11.05.2003
What a tragedy and sham, when a medical doctor is not left to work
with his patients. Dr. Tod Mikuriya is a dedicated physician in North-
ern California. He has tirelessly worked in educating other physicians,-
law enforcement, government officials and chronically ill patients. Dr.
Mikuriya is one of the prime mentors of the medical marijuana move-
ment world wide. His scholarly works are of aid to all who have a seri-
ous interest in medical marijuana's treatment methods and applications,
written numerous papers and historical reviews from research and med-
ical uses studies. Proposition 215 of Nov.1996 in California, known as
"the Compassionate Use Act" was a major and revolutionary victory
for the chronic ill and their physicians. Dr. Mikuriya was the primary
medical advisor in this effort.
This Open Letter is an appeal on his behalf and a means for the patients,
families, caregivers, the medical community and the public to Support
Dr. Mikuriya and a request to End this "witch hunt". By the way, not
one of Dr. Mikuriya's patients have ever complained nor signed a com-
plaint against him. The medical board review of Dr. Mikuriya has a
basis in political control of this well loved doctor.
We urge the Attorney General to: Reject the Medical Board’s
recommendation to criminally prosecute and penalize Dr. Tod
Mikuriya, America’s foremost medical cannabis specialist and
implement California’s Prop 215 law with priority on explicit
medical rights protecting doctors and patients.
Save Doctor Tod Mikuriya
and H&S Code 11362.5
OPEN LETTER and PETITION from
MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS of CALIFORNIA
To: California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and
Medical Board of California
From: Medical Marijuana Patients and Supporters
Re: Prosecution of Medical Cannabis Specialist, Tod Mikuriya, MD
We, the 60,000 citizen-patients of the medical cannabis community
and our supporters in California, appeal to California Attorney General
Bill Lockyer and California Medical Board to cease the investigation
and prosecution of Tod Mikuriya, MD.
"no physician in this state shall be punished, or denied any right or
privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical
purposes." -- Compassionate Use Act of 1996, Health and Safety
Code 11362.5 (a.k.a. Proposition 215)
"The Medical Board of California has concluded its investigation into
the matter of your treatment and subsequent recommendations and
approval of medical marijuana for numerous patients."
-- Letter to Dr. Mikuriya from Medical Board chief investigator,
Thomas Campbell, 6/28/2002
Dr. Mikuriya is accused of departing from "standards of care" in a few
instances out of the Doctor’s 7500 patients, although no complaint
stemmed from a patient, a patient’s loved one, or any physician. The
complaints are all from law enforcement officials, primarily in rural
counties. They are plainly using this process to circumvent Proposi-
tion 215 protections.
If Dr. Mikuriya is "punished, or denied any right or privilege",
we will consider it an attempt to:
* Threaten and silence all doctors in violation of Conant v. Walters
and First Amendment speech protections.
* Block patients’ lawful access to medicine in violation of People v.
Mower and guarantees of Equal Protection.
* Undermine the will of the voters in violation of Health & Safety Code
11362.5 (Prop 215) and States Rights.
These unwarranted charges are unfair since they are entirely non-med-
ical as evidenced by the fact, first, there are no established Medical
Board "standards of care" regarding cannabis medicines for Dr. Miku-
riya to violate. Second, Dr. Mikuriya has previously petitioned the
Medical Board specifically to provide those guidelines. As for the quality
of care he provides -- "We helped him review his files, case by case.
I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I have a feel for whether a doctor
has a detailed understanding of a case. Mikuriya not only had under-
standing, he had an unusual level of sympathy for his patients. I’m
afraid the Board is holding him to an artificially high standard."
-- John Fleer, Attorney for Norcal Insurance,
Dr. Mikuriya’s malpractice carrier.
The California Medical Association has agreed with Dr. Mikuriya and
has also called for the Medical Board to establish such guidelines-
and then they went further. -- "Be it further resolved that the CMA
urge the Medical Board to apply clinically appropriate standards of
care to all physicians, and not to apply a higher standard of care or
to require a higher degree of evidence in cases where medical mari-
juana is involved." -- CMA amendment to Dr. Mikuriya’s original res-
olutions, which passed the Reference Committee.
Dr. Mikuriya is more than one of America’s foremost, and earliest,
cannabis specialists; he is a trusted and compassionate caregiver,
an advocate for his patients and an anchor for the community as a
whole. The Doctor was hired in 1967 for his expertise by the federal
government’s marijuana research project at the National Institute on
Mental Health (which became NIDA). He edited the classic Marijuana
Medical Papers, 1839-1972; the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission
Report; and currently the periodical, O’Shaughnessy’s. Dr. Mikuriya’s
key resource website for medical marijuana is at: www.mikuriya.com.
Dr. Mikuriya is vital to the viability of the cannabis patient community
and indispensable to his patients from the exam room to the courtroom.
He has testified for hundreds of his patients. Growing up Japanese-
American during World War II prepared the Doctor for the battle he is
now in for his professional honor and his right to practice medicine.
The charges carry vastly disproportionate punishments for such minor
complaints. An attack on this one doctor is a blow to thousands of
patients.
We urge the Attorney General to:
* Reject the Medical Board’s recommendation to criminally prosecute
and penalize Dr. Tod Mikuriya, America’s foremost medical cannabis
specialist.
* Implement California’s Prop 215 law as voters intended with priority
on explicit medical rights protecting doctors and patients.
We urge the Medical Board to:
* Create "standards of care" applicable to Proposition 215 patients
with guidance from the California Supreme Court in People v. Mower.
That equal protection precedent equates medicannabis patients with
anyone using prescription medicines.
* Set low priority for investigations of "third party" (non-patient) com-
plaints that do not claim harm to patients.
* Adopt an open mind about therapeutic uses of cannabis medicines
and the advantages of restoring prescription access.
TO SUPPORT Dr. Tod Mikuriya, PLEASE SIGN the PETITION
A Note from Dr. Mikuriya:
Re: CA Medical Board Recognition Program
I would be appreciative of any support for my nomination to the California Medical Board Recognition Program and might help in their upcoming deliberations on the decision to be rendered by Administrative Law Judge, Jonathan Lew, due sometime by the end of 2003.
http://www.medbd.ca.gov/Physician_Recognition.pdf Completed forms must be recieved by mail November 20, 2003
Thanks,
Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D.
Dr. Mikuriya's Website
