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California Law Enforcement Investigating 'Pot Docs'
Doctors Offer Legal Pot
10News | 07/07/2006

Proposition 215 -- the medical marijuana initiative approved by voters ten years ago, has been subverted, abused and misused say law enforcement agencies our I-Team has spoken with.

Prop. 215 is supposed to provide seriously ill people access to marijuana to help relieve their pain but a 10News investigation discovered just about anyone can get pot legally if they want.

10 News became interested in medical marijuana after seeing a large number of advertisements for doctors prescribing pot. These pot docs’ ads appear every week in the San Diego Reader.

Discussions with 10News sources both in and out of law enforcement seemed to confirm a disturbing pattern of increasing sales by the pot docs as well as an increase in the number of distributors for the medical marijuana.

This launched a two-month 10News investigation into exactly what was going on. We used staff members to go into doctor's office and see how difficult it was to get a referral for pot. It was very easy. Too easy in fact, say law enforcement sources.

It turned out both federal and local agencies are also looking into the process.

The 10News I-Team was able to acquire some government survelliance tapes used to document how different doctors would discuss with patients the benefits of marijuana. One shows an undercover officer and a Dr. Robert Steiner, discussing pot.

"I assure you Tylenol is more of a risk to you and a hazard than is cannabis," said Dr. Robert Steiner.

Steiner was doing one of his "legitimate and affordable" medical marijuana evaluations as advertised in the Reader.

"It's open drug dealing with legitimacy," said Deputy District Attorney Dana Greisen.

Greisen said doctors are recommending marijuana to just about anyone who can afford a doctor's visit.

"It's being recommended for insomnia, depression (and) anxiety," said Greisen.

"The law is being abused in a massive scale," said Greisen.

The people using the marijuana aren't suffering from cancer, AIDS or other serious illnesses, which Proposition 215 is supposed to address. It was approved by voters to "ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to use marijuana for medical purposes."

Dr. Steiner claimed no downsides to using marijuana on the law enforcement video.

"We have two convincing studies that cannabis does not cause lung cancer. Cannabis regenerates brain cells," said Steiner.

The undercover agent then asked if he could also get pot for his dog. "He's got arthritis. He whines at night because of the pain," said the undercover agent.

"Again, it is perfectly acceptable for pups," said Steiner.

(BuzzNote: I have read elsewhere that marijuana is toxic for dogs.)

Dr. Alfonso Jimenez has a Web site -- Medical Marijuana of San Diego -- where patients can register for his services online. What happened when we sent our testers in?

"He was just laid-back and friendly. (He) didn't really seem to worry about if he was giving me this for the right reasons or not," said tester number one. He went to Jimenez for back pain he doesn't have. He got his referral and could have purchased pot legally. 10News never did purchase any marijuana even after the doctor's approval.

"There's a line behind me coming out of the door," said tester number one.

DDA Greisen said it's all about the money.

"We had a doctor recently (who) testified he gave out about 2,000 recommendations in last year -- that's what he testified to in court -- at $230 approximately. You do the math -- that's $500,000 in cash," said Greisen.

Greisen said most office calls are paid for in cash.

That's what another 10News employee had to do.

He paid $125 to have Steiner recommend marijuana for his "sleeping problems."

"They just let me in the office. (They) kind of started giving me all these facts about medical marijuana before they even knew what was wrong with me," said tester number two.

Tester two would get his marijuana if he went to another doctor first to document his condition.

"He (Dr. Sterner) referred me to a doctor who would have me in and out real quickly. I could come right back, (and) he would be able to sign off on the recommendation.

Once people get their recommendations, 10News discovered there's no limit or control as to how much marijuana they can buy from storefronts called dispensaries.

Legal Loophole?

You don't have to suffer from a serious illness to buy medical marijuana from dispensers.

10News investigators were able to get approval for marijuana from two doctors -- Dr. Robert Sterner, who has an office near Lindbergh Field, and Dr. Alfonso Jimenez in downtown San Diego.

"They got me through pretty quick," said tester number one, a 10News employee.

With a recommendation from a doctor, the staffers would be able to get marijuana that is sold at dispensaries across San Diego County.

Tester number two, another 10News employee, was sent into the doctor's offices and said, "I went to two different places, and within thirty minutes I got some (referrals). It seemed pretty easy."

These marijuana recommendations can be filled at twenty different storefronts selling pot, and unlike a regular prescriptions, a patient can use the recommendations more than once.

"A pattern is developing. Patients get recommendations," said Dep. District Attorney Dana Greisen. These recommendations are like a blank check.

According to 10News findings, one person received a recommendation with permission to grow 75 marijuana plants. Each plant has the street value of $1,000.

The same person received permission to purchase five pounds of marijuana. With that amount, a person can smoke a joint every two hours for 24 hours a day and seven days a week, taking more than a year to go through all of that marijuana.

Dr. Larry Pohl said what some of his colleagues are doing is not proper medicine. He said patients sometimes need lab work, X-rays or meetings with specialists.

Pohl said marijuana is not a cure-all.

"It's definitely not consistent with standard medical care," said Pohl.

Dr. Jimenez has several offices and we talked to him by phone at his Hawaii location, he told 10News that he only provides a referral for patients with medical illnesses.

Jimenez's operates a Web site MedicalMarijuanaOfSanDiego.com.

When 10News visited Dr. Sterner, he explained he had to see patients and closed his office door.

But there is another loophole in the system, called the primary care giver form.

Taking Advantage Of Proposition 215

"It is a legalization of marijuana. It's going to encourage drug use," said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender.

"It is going to be helping people who are really sick and need a medicine that has been used for 5,000 years," said one Proposition 215 supporter.

These were two very different predictions made 10 years ago after Prop. 215 was approved by Californians.

Kolender was right, if you ask Dep. District Attorney Dana Greisen.

"Over the last year, we saw a proliferation of these recommendations," said Greisen. He says just about anyone can get marijuana. And to make matters worse, he says, doctors hand out blank primary caregiver forms.

These forms allow patients to list anyone they want to be a caregiver. It allows this person to purchase or grow marijuana for them.

10News Investigations sent in two staffers to check Greisen's claims. And it was as the assistant district attorney had claimed. Our staffers were given blank caregiver forms.

10News learned that one person named his dog as a caregiver.

As part of the investigation, 10News nominated a bird named Riggo as a caregiver.

"The doctors -- because they're giving it to so many people -- are basically legalizing marijuana one doctor and patient at a time," said Greisen.

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