Marijuana Rx for Pregnant Patient Could Cost Colorado M.D. His License
DENVER (CBS/AP) Colorado doctor Manuel De Jesus Aquino, who is accused of recommending medical marijuana to a woman who was 6 months pregnant, could become the first doctor in the state to lose his medical license for providing sub-standard care in making a medical-marijuana decision.
The Colorado Medical Board suspended Dr. Aquino's license in November and is reviewing a complaint that he recommended medical marijuana to a 20-year-old pregnant woman without giving her a physical examination, doing a thorough review of her medical history or asking whether she was pregnant, reports The Denver Post.
According to the complaint which was first reported by Solutions, a healthy policy news agency affiliated with the University of Colorado-Denver, Aquino did not even take any notes during his three-minute evaluation before giving her a pot recommendation in January.
When the woman gave birth in April, she tested positive for marijuana and the baby "had some initial feeding difficulties," according to the complaint. It doesn't say whether the mother was accused of wrongdoing or what happened to the baby.
The doctor also failed to provide instructions on follow-up care according to the complaint, which adds that pregnancy should preclude marijuana recommendations. It also contends Aquino failed to establish the bona fide physician-patient relationship that Colorado law requires for marijuana recommendations.
Aquino, who worked at the Denver dispensary Back to the Garden Health and Wellness at the time, is also facing criminal charges in a separate case in Aurora.
Police arrested Aquino in July on suspicion of writing shoddy medical-marijuana recommendations to two undercover police officers, says The Denver Post.
According to the doctor's online profile posted on the Colorado Division of Registrations' website, Aquino has been practicing medicine since 1974 and was licensed in Colorado in 2007. The profile says he specializes in medical-marijuana recommendations.