Chris Beyrer MD, MPH is Professor of Epidemiology, International Health; and Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. He is the current President of the International AIDS Society. He has extensive experience in conducting international collaborative research and training programs in HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease epidemiology; in infectious disease prevention research; in HIV vaccine preparedness; in health and migration; and in health and human rights. Dr. Beyrer has done research in health and human rights concerns in Thailand, Burma, China, India, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, and is the author of over 220 scientific papers.

H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH, CAS, FASAM is a former Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, where he led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ national effort to provide effective and accessible treatment to Americans with addictive disorders. Dr. Clark was the former chief of the Associated Substance Abuse Programs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DVAMC) in San Francisco, California. Dr. Clark holds a Medical Degree and Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he completed a Psychiatric Residency at University Hospital, Neuropsychiatric Institute. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Harvard University Law School and completed a two-year Substance Abuse Fellowship at the DVAMC-SF. Dr. Clark is a noted author and educator in substance abuse treatment, psychopharmacology, and medical and legal issues. His numerous awards include the 2008 John P. McGovern Award from the American Society of Addiction Medicine for his contributions toward increased understanding of the relationship between addiction and society.

Joycelyn Elders, MD is a former U.S. Surgeon General and is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Born the daughter of poor sharecroppers in Arkansas, Dr. Elders earned a bachelor’s degree at Philander Smith College in Little Rock. She then spent three years in the U.S. Army, after which she attended the University of Arkansas Medical School. She completed her residency in pediatrics, later earning a master’s degree in biochemistry. After rising to the rank of Professor at the University of Arkansas Medical Center (UAMS), she became the first physician in Arkansas to receive board certification in pediatric endocrinology in 1978. Her career in public health gained much traction following her 1987 appointment as Director of the Arkansas Department of Health. Nominated by President Clinton to the position of U.S. Surgeon General in 1993, Dr. Elders became the first Black person and only the second woman to serve in this role. Among many controversial stands, Dr. Elders has called for research into drug legalization as a means to reduce crime as well as drug misuse. 

Lester Grinspoon, MD (June 24, 1928 – June 25, 2020) was Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He founded the Annual Review of Psychiatry and the Harvard Mental Health Letter, of which he was Editor-in-Chief for fifteen years. His interest in cannabis dated back to the 1960s, when recreational use of the plant was on the rise. Dr. Grinspoon’s research began in 1967 under the assumption that cannabis was a dangerous drug. He expected to write a book in which the many dangers of cannabis were scientifically supported. But as he learned more about the plant, its long history and unique properties, his plan changed. Published in 1971, Marihuana Reconsidered was the culmination of his early research and secured his place in history as a pioneer of the legalization movement. Following publication of his book, Dr. Grinspoon became one of the world’s most authoritative experts on cannabis. In 1990, he received the prestigious Alfred R. Lindesmith Award from the Drug Policy Foundation for his scientific contributions.

Carl Hart, PhD is the Chair of the Department of Psychology and the Dirk Ziff Professor at Columbia University. Known for his research in substance use disorders, he is an internationally renowned advocate for evidence-based and humane drug policy. His laboratory seeks to understand complex interactions between drugs of abuse and the neurobiology and environmental factors that mediate human behavior and physiology, as well as translate their lab-based knowledge into more humane drug policies. Prof. Hart has published over 200 scientific articles in the area of neuropsychopharmacology. His book, High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society, was the 2014 winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. “For advancing the science of addiction,” Fast Company magazine included Hart in its list of Most Creative People in 2014.

Julie Holland, MD is the editor of The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. She was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine from 1995 to 2012. Dr. Holland attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in the Biological Basis of Behavior, and earned her medical degree from Temple University. Dr. Holland runs a private practice in psychopharmacology in Manhattan and provides forensic consultations in drug-related legal cases.

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David Lewis, MD (May 19, 1935 – December 2, 2020) was a Professor of Medicine and Community Health and the Donald G. Millar Distinguished Professor of Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. Dr. Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1957 and his medical degree from Harvard University in 1961. Dr. Lewis was the founder and a member of the Board of Directors of Physicians and Lawyers for National Drug Policy and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the United States’ National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. His awards included the American Medical Association’s Education and Research Foundation Award (1997) in championing the inclusion of alcohol and other drug problems in the mainstream of medical practice and medical education; the Distinguished Contributions in the Addictions award from Harvard Medical School (2002); and the John P. McGovern Award and Lectureship from the American Society of Addiction Medicine for his contributions to the treatment of addictive disorders (2004).

Ethan Nadelmann, JD, PhD is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug policy reform both in the United States and abroad. Dr. Nadelmann received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994, where his speaking and writings on drug policy attracted international attention. In 1994, Dr. Nadelmann founded The Lindesmith Center, a drug policy institute, and later co-founded the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development program. This organization merged with the Drug Policy Foundation to form the Drug Policy Alliance, which Dr. Nadelmann directed from 2000-2017. Dr. Nadelmann has played a pivotal role in most of the major drug policy reform ballot initiative campaigns in the U.S. on issues ranging from cannabis legalization to prison reform, drug treatment, and drug sentencing. He has served as a drug policy advisor to elected officials ranging from mayors, governors, and state and federal legislators in the U.S. to presidents and cabinet ministers outside the U.S.

