Edward L. Weidenfeld, a Republican attorney, general counsel to Ronald Reagan, cannabis entrepreneur, medical marijuana advocate and patient, died at his home in Washington of complications from Parkinson’s disease, the Washington Post reported.

After his time with the Reagan, Weidenfeld became a cannabis entrepreneur and critic of the War on Drugs, including Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign.

Having worked in various capacities for six US Presidents and as a successful probate attorney, Weidenfeld became interested in cannabis following his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2002.

Weidenfeld said that cannabis reduced his symptoms, particularly the anxiety that gripped him because of Parkinson’s debilitating physical development.

“If you have a degenerative disease,” he told the Daily Beast, “and there’s something that makes you laugh and takes your mind off the disease, that’s medically beneficial.”

Weidenfeld accidentally met Andras Kirschner while self-medicating with cannabis, who wanted to start a medical marijuana company in the DC area. They got together and founded together phyto managementa licensed producer in Washington, DC After co-founding what became District Cannabis Brand, the partners expanded to Maryland.

According to WAPO, Kirschner said that Weidenfeld was active in all aspects of the business, from cultivation to marketing: “He was like an elderly statesman when he walked into the room.”

As he became more involved with cannabis, Weidenfeld became more open about the injustices of the drug war.

He told the Cannabis Business Times in 2020 that the Just Say No campaign and the War on Drugs were mistakes, particularly when it came to cannabis. “It demonized a substance that has tremendous therapeutic potential” and “has been used as a means of social control over people of color, immigrants.”

Read the Washington Post’s full obituary of Edward L. Weidenfeld HERE

Photo: District Cannabis website