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http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/deregistered-doctor-referred-to-police-over-cannabis-experiment-on-ovarian-cancer-patients-20161027-gsc3rr.html

 

 


A deregistered doctor who injected huge doses of cannabis oil into two women with ovarian cancer has been reported to the police after one patient died and the other suffered major complications.

But Andrew Katelaris, also known as "Dr Pot", has declared he will continue to administer cannabis to his patients despite a prohibition order imposed by the Health Care Complaints Commission, saying he answers to "a higher authority".

http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/s/c/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsc3rr.png/1477550940658.jpg Dr Andrew Katelaris last year with a collection of small cannabis plants to be grown for medicinal uses. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Dr Katelaris injected cannabis bought on the black market into the women's abdomens at his "wellness clinic" in Newcastle in September last year.

Within minutes of the women receiving the injections they started to experience severe stomach cramping followed by vomiting and confusion and Dr Katelaris took them to the Calvary Mater and John Hunter Hospital respectively, two days later.

http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/s/b/n/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsc3rr.png/1477550940658.jpg Dr Katelaris was struck off the medical register a decade ago.  Photo: Rohan Thomson

The women remained stoned for days. One of them suffered medical complications that forced her to delay her scheduled chemotherapy cycle until it was too late, and she died in February.

But Dr Katelaris has defended the integrity of the experiment.

"We're not cavalier and I'm not stupid," he told the commission.

"There may be - there's always a grey area between bold and stupid, but I like to stay in one of those shades of grey, not in a black-and-white sort of area."

Dr Katelaris, who also has a PhD, worked as a surgeon on Sydney's north shore until 2005 when he was struck off the medical register for supplying cannabis to friends and relatives.

He has lately been practising at a "wellness clinic" in Newcastle run by the Church of Ubuntu, where he prescribes cannabis oil for children with epilepsy and adults with cancer, and advocates for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis.

His treatment of the two women, who were both aged 56, was an experiment in what would happen if he injected cannabis oil straight into the abdominal cavity and targeted the cancer cells directly, and had never been performed in humans.

One of the women, Ms K, had stage three ovarian cancer and had met Dr Katelaris through a naturopath, while the other, Ms M, met him at a medical cannabis symposium in Nimbin.

He told the HCCC he had obtained the cannabis samples on the black market but noting that some of the suppliers were "shady customers", he had planned to test it before using it in the experiment.

But some hold-ups with the Ministry of Health and Customs meant he could not test it until a week after he had administered it to the women, when he realised it was far more potent than he had anticipated.

Had he known, he would never have proceeded, he said.

"We didn't want to get the ladies out of their tree. We wanted to impact their ovarian cancer," he told the commission. 

Dr Katelaris told Fairfax Media that Ms K had advanced ovarian cancer and would probably have died anyway, but the experiment had improved her markers.

The HCCC heard that Ms K had concerns about how he knew an intraperitoneal injection of cannabis would be safe if it had never been tried and wanted her oncologist to be informed about the experiment.

But Dr Katelaris persuaded her not to tell the oncologist and assured her: "Cannabinoids are intrinsically safe in any dose."

Ms K stayed in hospital for several weeks and suffered complications including weight loss and a lung infection and she was unable to have chemotherapy for two months.

Ms M stayed in hospital for several days but refused treatment and stands by Dr Katelaris. She told the HCCC he should be allowed to continue the trial.

The HCCC found this week that Dr Katelaris had failed to accept that the outcome of his experiment was "catastrophic" for the women.

"Dr Katelaris's clinical trial was completely lacking in scientific legitimacy and clinical rigour at every stage of its inception and execution and was unauthorised and unregulated," the HCCC found.

"He has blamed everyone but himself for what went wrong."

It prohibited him from injecting cannabis or its derivatives to any person or supplying or administering cannabis or its derivatives for any treatment.

However, Dr Katelaris told Fairfax Media he would continue to administer cannabis to his patients because it was so effective, but would not perform the experiment he had done on the two women because of the side-effects.

"Will I bother to go and appeal the decision? Hardly. It's easier to simply ignore it. I answer to a higher moral authority than the HCCC. My own conscience."

The commission also referred the matter to the police.

NSW Police confirmed that Dr Katelaris had been referred to them for investigation but declined to comment further.

Dr Katelaris was prosecuted in 2005 over the cultivation of 50,000 cannabis plants at his Dungog property, during which process he was also charged for the possession of cannabis when officers discovered him bringing the substance into the courtroom.

He was acquitted on the possession charges but his indignation on being found guilty of cultivating a commercial quantity of hemp led to a further prosecution for contempt of court, after he likened the jury to a "group of 12 sheep".

