Medical Marijuana: Dangerous and Addicting? No Medical Evidence!

“Lets get Leveque” was the chant of the Oregon Medical Board during the early years of medical marijuana.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - (Editor's note: to visit all of Dr. Leveque's published articles on Salem-News.com, please visit this link: Search Dr. Leveque)

Readers maybe startled to read this title as I was when it was scathingly thrown at me at a Kangaroo Court by the Oregon Medical Board – FBI (Foolish Beyond Ignorance). I couldn’t believe my ears.

I couldn’t believe my eyes either as I saw some ten members of the Oregon Medical Board sit there like dunces with their pointy hats ostensibly believing and agreeing with every word of the Board Chairman Dr. Frank Spokas of Ontario, Oregon. Other members of the board seemed to be sitting there dumbly taking this all in.

Dr. Spokas was just starting on me. The Medical Board had been harassing me for about 20 years. First of all I was taking care of Chronic Pain patients.

I thought that’s what doctors were supposed to do. I earlier was a protégé of two internationally known & respected “pain doctors”. Both of whom lectured that a doctors first priority was relieving pain. The Board said no, “give them anti-depressants”. It will make them so goofy they may not feel pain. (Besides that, “the pain is just in their heads”.)

At any rate, they called me on the carpet for mistreatment and negligence of 6 patients:

Dr. Leveque's book recounts his days as a
U.S. Army Infantryman in Europe in WWII

The first was a 55-year old lady employee of the Fish & Wildlife Department (FWD) where she had worked 20 years at a fish hatchery doing all sorts of hard work. She had injured her back in an auto accident and had been prescribed Oxycodone, Valium, Vicodin, Trazadone, etc.

She found cannabis/marijuana gave better relief and she used it only at night to sleep. The FWD just started urine testing and of course she was positive. She did have a State M.J. permit/card.

The FWD went up in smoke. How dare she use cannabis/marijuana? They sent me a long questionnaire inquiring if it were safe for her and fellow employees to work with her if she were “intoxicated” with MJ on the job. She had been doing it 20 years with no problems so I said Yes, Yes, Yes. The Medical Board went into high dudgen – “we’re going to get Leveque for this outrageous negligence and harming patients”. I was further accused of “letting the patients tell me how much & how often they used it”. In medical terms THAT IS CALLED PATIENTS HISTORY which is a requirement for good practice.

The next patient was most probably a 34-year old VA PTSD patient with a history “of psychosis, hallucinations, multiple admissions to the VA Hospital with non-compliance with their drug regimen’s”.

He had been given Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Vicodin, Morphine, Percocet, Ambien, Elavil, Trazadone & NSAIDS. He had used MJ for three years and found it better than the other VA junk.

The Board went into orbit on this one. How dare I mistreat a Veteran VA patient whom they were trying to make into an opiate addict.

The third patient, a 45-year old male, had been prescribed Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Percodan, Percocet, Valium, Vicodin, Trazadone and Lateron Prozac, Paxil, etc.

His primary care doctor, a G.P. but not a psychiatrist said he had “schizo-attective disorder”, mood disorders, alcohol dependence, polysubstance abuse, dependency history, Hepatitis C, high blood pressure, hypo-thyroidism, emphysema, degenerative disc disease and asthma. He had been admitted to Lake District Hospital with suicidal ideations, major depression, anxiety, organic brain syndrome with psychosis chronic pain syndrome.

His primary care doctor would not help him get an MJ permit because he didn’t “have a debilitating illness or terminal illness and he didn’t need marijuana for his problems”.

The patient found me and told me he had used MJ with good relief for 3 years and his probation officer told him to get a MJ permit. I had no hesitation about this. His doctor complained to the Board that “I was stealing his patient and doping him up and costing him money”. Obviously, the junk he was prescribed didn’t do him any good.

The Board went into the stratosphere and repeated “lets get Leveque” three times on this one.

This will give readers an idea of how dangerous and addicting cannabis/marijuana is and how misinformed and schizophrenic the Oregon Medical Board is. They are PROUD of their ignorance OBVIOUSLY.

********************************************************** Dr. Phillip Leveque has degrees in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and minors in physiology and biochemistry. He was a Professor of Pharmacology, employed by the University of London for 20 years, during which time he trained the first doctors in Tanzania. After training doctors, he became an Osteopathic Physician, as well as a Forensic Toxicologist.

Before any of that, Phil Leveque was a Combat Infantryman in the U.S. Army in WWII. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder more than 60 years after the war, and specialized in treating Veterans with PTSD during his years as a doctor in Molalla, Oregon.

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

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Go Green! November 12, 2009 12:16 pm (Pacific time)

Dr. Leveque- I was watching "The Doctors" on tv yesterday and you were on the phone with them..way go go Dr. Leveque you are one great doc and one great doc that uses his head! Wish there were more of docs like you in this world !!!

Skaliwag October 27, 2009 7:05 pm (Pacific time)

It is dumbfounding to me that we live in a society that allows alcohol to kill and kill and kill all over the U.S. (and the world). Many many families have been destroyed by drunk drivers! People get drunk and do violent things. Yet alcohol is legal. People have to open their eyes, if they want to see. I am trying to remember the last time I looked at the news and saw a story of someone smoking a hoot and killing people. If our government had half a brain, they would be giving weed away. Perfect way to fight crime. Too stoned to get off the couch and commit crime? Sounds like a perfect plan to me. I think that Marijuana is today's martyr. What has it done to you? If you do it right (Bill Clinton) it should do YOU right. There are so many closet smokers out there it isn't even funny. What are we all hiding from? I thought that this was the U.S. of A.! How is it that a country like Amsterdam has more freedom than the original FREE country? We are not free. Our system is just an illusion of true freedom. Many people of many walks of life have smoked marijuana and loved it. Free Marijuana from bondage. Let is grow free as God intended.

scottportraits October 15, 2009 6:21 pm (Pacific time)

Dr. Leveque, you are a trailblazer and a visionary medicine man. I wish other doctors were not so intimidated by the authorities and also stood up with you to the superstitions and prejudices against cannabis medicine. You will have to lead the way. The evidence is clear, but unseen to blind eyes. Public opinion is growing in your favor. Soon we will see drastic changes to the mj laws in the US. 'Til that day, I wish you well and applaud your outspoken work.

Daniel October 15, 2009 2:04 pm (Pacific time)

Get the pharmaceutical companies and the dea out of the physician business and we will all breath a lot easier !

Patient October 14, 2009 2:30 pm (Pacific time)

Get the DEA out of the physician business and we will all breath a bit easier.

Anonymous October 14, 2009 8:28 am (Pacific time)

Its such a shame that a doctor who is helping others combat pain to get grilled. It beats the hell out of me how people can be so ignorant, biassed and needless to say retarded! Thank goodness for doctors like him to help people like us. I live in constant pain and Im sick of it. Our state laws suck for MMJ as well as our contries. If it doesn't help people then why does the US government have a patent on Cannabinoids!!

Mdubb October 13, 2009 7:19 pm (Pacific time)

Leveque is a cool dude. I want to have that many degrees when I grow up.

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