The first two were published during the 1970s, when it appeared cannabis was well on its way to nationwide decriminalization in the United States. Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine was published in 1993. It describes a variety of ailments for which cannabis ingestion may be indicated. Other books on psychoactive drugs: Grinspoon L.-Hedblom P. The speed culture. Amphetamine use and abuse in America. Harvard U.P. 1975; Grinspoon L.-Bakalar J.B. Cocaine. A drug and its social evolution. Basic Books 1976 (revised ed. 1985); Bakalar J.B.-Grinspoon L. Drug control in a free society. Cambridge U.P. 1984. Grinspoon contributed a chapter[22] to Jefferson Fish's book How to Legalize Drugs.
Grinspoon ran two websites: Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine that includes thousands of individual anecdotes concerning the medical uses of marijuana as well as Q&A; and Uses of Marijuana, which allows for people to submit essays relating to the 'enhancing' effects that marijuana can have on the user. The focus is on effects which are meaningful for the individual: not merely 'increased appetite', but rather effects such as increased creativity, rushes of insight/new ideas, or increased appreciation for music, art and nature.
Media appearances
Grinspoon appeared in an episode of the
References
- ^ Lester Grinspoon. "Erowid Lester Grinspoon Vault". Erowid.org. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Lester Grinspoon, M.D. - Harvard Health Publications". Health.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Simon Grinspoon | O'Shaughnessy's".
- ^ "Lost in the Weeds on Legalizing Medical Marijuana". September 25, 2012.
- ^ Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis. Montana PBS. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
- ISBN 9781608444069.
- ^ Grinspoon, Peter (June 25, 2020). "Peter Grinspoon MD on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ "NORML Remembers Dr. Lester Grinspoon". NORML. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (July 2, 2020). "Lester Grinspoon, Influential Marijuana Scholar, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Grinspoon & Bakalar. "Introduction to 1994 reprint of Marihuana Reconsidered". Rxmarijuana.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "John Lennon - Spring 1998 Cardozo Life". Cardozo.yu.edu. March 16, 1972. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "Achievement Awards". Reformconference.org. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "Drug Policy Alliance 10 Year Review" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "Sensiblewashington.org Domain Acquired By Global Cannabinoid". Global Cannabinoids | CBD Wholesale & Bulk | White Label | Private Label | Hemp Oil. Archived from the original on April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Sensible Washington 2010 campaign endorsements for Initiative 1068". Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ a b "At 89, legendary psychiatrist and marijuana advocate still wonders about Harvard professorship - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ "Dr. Grinspoon - Strain Information - Cannaconnection.com". www.cannaconnection.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ "Grinspoon - New insights". Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ Lester Grinspoon. "Erowid Library/Bookstore : 'Marihuana Reconsidered'". Erowid.org. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ "Books | Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered, Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar". Lycaeum. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ^ Grinspoon, L. (1998). Marihuana: An old medicine for a new millennium. In J. M. Fish (Ed.), How to legalize drugs (pp. 421-429). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
- IMDb
- ^ "Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis". MontanaPBS. February 28, 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.