Last updated on: 7/8/2008 | Author: ProCon.org

Richard Carmona, MD Biography

Title:
Former US Surgeon General
Position:
Con to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
Reasoning:

“I cannot recommend to anyone that they smoke, first of all. Smoking is so bad for you. I can’t say it would be safe to eat it, because no one has studied the long- or short-term gastrointestinal effects.”

“Health-Conscious,” New York Times, June 19, 2005
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
     Key Experts
Physicians [Physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.] [Note: Key Experts definition varies by sites that have this designation.]
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Professor, UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona
  • Vice Chairman, Canyon Ranch
  • President, nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute
  • US Surgeon General, 2002-2006
  • Vice Admiral (VADM) in the US Public Health Service, (PHS) Commissioned Corps, 2002-2006
  • Former Professor of Surgery, Public Health, and Community Medicine, University of Arizona
  • Former Chairman, Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System
  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons
  • Former Surgeon and Deputy Sheriff, Pima County Sheriff’s Department
Education:
  • MPH, University of Arizona, 1998
  • MD, U.C. San Francisco, 1979
  • BS, U.C. San Francisco, 1977
  • AA, Bronx Community College, 1975
Other:
  • None found