“Deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations” alleged against Florida doctors.
Complaints say doctors caught writing bogus prescriptions for unneeded medical marijuana |
Feb 18, 2020
News Service Of Florida – State health officials have filed complaints against two medical-marijuana doctors based on information obtained by undercover investigators posing as patients, in what one physician’s lawyers described as a “trap.”
Both complaints, filed on the same day by the Department of Health last year, are awaiting action by administrative law judges.
The complaints appear to be the first major actions taken by the state against doctors who order cannabis for patients they deem eligible for the treatment, which was broadly legalized in a 2016 constitutional amendment.
One of the investigations, into Tallahassee doctor Joseph Dorn, dates to June 2017.
Between February 2017 and January 2018, Dorn — chief medical officer of Medical Marijuana Treatment Clinics of Florida — issued medical-marijuana orders for a total of 3,292 new patients, charging $299 for each new patient appointment, according to the complaint in his case.
Health officials accused Dorn of violating medical-marijuana laws by failing to conduct physical examinations of “Patient O.G.” and “Patient B.D.,” two undercover investigators.
The complaint also alleged Dorn:
- failed to conduct full assessments of their medical histories;
- failed to properly diagnose the men with at least one qualifying medical condition;
- failed to adequately determine that the patients’ medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks;
- and failed to review their controlled-drug prescription histories in a statewide database.
Health officials also accused Dorn of making “deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in or related to the practice of medicine” by including false representations in the men’s patient records “to purportedly justify entering a physician certification” for medical marijuana.
According to the May 8 complaint, Dorn saw Patient B.D. in November 2017, when the undercover agent told the doctor he suffered from muscle spasms and anxiety. Dorn diagnosed Patient B.D. with post-traumatic stress disorder … Read more.