David Nutt, DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FSB, FMedSci is the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians; Royal College of Psychiatrists; Royal Society of Biology; and the Academy of Medical Sciences; and is past president of the British Association of Psychopharmacology; the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; the British Neuroscience Association; and the European Brain Council; and is editor of the Journal of Psychopharmacology. He actively works for changes in drug laws to allow for more research opportunities. In 2007 and 2010, Dr. Nutt published historic studies on the relative harms of drug use in The Lancet. His book Drugs Without the Hot Air won the Transmission Prize for Communicating Science in 2014. Dr. Nutt was the recipient of the 2013 John Maddox Prize, which recognizes “the work of individuals who promote sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest, facing difficulty or hostility in doing so.”

Beny Primm, MD (May 21, 1928 – October 16, 2015) was an internationally recognized expert on addictions, HIV/AIDS, and community medicine. He was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, serving as the U.S. military’s first Black officer in command of white troops. Unable to gain entry to racially exclusive American medical schools, Dr. Primm received his MD from the University of Geneva in Switzerland and completed a residency in anesthesia in New York City. Working in underserved communities, he observed how the misuse of narcotics was responsible for a range of medical problems. His interest in addiction and frustration with poor access to care led Dr. Primm to help create the Addiction Research Treatment Corporation (ARTC) in 1969, where he served as the executive director for decades. Dr. Primm was also the long-time president of the Urban Resource Institute, an organization that supports various community-based initiatives and social service programs for battered women, the developmentally disabled, and those with substance use disorders or infected with HIV/AIDS. As a national authority on drug addiction, Dr. Primm served as an adviser to the National Drug Abuse Policy Office starting with the Nixon administration. His presence and good works will be missed.

Andrew Solomon, PhD is a writer and lecturer on politics, culture and psychology, and a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. He writes regularly for the New Yorker and the New York Times and his published several award-winning books. He is a member of the boards of directors of the National LGBTQ Force and Trans Youth Family Allies and serves on the National Advisory Board of the Depression Center at the University of Michigan. In 2008, Solomon received the Society of Biological Psychiatry’s Humanitarian Award for his contributions to the field of mental health, and in 2010, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation’s Productive Lives Award. In 2011, he was appointed Special Advisor on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Mental Health at the Yale School of Psychiatry. He is also a fellow of Berkeley College at Yale University and a member of the New York Institute for the Humanities and the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Andrew Weil, MD is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing oriented approach to health care that encompasses body, mind and spirit. Combining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Dr. Weil is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, where he is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health and the Lovell-Jones Professor of Integrative Rheumatology. Dr. Weil received both his medical degree and his undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard University. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert for his views on leading a healthy lifestyle, his philosophy of healthy aging and his critique of the future of medicine and health care. Approximately 10 million copies of Dr. Weil’s books have been sold, including Spontaneous Happiness, Spontaneous Healing, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Eating Well for Optimum Health, The Healthy Kitchen, Healthy Aging and Why Our Health Matters.

Lisa Capitani, MBA, BSN, RN is the Operations Manager for D4DPR. She obtained her nursing degree in 2005 from Endicott College and her MBA in 2014 from Post University. Lisa is a Cannabis Nurse and Integrative Nurse Coach in private practice. She is the author of Weed Week, a seven-day challenge for cannabis users to integrate cannabis use as a tool for health, wellness, and self-discovery. Lisa is an active advocate for safe access to cannabis medicine, along with various concerns that affect the nursing profession and community health. Lisa earned a Cannabis Medicine Certificate from Pacific College of Health and Science.

Jessica Lee, BA (she/her/hers) graduated from Princeton University in 2023, majoring in History and minoring in Latin American Studies. After taking a history course called 'Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy in America" and participating in criminal justice reform advocacy (specifically around the New Jersey expungement process), she developed a passion for anti-carceral, health-informed approaches to drug policy. She hopes to attend law school in the future.

Antoinette O'Neil is a consultant for both non-profit organizations and private businesses in the areas of finance, business administration, and compliance. For over thirteen years, she worked with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, which advocates for drug policy and criminal justice reform, as the Director of Human Resources & Financial Administration. Antoinette also managed their main office and membership program before becoming a freelance consultant. She continues to actively advocate for both drug policy and criminal justice reform as well as federal marijuana legislation and compassionate end-of-life choices. Antoinette holds a degree in Culinary Arts from the Art Institute of New York."

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Hunter Platzman, BS is a passionate drug policy reform advocate who is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the University of Colorado Denver. He has worked in a variety of positions adjacent to public policy, most recently serving as a Legislative Intern in the Colorado House of Representatives for the 2024 Legislative Session. Additionally, he has worked and interned at organizations within the cannabis industry, such as Curaleaf, PufCreativ, and The Hemp Mine. He is also an ardent supporter of the intentional use of plant medicines for holistic healing, and has volunteered for various grassroots organizations to advance that message.