Judge Sides With Marijuana Doctor in Undercover Probe
The Florida Department of Health sought to strip physician Joseph Dorn of his medical license for five years, permanently ban him from ordering medical marijuana for patients and impose a $10,000 fine.
March 17, 2022 at 12:44 PM
4 minute read
Health CareA Tallahassee doctor who ordered medical marijuana for two undercover investigators posing as patients didn't do anything wrong, an administrative law judge decided.
The Florida Department of Health sought to strip physician Joseph Dorn of his medical license for five years, permanently ban him from ordering medical marijuana for patients and impose a $10,000 fine.
The proposed penalties against Dorn, who has practiced in Florida for more than three decades, stemmed from a 2019 complaint alleging that the physician violated state law by failing to conduct physical examinations of "Patient O.G." and "Patient B.D." The complaint also accused Dorn of employing a "trick or scheme" in the practice of medicine.
But Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins on Wednesday issued an order recommending that the complaint against the doctor be dismissed, saying that health officials "failed to present competent substantial evidence in this case establishing … that Dr. Dorn acted, or failed to act, in any manner to defraud or trick any patient, or that any patient was actually defrauded or tricked."
Health officials accused Dorn of failing to "appropriately vet his patients" and follow a 2017 law requiring physicians to use certain procedures before determining patients are eligible for medical marijuana, such as deciding that its use would outweigh potential health risks.
"Instead of recognizing this responsibility, respondent [Dorn] used his designation as a qualified physician to liberally qualify patients to receive medical marijuana by only performing perfunctory consultations and ignoring many of the requirements imposed by the Legislature," the agency's lawyers wrote in a document filed last month.
But Watkins rejected those arguments, finding that the Department of Health's allegations were not supported by the evidence in the case.
"The evidence of record undermines DOH's argument that Dr. Dorn's practice is nothing more than an 'open gate' to medical marijuana. In the case of both O.G. and B.D. (and presumably the other 28 patients examined), Dr. Dorn conducted a detailed and thorough assessment of the patient's condition prior to prescribing medical marijuana," Watkins wrote, referring to records of 28 actual patients that health officials reviewed. "Furthermore, the preponderance of the competent substantial evidence in this case demonstrates that Dr. Dorn performed a meaningful review of O.G. and B.D.'s medical history and symptoms, identified and discussed their qualifying stressors, and noted the PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] symptoms being experienced by each."
Under administrative law, Watkins' recommended order will go to the Department of Health for final action.
The 2017 law, aimed at carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana, requires doctors to undergo training to be qualified by the state to order cannabis for patients and lays out requirements for physicians before certifying that patients are eligible for the treatment. The law also makes it a crime for patients to lie to doctors about their conditions to obtain marijuana.
The complaint against Dorn centered on visits by investigators Brent Johnson, who posed as "Patient B.D.," and Ben Lanier, who posed as "Patient O.G."
In November 2017, Johnson told the physician he had anxiety, difficulty sleeping, cold sweats, back pain and leg cramps following a car accident eight years earlier. According to the complaint, Dorn also entered other symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder in B.D.'s patient record and approved him for medical marijuana.
During a visit with Dorn five months later, Lanier presented a handwritten medical record saying that O.G had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by the military a decade earlier.
Lanier, who was one of the state's witnesses during the October hearing, said he told Dorn he had anxiety after serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where the doctor's son had served in the military.
In a statement on Wednesday, Dorn's attorney, Ryan Andrews, accused the state of "inflicting crippling stress and pain" on the doctor as he continued to treat patients following the investigation. Andrews threatened to take legal action against the health department and officials involved in the complaint against his client.
"This action didn't sound in good faith and now it's our turn to seek justice and right this wrong against everyone involved. This entire action against Dr. Dorn is an embarrassment and disservice to the state of Florida. Dr. Dorn is excited to continue treating patients without these baseless and harmful accusations hanging over his head," Andrews said.
Dara Kam reports for the News Service of Florida.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAmid Growing Litigation Volume, Don't Expect UnitedHealthcare to Change Its Stripes After CEO's Killing
6 minute readFreeman Mathis & Gary Taps Orlando for Third New Florida Office This Year
3 minute readFla.'s Statute of Limitations and Statutes of Repose in Med Mal Cases: It's Not Over Until It's Over
6 minute readGC of Florida State Agency Steps Down After Threatening TV Stations That Aired Abortion-Rights Ad
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250