Doctor Who Prescribed Cannabis Cookies Loses License

Dr. William Eidelman, 43, graduate of St. Louis Medical School, residing in Hollywood, California wasted no time in September 2012 when he cut to the point and recommended the father give his then four year old son medical marijuana so he would behave and could remain in school.

After a half hour appointment Eidelman suggested the child may have a probable combination of ADD, ADHD, and bipolar disorder according to the California medical board that took up the case after school authorities reported what they felt was an unusual treatment.

Eidelman previously prescribed medical marijuana to the child’s father and older brother to treat similar conditions, and relied heavily on family history as explanation for the child’s out of control temper tantrums reported by the father. The father also reported trying more traditional medicines such as Ritalin for his own ADHD as a child and found them to be unhelpful and harmful.

The father reported it was the child’s teacher who suggested the boy should be medicated unless he wanted his son to be expelled from school, so he took his child to the doctor to keep him in school. Following the advice from the doctor he began to give his soon cookies with medical marijuana in them. The father said his son’s behavior did improve but effects only lasted until the afternoon. In order for his son to receive another dose in the afternoon the father instructed the school nurse to give his son another cookie in the afternoon. However the nurse alerted the school administration who reported it to child protective services.

The board concluded during interviews with the doctor it became clear to them Eidelman did not have basic understanding of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD or bipolar disorder, nor did he refer the child to a psychiatrist as the doctor.

It was not Eidelman’s decision to treat the child with medical marijuana that cost the physician to lose his licence; the board stated “ has not been established... recommendation of medical marijuana with the father’s consent violated the standard of care.” Rather the board said “Although he did not outright suggest a diagnosis….was grossly negligent in determining diagnosis without proper examination and subsequent psychologist consultation” and decided to revoke his license effective January 4.

In 2000 and 2001 the physician also had brushes with the law which were taken into consideration by the board; he was caught prescribing marijuana to undercover investigators “without a good faith examination and proper follow-up”.

Eidelman takes pride in his history of prescribing medical marijuana and CBDs since they became legal after recognizing that conventional medicine has a bad record of being on the wrong side of the track which can often have toxic effects. Despite the medical review board revoking his license he is still continuing to practice medicine in defiance, as a judge ruled the revocation is on temporary stay. According to his lawyer the revocation would not take effect until is appeal is heard by a San Francisco County Superior Court in March 2019.

The state of California has one of the most lax marijuana laws in the USA, spearheading legalization of medical marijuana in the 1990s. California became the first state to legalize in 1996 and in 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana, and has been selling non-medical marijuana since January 1, 2018.

This makes one think had he have been prescribed pills way too commonly given to children such as adderall or ritalin if this whole situation would have been reported at all. Such pills carry risk of side effects such as sleep problems, decrease in appetite, depression, delayed growth, tics, moodiness, irritability, and worsened rebound irritability when the medication wears off. Such medication has stimulatory effects that can become addictive over time which has been reported to be on the rise and associated with negative outcomes.

On the other hand low dose medical marijuana may give you the munchies, make you laugh, be mellow, and maybe want a nap in a non-addictive manner. Medical marijuana is monitored and comes in different dose potency depending on how that strain is grown for THC count. It may come as a surprise to the ill informed that medical marijuana can have THC potency as low as 15% or less which contains high levels of CBD to balance out the levels to provide very mild effect, and CBDs are 100% non-psychoactive.