Grinspoon was born June 24, 1928 in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Sally and Simon Grinspoon. His family was of Russian Jewish descent. He graduated from Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. He was married and the father of four children, including astrobiologistDavid Grinspoon and physician and author Peter Grinspoon. His oldest son died of cancer when he was 15. In 2011, he revealed that he had cancer during the documentary Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis. He maintained a close friendship with astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan. Lester Grinspoon died in Newton on June 25, 2020, one day after his 92nd birthday.
Cannabis activism
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." 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. "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. The title of Marihuana Reconsidered "reflected that change in view." He has testified before Congress, and as an expert witness in various legal proceedings, including the deportation hearings of John Lennon. In 1990 Grinspoon won the Alfred R. Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship from the Drug Policy Foundation. The award is now given by the Drug Policy Alliance, which was formed in the year 2000 by a merger of the Drug Policy Foundation and The Lindesmith Center. Grinspoon endorsed Washington Initiative 1068 in May 2010.
Promotion attempts
Despite "a career that included pioneering research on schizophrenia, dozens of books and papers, and leadership roles at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and other prestigious institutions," Grinspoon was denied promotion to full professor in 1975 and 1997. Grinspoon's allies believe "an undercurrent of unscientific prejudice against cannabis among faculty and school leaders doomed his chances"; in 1975, a dean confided to him that the promotions committee “hated” Marihuana Reconsidered because it was “too controversial.” Dan Adams of The Boston Globe has characterized Grinspoon as "no Timothy Leary He was an earnest academic who wore a tie, and insisted he never promoted the use of marijuana, but rather the elimination of draconian prohibitions." 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 " the work of others." However, Coyle has acknowledged that Grinspoon's cannabis research "could have been an element" in the decision.
Media appearances
Grinspoon appeared in an episode of the Showtime series '. The episode, which addressed America's War on Drugs, aired in the show's second season. Grinspoon discussed the way marijuana helped his young son while he was dying from leukemia in the 1970s, completely eliminating the horrible nausea and vomiting he experienced after each of his chemotherapy treatments and, thereby, making the final year and a half of the boy's life far more comfortable, for his son, and for Grinspoon and his wife by not having to endure the pain of witnessing their son suffer. Grinspoon also appeared in the Canadian documentary ' and discussed the pharmaceutical characteristics of marinol, as well as his writing experiences with Carl Sagan. He appeared in the 2011 Montana PBS documentary Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis. Australian rock band Grinspoon are named after him.
