DR. TOD MIKURIYA

Dr. Tod Mikuriya, a California psychiatrist who was widely regarded as
the grandfather of the medical marijuana movement in the United
States, died May 20 at his home in Berkeley. He was 73.

The cause was complications of cancer, his family told California news
organizations.

Mikuriya, who helped make the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
legal in California, spent the last four decades publicly advocating
its use, researching its effects and publishing articles on the subject.

He was an architect of Proposition 215, the state ballot measure that
in 1996 made it legal for California doctors to recommend marijuana
for seriously ill patients. He was also a founder of the California
Cannabis Research Medical Group and its offshoot, the Society of
Cannabis Clinicians.

Sometimes Mikuriya's work found little favor. In 1996, General Barry
McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
derided the doctor's medical philosophy as "the Cheech and Chong
show," referring to two Hollywood movie characters known for their
marijuana-themed humor.