Peter Grinspoon

Dr. Peter Grinspoon (born 1966) an American born physician, an Internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, is an expert on the fields of physicians and addiction and medical cannabis. His 2016 book Free Refills: A Doctor Confronts His Addiction, published by Hachette Books Group was the first memoir by a physician to confess to and describe recovery from an opiate addiction. This book was optioned by MarVista Entertainment. Dr. Grinspoon has appeared on Fox and Friends, NBC Nightly News, and C-SPAN2 to discuss his addiction and recovery. He served as an Associate Director for Massachusetts Physician Health Service, part of the Massachusetts Medical Society from 2013 to 2015, helping and advocating for other physicians who struggle with addition.

Dr. Grinspoon is also a contributing editor to Harvard Health Publicationswhere his blogs, Medical Marijuana and CBD- What We Know and What We Don't average over 100,000 hits. He is an authority on virtually all aspects of cannabis, including recreational and medical usages, as well as political issues and social history. He is a board member of the advocacy group Doctors For Cannabis Regulation. He is frequently cited in the popular press, and has been noted in People Magazine, NY Magazine, The Daily Beast, and The Boston Globe. He has also been cited in magazines and websites as diverse as the following: Chicago Tribune, WSJ, Politico, Cooking Light, Forbes, Filter, El País, The Guardian, Martha Stewart, Florida Sun Sentinel, Lealy, Artsy, AARP, Christianity Today, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missourian, Bustle, Detroit Free Press (USA Today Network), MD Magazine, Tonic (Vice), MedPage Today, Reason, Texas Tribune, Medium, City Watch, Illinois Public Media, National Pain Report, Regina Leader-Post, Greenville News, AlterNet, The Narrative Inquiry on Bioethics, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dr. Grinspoon has appeared on numerous podcasts and radio appearances, including Only Human with New York public radio and several of the NPR related shows in Boston including Prescription For Redemption and Commonhealth Blog, as well as Blunt Talk IHeart Radio.

Dr. Grinspoon is the son of famous cannabis activist Lester Grinspoon and the brother of respected Planetary Scientist and popular writer David Grinspoon. He is the nephew of billionaire philanthropist Harold Grinspoon He grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a twin brother Joshua, his older brother David, and another older brother Danny, who died at the age of 16 from leukemia. Danny's struggle with leukemia has been documented in the popular press as medical cannabis was helpful to him.

Dr. Grinspoon graduated from Swarthmore College with Honors in Philosophy and then went to work for Greenpeace for five years before enrolling in medical school. At Greenpeace, he wrote an influential piece in The Nation titled, "Atom and Eve: A Love Story" based on leaked documents from the nuclear industry. He also was instrumental in one of Greenpeace's most high-profile protests, the successful stoppage of a Trident 2 nuclear missile test.

In 1993, Dr. Grinspoon entered Boston University School of Medicine, graduating with Honors. From 1997 to 2000 He trained at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, in the Primary Care Medical Residency, giving his senior presentation on medical cannabis.

Dr. Grinspoon was a consultant to the 2018 production of Jagged Little Pill at the American Repertory Theater. Dr. Grinspoon was a contributor to Harvard's online course OpioidX: The Opioid Crisis in America. He was one of the featured members of the Boston Resilient Exhibit, which honored Boston-area leaders in the fight against addiction.