Medical Marijuana and Anderson Cooper

Marijuana Educator Par Excellence: the First Nationwide MJ Television Interview.

CNN's Anderson Cooper and Salem-News.com's Dr. Phil Leveque

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program started May 1st 1999. Senior health officials calculated that only about 500 patients would be eligible for a MJ permit.

About 2 years later someone was forging my name on applications and with newspaper publicity, this came to the attention of the Oregon Medical Board and for some reason they felt I was responsible.

I was the only known Oregon Marijuana Doctor and they proceeded to harass me. This story got into the New York Times and Mr. Cooper on CNN picked up on it and interviewed me of the first Nationwide Television interview on Medical Marijuana. Here is the interview, he has continued to interview many other users and advocates:

CNN's ANDERSON COOPER: Now, if you are in chronic, unrelenting pain Dr. Phillip Leveque could be your best friend. Oregon has a law allowing people with debilitating conditions like cancer or glaucoma or AIDS to legally use marijuana. But get this, of the 2,000 Oregonians who have gotten permission, roughly half were approved by Dr. Leveque. Is this a man a doctor feel good? Or is he willing to go where others will not in order to relieve pain? Dr. Phillip Leveque joins us now from Portland. Good evening. Thanks for being with us Dr. Leveque.

DR. PHILLIP LEVEQUE, THE "POT" DOCTOR: You're very welcome. Glad to be here.

COOPER: All right. I have to start by asking you've granted 49.7 percent of Oregon's medical marijuana cards since this law was enacted almost three years ago. Why so many?

LEVEQUE: Because approximately 7,500 doctors in Oregon have not even signed one application.

COOPER: Why is that?

LEVEQUE: They're afraid of George Bush. They're afraid of John Ashcroft. And they are afraid of the Oregon board of medical examiners.

COOPER: Well, the Oregon board of medical examiners has now sanctioned you, and in April it will be considering what their ruling is going to be. Why do you think they are targeting you?

LEVEQUE: Well, I really don't understand that because the Oregon medical marijuana law says that the physicians should look at the patient's previous medical records, and their own personal medical history and it doesn't say that the physician has to see the patient and it doesn't say that the doctor has to do a physical examination on the patient. And the fact of the matter is for the first 900 patients for whom I signed, I did not do a physical examination. And many, well, I won't say many that I didn't see, but I do not require quadriplegic, paraplegic multiple sclerosis, epileptics, cerebral palsy, blind patients to actually come to see me. And --

COOPER: But, doctor, some would say that seems somewhat questionable. I mean, whether it's on the books as the law or not, it does seem common sense that a doctor should perhaps see the patient, before prescribing medicine to that patient.

LEVEQUE: Please understand, no physician in the United States can prescribe marijuana, and I do not prescribe marijuana.

COOPER: Okay. But --

LEVEQUE: "The New York Times" article was incorrect in that statement. No doctor in the United States can prescribe marijuana and I do not.

COOPER: Right. But you signed prescription cards for these patients?

LEVEQUE: No, I don't.

COOPER: New --

LEVEQUE: That is false also. What I do, if the patient has one of the nine medical conditions authorized by the state of Oregon, and please understand that it's the state of Oregon who names these nine medical conditions, the way the law was set up, if a patient has one of those nine medical conditions. All they have to do is go to their regular doctor and say, doctor, I have one of these nine medical conditions, will you please sign my application? They won't do it. They're afraid of whatever.

COOPER: Do you think most doctors are not willing to do deal with chronic pain? I mean, I understand --

LEVEQUE: Oh, that's true too. Absolutely. Yes.

COOPER: I understand, though, that you are sanctioned in the past, that you're actually on probation for 10 years for prescribing pain medication inappropriately in the medical board's opinion.

LEVEQUE: That was their opinion. I taught pharmacology and toxicology for over 30 years. If I don't know what the effects of these drugs are, I don't think think anybody else does either.

Now, what happen to me was, I graduated from medical school at the age of 54. The last -- the last three years that I was a medical school professor, I was a full-time professor and a full-time student at the osteopathic school in Des Moines, Iowa.

And I was a new boy on the block. And the new boy on the block gets all of the difficult patients that no other doctor wants to see. And I did have about 30 severely pained patients, chronic pain patients that other doctors literally dumped on me. Go to see that guy. So I was taking care of about 30 severely chronic pain patients.

COOPER: Doctor, what do you think is going to happen to you? The medical board can either revoke your license, they can restrict your practice, they can fine you or some combination of all those?

LEVEQUE: I have really no idea. I have -- the regulations controlling me as a physician, signing applications are very specific.

COOPER: But my understanding, though, is that you have not kept records for some 900 patients?

LEVEQUE: That's not true either. That's not true either.

COOPER: No?

LEVEQUE: The two forms -- the two forms that the medical marijuana office sends to the patients. One of them is called the patient application form and the other, the attending physician statement. And that is the medical record that I had, that was the only one which was required. And I sent that medical record to the medical marijuana office which is what they wanted me to do. So I did send them their medical records that they demanded.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Leveque. I'm afraid that is all the time we have tonight. The state board will determine in April what exactly they are going to do, if anything, and we appreciate you being here to talk about your case on THE POINT.

LEVEQUE: Very good. Thank you very much.

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Do you have a a question, comment, or story to share with Dr. Leveque?
Email him: Ask Dr. Leveque

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com:
Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

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