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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Medical Board of California and the California Attorney General’s Office are pursuing a case against a local doctor who allegedly violated professional codes while prescribing medical marijuana to three patients.
Dr. Milan Hopkins of Upper Lake is the subject of the complaint, filed March 30.
The Medical Board of California formally brought the complaint against Hopkins and the case has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for handling.
In a statement to Lake County News Hopkins called the Medical Board of California’s accusations against his medical practice “baseless.”
“I am confident that the eventual outcome of this case will affirm that my procedures conform to the standard of medical care,” he said.
A hearing has not yet been held in the case, the Medical Board of California reported.
Hopkins is accused of violating Business and Professions Code sections, including three counts of gross negligence for allegedly prescribing marijuana use to three separate patients without the required exams, without making contact or coordinating with primary care physicians, ignoring potential health issues and not following up on health issues.
He also is accused of not properly diagnosing the patients and in one female patient’s case “searching for a reason for the medical marijuana recommendation to enable the patient to avoid legal issues with her recreational weekend marijuana use,” the charging document stated.
That woman – who paid $250 in cash for the appointment with Hopkins – was, in fact, an undercover investigator who visited Hopkins’ office in October 2010, according to the charging document.
The other two patients at the heart of the complaint were male subjects. The Medical Board’s filing showed that both male patients were 19 years old and had reportedly driven from the Los Angeles area to get medical marijuana recommendations from Hopkins in February 2011.
One of the men had a treating physician in Southern California and the other already had a medical marijuana recommendation which he didn’t disclose to Hopkins, the documents stated.
The fourth cause of discipline under the Business and Professions Code that is alleged against Hopkins is repeated acts of negligence for prescribing marijuana to all three patients while allegedly failing to follow up on certain health conditions, including a bleeding disorder that one of the young men had reported having, and for failing to contact other treating physicians.
Hopkins, a well-known medical marijuana supporter, has reportedly stated that 70 percent of his medical practice comes from medical marijuana evaluations, according to the filings.
Hopkins – who received his medical license in California in 1972 – has had complaints filed against him by the Medical Board of California going back to 1979, board documents showed.
In 1979, he was accused of gross negligence, incompetence and repeated acts of negligence for overprescribing controlled substances such as Quaaludes, Percodan, Dilaudid and other prescription drugs. His license was revoked but the revocation was stayed in favor of 10 years’ probation.
In 1998, he was again brought before the board. In that case, he was charged for issues stemming from a 1993 Lake County Sheriff's search warrant service in which investigators found 23 marijuana plants on property he owned on Elk Mountain Road, and additional marijuana as well as methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms in his Main Street home in Upper Lake.
Due to that case and Hopkins' treatment of a patient between 1991 and 1997 – in which he prescribed narcotic painkillers at the same time as the patient was getting them from another doctor – the board concluded he had violated Business and Professions Codes by breaking federal or state statute regarding controlled substances and also was again guilty of gross negligence, incompetence and repeated negligent acts. He received a five-year probation sentence that ended in February 2004.
Lake County court records showed that a felony case based on the 1993 drug seizure was filed against Hopkins.
Regarding the current case, Medical Board of California spokesman Dan Wood said Hopkins remains able to practice medicine.
As to the next steps, Wood said the Medical Board’s investigators and enforcement staff will meet with Hopkins to disclose all of the evidence they have against him.
At that point Hopkins could choose to give up and surrender his license, fight the allegations or come to an arrangement where he is subject to probation for a period of time, as has happened in Hopkins’ past cases, Wood said.
Wood said the maximum penalty the Medical Board of California can impose is revocation of Hopkins’ license to practice medicine.
While Wood said it wouldn’t be appropriate to guess what action the board might take, he added, “The Board does not take lightly cases that are repeats of variations of matters they have already dealt with for a particular physician.”
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police are continuing to seek leads in a strong arm robbery from earlier this month as well as a commercial burglary to a downtown bar that occurred late in March.
The robbery, which took place on the evening of April 3, involved a 15-year-old who was punched, knocked down and had his wallet taken at the corner of North Main Street and Mariah Way, as Lake County News has reported.
Lakeport Police Sgt. Kevin Odom said Officer Gary Basor is investigating the robbery.
“We believe the victim's wallet was located in the 1600 block of N. Main St. and he is attempting to determine if it has any evidence,” Odom said in an email message.
