Last updated on: 1/27/2009 | Author: ProCon.org

Ralph Nader, LLB Biography

Title:
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate
Position:
Pro to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
Reasoning:

“The criminal prosecution of patients for medical marijuana must end immediately, and marijuana must be treated as a medicine for the seriously ill…

[R]esearch has shown marijuana to be a safe and effective medicine for controlling nausea associated with cancer therapy, reducing the eye pressure for patients with glaucoma, and reducing muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, para- and quadriplegia…

Physicians must have the right to prescribe this drug to their patients without the fear of the federal government revoking their licenses, and doctor-patient privacy must be protected. The Drug Enforcement Administration should not be practicing medicine.”

Interview with the Drug War Chronicle, Oct. 8, 2004
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
    Experts
Individuals with MDs, PhDs, JDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to medical marijuana. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to medical marijuana issues.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Independent US Presidential Candidate, 2004, 2008
  • Green Party US Presidential Candidate, 2000
  • Attorney, author, and consumer advocate
  • Founder, Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen, Clean Water Action Project, Disability Rights Center, Pension Rights Center, Project for Corporate Responsibility, The Multinational Monitor
  • Founder, Center for Study of Responsive Law (CSRL), 1969
  • Lecturer, History and Government, University of Hartford, 1961-1963
  • US Army, 1959
Education:
  • LLB, with distinction, Harvard Law School, 1958
  • AB, magna cum laude, East Asian studies, Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs, Princeton University, 1955
Other:
  • None found
Quoted in:
  1. Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?