George McMahon (1950–2019) was an American

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual civil and human rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free f ...

activist.

Life and activism

George McMahon was one of the last surviving patients enrolled in the federal

Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program Expanded access or compassionate use is the use of an unapproved drug or medical device under special forms of investigational new drug applications (IND) or IDE application for devices, outside of a clinical trial, by people with serious or life ...

that began providing cannabis to patients in 1978. He lived with extreme pain caused by a rare genetic condition called nail-patella syndrome and used cannabis to treat its symptoms. McMahon, who lived in Iowa, traveled widely for speaking engagements. He served on the board of the group

Patients Out of Time Patients Out of Time (POT) is an American medical cannabis nonprofit organization and patients rights group, established in 1995. In 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a case challenging the Drug Enforcem ...

. McMahon died on November 30, 2019, at the age of 69.

Political candidacy

McMahon was the Independent Grassroots Party candidate for

Vice-president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

in 1996, and the

Grassroots Party The Grassroots Party was a political third party in the United States established in 1986 to oppose drug prohibition. The party shared many of the progressive values of the Farmer-Labor Party but with an emphasis on cannabis/hemp legalization is ...

candidate for Vice-president in 2012.

Writings

McMahon co-authored the book ''Prescription Pot: A Leading Advocate's Heroic Battle to Legalize Medical Marijuana''.

References

1950 births 2019 deaths American cannabis activists American male writers Cannabis political party politicians Activists from Iowa {{US-activist-stub