David L. Nathan
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David L. Nathan (born 1968) is an American
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
, writer, and founder and past president of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation. Best known for his advocacy of
cannabis legalization The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. The ...
, he has also published research in the academic and lay press on a range of other topics, including
archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...
,
numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
, the
history of animation Animation, the method for creating moving pictures from still images, has an early history and a modern history that began with the advent of celluloid film in 1888. Between 1895 and 1920, during the rise of the cinematic industry, several diffe ...
and early American football. Nathan has a private practice in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
. He is the Director of Continuing Education at the Penn Medicine Princeton Health and a clinical associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.


Early life

Originally from the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
area, Nathan graduated ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. He received his M.D. from the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of M ...
, where he distinguished himself in the development of medical education software. He subsequently competed his psychiatry residency at
McLean Hospital McLean Hospital () (formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum) is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. McLean maintains the world's largest neuroscientific and psychiatric research program in a private hospital. It i ...
, an affiliate of
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
, serving as Chief Resident of Bipolar and Psychotic Disorders in 1993–1994.


Cannabis legalization

Drawing from his experience in clinical
psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...
and the treatment of
substance use disorders Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequences to self and others. Related terms include ''substance use problems'' and ''problematic drug or alcohol use''. Along with substance-ind ...
, Nathan is a vocal physician advocate of cannabis legalization. He has published numerous articles on the topic. Nathan was one of the founding steering committee members of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, speaking at their televised launch in early 2015. He was the first physician in New Jersey history to testify about marijuana legalization at the state legislature later that year. In July 2019, Nathan was one of the first physicians to testify before the Judiciary Committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
. In 2016, Nathan founded Doctors For Cannabis Regulation (DFCR), which advocates for the legalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana. He was principal author of the organization's “Declaration of Principles,” which was signed by number of nationally prominent physicians, including
Joycelyn Elders Minnie Joycelyn Elders (born Minnie Lee Jones; August 13, 1933) is an American pediatrics, pediatrician and public health administrator who served as Surgeon General of the United States from 1993 to 1994. A Vice Admiral (United States), vice admi ...
,
Andrew Weil Andrew Thomas Weil (, born June 8, 1942) is an American celebrity doctor who advocates for integrative medicine. Early life and education Weil was born in Philadelphia, on June 8, 1942,The editors of EB (2015). "Andrew Weil, American Physici ...
,
Chris Beyrer Chris Beyrer is an American physician who is the Director of the Duke Global Health Institute. He was previously a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. He was ...
, David Lewis, and
Lester Grinspoon Lester Grinspoon (June 24, 1928 – June 25, 2020) was an American psychiatrist and longstanding associate professor of Harvard Medical School, psychiatry at Harvard University who is best known for his groundbreaking work on the science and ...
. Since 2020, Nathan has advocated standard labeling of cannabis products. Along with his son Eli, a graphic designer, he designed the Universal Cannabis Product Symbol (UCPS). The UCPS was renamed the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol (IICPS) and became the first and only international consensus standard when approved by
ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...
in 2022, now bearing the designation ASTM D8441/D8441M.
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
was the first U.S. state to adopt the IICPS in late 2021.
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
have subsequently incorporated the IICPS design into their state symbols.


Other selected publications and projects

In archeology, Nathan published an analysis of a proto-cuneiform tablet dating to the
Jemdet Nasr Jemdet Nasr () (also Jamdat Nasr and Jemdat Nasr) is a Tell (archaeology), tell or settlement mound in Babil Governorate, Iraq that is best known as the eponymous type site for the Jemdet Nasr period (c. 3100–2900 BC), under an alternate period ...
period of
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
(circa 3100-3000 BCE), which included the discovery of a previously unknown numerical sign. In numismatics, Nathan proposed that the first coins minted in the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
feature a
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
letter
aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' ...
(א), suggesting direct evidence for a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
presence or influence in the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
as early as 1536. He noted that nearly all of the coin dies prepared under the tenure of the
Mexican Mint The Casa de Moneda de México is the national mint of Mexico and is the oldest mint in the Americas. History The ''Casa de Moneda'' was established on 11 May 1535 by the Spanish viceroy Antonio de Mendoza by a decree from the Spanish Crown to cr ...
's first assayer use this purported aleph symbol in place of the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
cross potent A cross potent (plural: crosses potent), also known as a crutch cross, is a form of heraldic cross with crossbars at the four ends. In French, it is known as '' croix potencée'', in German as a ''Krückenkreuz'', all translating to "crutch cros ...
mark found almost universally on medieval Spanish and Mexican coinage. Nathan also considered possible Jewish family connections to the known early Mexican mint workers. While researching the history of early animation, Nathan reconstructed the lost “Encore” sequence from
Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...
’s animated film '' Gertie'' using original drawings from 1914. With animation historian Donald Crafton, he coauthored an article about the structure and history of ''Gertie''. Nathan initiated a restoration of the entire film and a reconstruction of McCay's original
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
performance of ''Gertie''. Crafton, Nathan and Marco de Blois of the
Cinémathèque québécoise The Cinémathèque québécoise () is a film conservatory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its purpose is to preserve, document, film, and television footage and related documents and artifacts for future use by the public. The Cinémathèque's coll ...
worked with a team of professionals from the
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
to complete the project, which premiered live during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Annecy Film Festival in France. Publishing in the
Princeton Alumni Weekly The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University. It was founded in 1900 and, until 1977, it was the only weekly college alumni magazine in the United States. Upon changing to biweekly ...
, Nathan was the first to identify all 24 known members of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
’s 1869 football team, who participated in the first intercollegiate American football game. He published biographies and photographs of all the known players and shared his research into the possible identity of the unknown 25th player.


Awards and honors

In 1990, Nathan received Princeton's Charles M. Cannon Memorial Prize for his senior thesis entitled ''Web Repair in Several Species of Orb Weaving Spiders''. In 2007, Nathan won the Odesser Award for Outstanding Contribution to Judaic Numismatics and Exonumia for his article on early Mexican coins. In 2012, Nathan was elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the
American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 39,200 members who are in ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, David L. 1968 births American psychiatrists American cannabis activists Physicians from Philadelphia Princeton University alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Rutgers University faculty Living people McLean Hospital people Harvard Medical School people