Margolin was born in
Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Los Angeles, California as a young child. He began his practice when he was 25 years old, after earning his law degree from Southwestern Law School in 1966. In 1970, Margolin ran for California State Assembly, losing by 5 percentage points. In 1971, he traveled to India with writer and spiritual leader
Baba Ram Dass. Since he returned, he has remained a lawyer. In 1999, he was awarded the Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year award by the Century City Bar Association. Margolin unsuccessfully ran for governor in the
2003 California gubernatorial recall election. Margolin planned to legalize marijuana and free all marijuana prisoners in the state of California if he were to win the election. Margolin's daughter
Allison has also established a reputation as a marijuana lawyer. ==References==