Robert Randall
Often referred to as "Patient 0" because of his role as the first individual in a federal program that provided legal marijuana to patients suffering from debilitating illness, Robert Randall is a landmark figure in the movement to legalize medical marijuana.  After discovering accidentally that marijuana was helpful in treating his glaucoma, Randall successfully sued the United States government using a defense of medical necessity, arguing that any person "who was sane, who knew they were going blind, and who knew that marijuana could help prolong their sight, would break the law in order to obtain marijuana."  His legal victory against the federal government in 1975 led to the creation of the Investigational New Drug Program, in which several patients were supplied with marijuana legally on a regular basis.  (This program was officially shut down in 1992, after Randall coordinated a nationwide effort for AIDS patients to bombard the government with applications.)  Randall continued to fight for the rights of patients to smoke marijuana, founding the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics.  He passed away in 2001.