David L. Nathan (born 1968) is an Americanpsychiatrist, writer, and founder and past president ofDoctors for Cannabis Regulation. Best known for his advocacy ofcannabis legalization, he has also published research in the academic and lay press on a range of other topics, includingarcheology,numismatics, thehistory of animation andearly American football.
Nathan has a private practice inPrinceton, New Jersey. He is the Director of Continuing Education at thePenn Medicine Princeton Health and a clinical associate professor atRutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Originally from thePhiladelphia area, Nathan graduatedmagna cum laude fromPrinceton University. He received his M.D. from theUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he distinguished himself in the development of medical education software.[1] He subsequently competed his psychiatry residency atMcLean Hospital, an affiliate ofHarvard Medical School, serving as Chief Resident of Bipolar and Psychotic Disorders in 1993–1994.
Drawing from his experience in clinicalpsychiatry and the treatment ofsubstance use disorders, Nathan is a vocal physician advocate of cannabis legalization. He has published numerous articles on the topic.[2][3][4] Nathan was one of the founding steering committee members of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, speaking at their televised launch in early 2015.[5] He was the first physician in New Jersey history to testify about marijuana legalization at the state legislature later that year.[6] In July 2019, Nathan was one of the first physicians to testify before theJudiciary Committee of theU.S. House of Representatives.[7]
In 2016, Nathan founded Doctors For Cannabis Regulation (DFCR), which advocates for the legalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana.[8][9][10] He was principal author of the organization's “Declaration of Principles,”[11] which was signed by number of nationally prominent physicians, includingJoycelyn Elders,Andrew Weil,Chris Beyrer,David Lewis, andLester Grinspoon.
Since 2020, Nathan has advocated standard labeling of cannabis products.[12] Along with his son Eli, a graphic designer, he designed the Universal Cannabis Product Symbol (UCPS).[13] The UCPS was renamed the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol (IICPS) and became the first and only international consensus standard when approved byASTM International in 2022,[14] now bearing the designationASTM D8441/D8441M.Montana was the first U.S. state to adopt the IICPS in late 2021.[15]New Jersey andVermont have subsequently incorporated the IICPS design into their state symbols.[16][17]
In archeology, Nathan published an analysis of aproto-cuneiform tablet dating to theJemdet Nasr period ofMesopotamia (circa 3100-3000 BCE), which included the discovery of a previously unknown numerical sign.[18]
In numismatics, Nathan proposed that the first coins minted in theWestern Hemisphere feature aHebrew letteraleph (א), suggesting direct evidence for aJewish presence or influence in theNew World as early as 1536.[19] He noted that nearly all of thecoin dies prepared under the tenure of theMexican Mint's firstassayer use this purported aleph symbol in place of theChristiancross potent mark found almost universally on medieval Spanish and Mexican coinage. Nathan also considered possible Jewish family connections to the known early Mexican mint workers.[20]
While researching the history of early animation, Nathan reconstructed the lost “Encore” sequence fromWinsor McCay’s animated filmGertie using original drawings from 1914. With animation historian Donald Crafton, he coauthored an article about the structure and history ofGertie.[21] Nathan initiated a restoration of the entire film and a reconstruction of McCay's originalvaudeville performance ofGertie. Crafton, Nathan and Marco de Blois of theCinémathèque québécoise worked with a team of professionals from theNational Film Board of Canada to complete the project, which premiered live during the closing ceremony of the 2018Annecy Film Festival in France.[22]
Publishing in thePrinceton Alumni Weekly, Nathan was the first to identify all 24 known members ofPrinceton University’s 1869 football team, who participated in thefirst intercollegiate American football game.[23] He published biographies and photographs of all the known players and shared his research into the possible identity of the unknown 25th player.[24]
In 1990, Nathan received Princeton's Charles M. Cannon Memorial Prize for his senior thesis entitledWeb Repair in Several Species of Orb Weaving Spiders.[25] In 2007, Nathan won the Odesser Award for Outstanding Contribution to Judaic Numismatics and Exonumia for his article on early Mexican coins.[26] In 2012, Nathan was elected as a Distinguished Fellow of theAmerican Psychiatric Association.[27]
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