Donald Topping (1929–2003)

Born in West Virginia., Topping spent more than half his life in Hawaii. For 35 years he worked for the University of Hawaii as a linguistics professor and administrator. Topping also researched Micronesian languages, wrote and edited the Chamorro-English Dictionary and served as director for the Pacific and Asian Linguistics Institute and the Social Science Research Institute.

Topping co-founded the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii in 1993 and served as its president for 10 years. The group pressed for the legalization of medical marijuana and persuaded former Gov. Cayetano to back a bill to legalize medicinal marijuana in Hawaii. His use of medical marijuana led him to be one of the first people to "come out" in the Cannabis Consumers Campaign.