About Peter
Peter Grinspoon, M.D., is a primary care physician and a board-certified addiction specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has 25 years of experience specializing in addiction treatment and cannabis medicine. A popular speaker frequently featured in the national media, Dr. Grinspoon discusses topics such as cannabis, addiction, and physician health. His private practice provides comprehensive addiction and recovery coaching, cannabis education, and patient certification (available in MA only). As an addiction coach, he offers extensive support to individuals and families at all stages of addiction and recovery.
His latest book, “Aging Well with Cannabis, Feel Better, Sleep Better, and Live Better with Marijuana and CBD” is now available for preorder and will be published on May 5, 2026
Books
Aging Well With Cannabis
Aging Well with Cannabis serves as a roadmap for seniors interested in navigating the world of medical marijuana. With sixty million Americans over sixty-five and twice that number over fifty, many are seeking alternatives to often-harmful pharmaceuticals. Medical marijuana helps with multiple symptoms of aging, such as chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia, with relatively low toxicity if used properly. Preorder now – On Sale May 5, 2026
Seeing Through the Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles the Truth about Marijuana
Depending on which doctor you speak with, or which websites you read, cannabis could be an appealing, low-risk medicine – even an aid to wellness – or an insidiously addictive drug rotting the brains of our youth. Seeing Through the Smoke is an unflinching examination at the grossly misunderstood drug that uses data-driven medical science and a critical historical perspective to reveal the truth behind cannabis.
Free Refills: A Doctor Confronts His Addiction
Dr. Peter Grinspoon seemed to be a total success: a Harvard-educated M.D. with a thriving practice; married with two great kids and a gorgeous wife; a pillar of his community. But lurking beneath the thin veneer of having it all was an addict fueled on a daily boatload of prescription meds. When the police finally came calling – after a tip from a sharp-eyed pharmacist – Grinspoon’s house of cards came tumbling down fast.
Cannabis & Addiction Coaching
I’m a certified physician health, and addiction coach through Harvard Medical School with personal experience in long-term recovery from opioid addiction. I’m board certified in Addiction Medicine, and I see patients at the MGH Bridge Clinic, a safety-net addiction program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Over the years, I’ve helped thousands of patients with substance use disorders, including hundreds of physicians. I specialize in helping individuals and families navigate the medical and practical realities of addiction and recovery. I also provide comprehensive medical cannabis consultations for a wide range of conditions, including cannabis use disorder.
Whether you’re exploring cannabis for medical or wellness purposes, or working to change your relationship with substances (including opioids, alcohol, or cannabis), I offer compassionate, science-based guidance tailored to your goals. Together, we’ll create a plan that fits your life—whether that means harm reduction, moderation, mindful use, abstinence, or a more structured path to recovery.
Click here to schedule a consultation.
As seen in:
Decriminalizing Opioids Will Save Countless Lives It is the illegal nature of street opioids that is killing people
I'm a Doctor, I Hid My Opioid Addiction for 10 Years.
Doctor Unravels Ketamine's Role in Matthew Perry's Death Following Autopsy Report
Doobie No Harm: Doctors and the War on Drugs. An excerpt from Grinspoon's new book, "Seeing Through the Smoke
Reversing the Damage of Cannabis Criminalization
The War on Weed Isn’t Over. Truth Dig
We need a bigger recovery "tent": It's time to think beyond 12-step programs
Meet the "California sober" set: Why trendsetters are ditching all drugs except pot
Peter Grinspoon was a doctor with a secret. When a patient or colleague needs to hear the details, he doesn't hold back.
A record number of American workers are using cannabis - that doesn't mean that they are high on the job
Dr. Peter Grinspoon’s Recommendations On Using Cannabis To Manage Chronic Pain
I Didn't Let My Addiction Win Out in the End - How doctors get addicted and how they recover
Why is the Brain Disease Model of Addiction So Controversial?
It's not a myth: Marijuana really is more potent than it used to be
For Health Workers Struggling With Addiction, Why Are Treatment Options Limited?
Why does marijuana make it hard to remember stuff?
Understanding and Addressing Physician Substance Use and Misuse
Cannabis for Better Sex? Here’s What the Science Says.
A Former Opioid Addict at Harvard Says We’re Getting Addiction Wrong
What Is Percocet? An Addiction Expert Explains the Popular Painkiller
Is There Such Thing As An Addictive Personality?
Dr. Peter Grinspoon on the opioid crisis
Cannabis
Medical marijuana or, cannabis, is soaring in popularity, especially among baby boomers and the elderly. It has had its controversies and stigma over the previous decades – largely created by the U.S. government – but millions of people are finding it useful for chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, fibromyalgia, colitis, and a wide variety of medical conditions that our traditional medical system either treats poorly or treats with a high level of toxicity. While there is no “free lunch” with any medicine in terms of side effects, medical cannabis is relatively safe and well-tolerated. Click here to schedule a cannabis consultation with Dr. Grinspoon.
Speaking
Dr. Grinspoon has been a keynote speaker across the globe on many cannabis-related topics, as well as on addiction, opioids, recovery, psychedelics and physician health. According to Dr. Grinspoon, “My best talks are always those in which I go ‘off-script’ and speak extemporaneously, as during those performances my humor and passion shine through.
Cannabis – I am comfortable speaking on any cannabis-related topic to any audience. Popular topics include: medical cannabis in the elderly, cannabis and harm reduction, cannabis and the opioid crisis and medical cannabis for doctors.
Physician Health – I have given grand rounds on this topic at numerous institutions, based on my experiences as a physician in recovery and as an Associate Director of the Physician Health Service in Massachusetts.
Addiction – I bring both lived experience and clinical expertise: I’m in long-term recovery from opioid addiction, and I treat physicians and patients for substance use disorders.
Psychedelics – I have been following the ‘psychedelic renaissance’ since age thirteen and have a lifelong interest in psychedelic therapies, as well as lived experience.
Latest posts on the Harvard Health Blog
If you use cannabis, do it safely
January 17, 2023 – Key safety tips as legal medical and recreational marijuana evolve. Read more
Why is it so challenging to find a primary care physician?
September 28, 2022 – Burnout is causing physicians to leave the profession.
Read more
The popularity of microdosing of psychedelics: What does the science say?
September 19, 2022 – There is no definitive evidence yet that microdosing with psychedelics is either effective or safe. Read more