Fighting that charge, he said the judge in the drug case was "morbidly obese" and "his ego was bruised by the fact he could not stay awake" during the trial, but this defence did not persuade the judge and he was convicted and placed on a three-year good behaviour bond.

 

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from NSW Health Care Complaints Commission

http://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/Publications/Media-releases/2016/Mr-Andrew-Katelaris---Breach-of-Code-of-Conduct-for-Non-registered-Health-Practitioners---Prohibition-Order-Imposed

 

 

Mr Andrew Katelaris – Breach of Code of Conduct for Non-registered Health Practitioners – Prohibition Order Imposed 25 October 2016

The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission conducted an investigation into a complaint that Andrew Katelaris, a deregistered medical practitioner, administered intraperitoneal injections of cannabis oil to two women with ovarian cancer in September 2015, which resulted in serious adverse reactions and their prolonged hospitalisation.

The investigation found that Andrew Katelaris breached the Code of Conduct for Non-registered Health Practitioners and provided health services in an unsafe and unethical manner when:

  • he devised a hasty, ill-conceived and unsafe clinical trial of injected cannabis oil as a treatment for malignant ascites;
  • he obtained cannabis resin from the black market and did not ensure that it been analysed for its potency and potential contaminants before administering it by injection;
  • he did not obtain informed consent from the women to whom he administered untested cannabis oil in that he did not explain he had been unable to test it first;
  • he told one of the women to defer telling her oncologist about the experiment until after it had been done, even though she expressed her discomfort at keeping back any information that may have a bearing on her upcoming chemotherapy and surgery;
  • he told one of the women to defer having her ascites drained because he needed to have her ascites present to test whether his trial had worked, even though he had no means of measuring this result;
  • he administered huge doses of untested cannabis via intraperitoneal injection and caused foreseeably serious complications for both women;
  • he withheld the fact that he had intraperitoneally injected cannabis oil when giving the clinical history for both women to hospital medical staff;
  • the incomplete and inaccurate clinical histories he gave to two hospitals caused unnecessary confusion to extremely busy hospital staff and interfered with or caused a delay in the delivery of appropriate medical care to both women;
  • he took and kept no clinical notes, measurements or observations in connection with the ‘trial’;
  • his ‘trial’ lacked authorisation, ethics approval, scientific legitimacy and credibility;
  • he provided a purportedly novel treatment that he was not qualified to provide as a deregistered medical practitioner without the ability to test the substance to be used, to monitor the progress of the patients, to measure the results of the treatment or to respond to any side effects or clinical emergency;
  • he put his own interest in self-protection and self-promotion ahead of the health and safety of two vulnerable women suffering from ovarian cancer.

Decision 

The Commission decided that Andrew Katelaris poses a risk to the health and safety of members of the public, and has imposed prohibition orders.

Andrew Katelaris is permanently prohibited from injecting cannabis or any of its derivatives, either by itself or mixed with any carrying agent to any person. 

Andrew Katelaris is also permanently prohibited from supplying or administering cannabis or any of its derivatives to any person for the treatment, or purported treatment of cancer.

Since the Commission’s investigation into this matter raises issues relating to potential criminality, the Commission has formally reported the findings of its investigation to NSW Police, as is normal practice.

Further Information

The full Public Statement, including the Statement of Decision, can be accessed here.

 
Edited by Matanuska Thunder
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He seems extreme to me but then again we wouldnt have some of the medical brakthoughs we have if it wasnt for the Nazis!

Just think if it was a success how would he have been presented in the media!

 

Evo13

Read full report here (PDF) - http://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/246/Public%20Statement%20Andrew%20K%20-%20Final%20Statement%20of%20Decision.pdf.aspx 

 

What Andrew did is scary, very scary 

 

Problem with his experiment is it was doomed from the start.

Andrew did not test the cannabis oil before injecting into the trusting patients. 

He assumed the oil had the ratio of cbd to thc that he wanted.

SO instead of waiting a few extra days for the testing equipment he went ahead with his test.

 

There was very little chance of this 'test' working or being accepted as ethical especially when there where zero clinical notes taken during his experiment.

Edited by Matanuska Thunder
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Read full report here (PDF) - http://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/246/Public%20Statement%20Andrew%20K%20-%20Final%20Statement%20of%20Decision.pdf.aspx

 

What Andrew did is scary, very scary

 

Problem with his experiment is it was doomed from the start.

Andrew did not test the cannabis oil before injecting into the trusting patients.

He assumed the oil had the ratio of cbd to thc that he wanted.

SO instead of waiting a few extra days for the testing equipment he went ahead with his test.

 

There was very little chance of this 'test' working or being accepted as ethical especially when there where zero clinical notes taken during his experiment.

Scary shit no doubt i didn't read the full report but he sounds like a crack pot that sort of press isn't good for the plight off freeing the weed

 

Evo13

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