Doctor Loses Medical License For Prescribing Pot Cookies To 4-Year-Old To Stop Temper Tantrums
A California doctor had his medical license revoked after misdiagnosing a 4-year-old and prescribing marijuana to help stop his temper tantrums. Dr. William Eidelman, who calls himself a consultant in natural approaches to healing, inaccurately diagnosed a young boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder before recommending a treatment regime that involved a pot cookie each day.
According to the Daily Beast, a man brought his son to visit the doctor for what he called temper tantrums and uncontrollable behavior. Dr. Eidelman took about 20 to 30 minutes to examine the patient before determining that he had ADHD and bipolar disorder, though the father says that the bipolar diagnosis is not correct. Although the child “was normal appearing,” the doctor determined that the best course of treatment was marijuana delivered via a cookie.
The father apparently began the prescription and noticed an improvement in his son’s behavior, but when he asked the school nurse at the school where the son attended to deliver an afternoon cookie, the nurse called state child welfare authorities.
The state found that Dr. Eidelman failed to reach out to the school to obtain more information about the child’s behavior, nor did he refer the child to a psychiatrist or psychologist for further examination. The state board found the doctor’s behavior to be negligent and unprofessional and decided to revoke his medical license.
Dr. Eidelmen claims on his blog that the state issued a stay on the order to revoke his license pending an appeal. A spokesperson for the board says that they have not seen a court order to that effect, but that it could be a matter of the paperwork having not yet reached them.
“The Medical Board of California has not seen a court order, signed by a judge, indicating that the revocation was stayed. Accordingly, Eidelman’s license is currently revoked,” the spokesperson stated.
California allows marijuana to be used as a treatment for a range of conditions under 1996’s Compassionate Use Act. The issue in Dr. Eidelman’s case was not that he prescribed pot cookies, but that he misdiagnosed the issue that the child was being treated for.
“Seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief,” the act reads.