Odom added that Basor also has met with the victim again in hopes of obtaining a more accurate clothing description to determine if that might generate some more leads.
Police had described the suspect as a medium dark skinned male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt or jacket – possibly with a red "P" on the front – faded blue jeans, and tan boots or shoes. He may have been associated with a small black compact car with black tinted windows.
Regarding a burglary to the Clearlake Club Bar on March 25, in which cash was taken, Odom said Officer Destry Henderson is leading that investigation.
He said no new leads have surfaced, but Henderson is attempting to identify the person in a surveillance photo police released to the community, which can be seen above.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. – After marking nine years of supporting deployed troops with care packages in March, Operation Tango Mike begins the progression toward 10 years.
The March packing party brought great fun and a few surprises. The open house that preceded the packing party was attended by approximately 125 people.
Rich Hinchcliff was the lucky winner of a drawing for one cord of firewood. He had purchased a ticket, knowing he had no use for the wood, but wanting to support Operation Tango Mike.
Upon being told he was the lucky winner, Hinchcliff donated the wood back, to be given to a veteran.
Supervisor Jim Comstock, a Vietnam veteran, lent a hand with care packages and expressed his gratitude to all those volunteering to support the troops.
Local soldiers, some recently home from Afghanistan, surprised everyone with a very special presentation to Operation Tango Mike.
Sergeant First Class Chad Holland, Staff Sergeant Don McPherson and Staff Sergeant Nelson Gonzalez presented the “True Patriot” award from the California Army National Guard.
The soldiers also graciously cut the anniversary cake and served the guests.
Ericka Boesel and Mariah Phillips, members of the Ukiah Shamrock 4-H were in attendance and donated dozens of plastic camouflage Eater eggs, stuffed with candy. They also donated handmade cards for the care packages.
Members of the Lakeport Lions and local Girl Scouts were also pitching in for the troops.
Even with the drawdown of troops in Iraq, Operation Tango Mike continues to field requests for care packages.
The number of monthly care packages has not decreased significantly, though there has been some misconception in the community. Volunteers continue to prepare 70 to 100 care packages, depending upon deployments beginning or ending near the packing party date.
Everyone is welcome to participate at the monthly packing parties. There are many tasks to be accomplished and efforts are made to accommodate all who wish to help.
Youngsters are invited to grab a marker and stickers and specially personalize the boxes. Troops have said they have actually picked Tango Mike boxes from a delivery, as they quickly recognized the cheerfully decorated gifts.
Sustaining support during difficult economic times is challenging. Thanks to the generosity of the community, no request for care package support has had to be denied in nine years.
Donations of goods are very helpful and may be placed in “drop zone barrels” at businesses in Lake and Mendocino Counties. Monetary assistance to pay shipping fees, which average nearly $1,000 per month, is always welcome.
Donations may be mailed to 5216 Piner Court, Kelseyville, CA 95451 or may be remitted via PayPal at www.operationtangomike.org .
If you wish to participate, but are unable to attend packing parties, cards and letters are needed every month.
The next packing party will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 19th at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th Street, Lakeport.
You may also bring eyeglasses and hearing aids, which will be donated to the Lakeport Lions for recycling/repurposing.
For further information please call 349-2838, e-mail
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
SACRAMENTO – On Tuesday Gov. Jerry Brown released a list of more than 700 unnecessary bureaucratic reports currently required by law and called on the state Legislature to eliminate them in order to streamline government and reduce waste.
“It wastes a lot of time and money to write, track and file these reports,” said Gov. Brown. “Government should be focused on providing information that is actually helpful to taxpayers, not on checking boxes to meet outdated bureaucratic requirements.”
In December 2011 Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-14-11 which directed state agencies and departments to audit all reports that they must submit to the Legislature and identify those that are not of significant value.
Examples identified in this audit include:
- A biennial report, required by 1966 statute, by the Department of Boating and Waterways on the status of their operations.
- An annual report by the Australian Government on their annual kangaroo harvest, which the Department of Fish and Game is required to track and transmit to the Legislature.
- An annual report by the Department of Transportation on the use of waste tires.
- A monthly report on response and recovery activities tied to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Of the 718 reports identified overall, 375 require legislative action to eliminate.
On Tuesday Gov. Brown directed the state Department of Finance to ask the state legislature to end reporting requirements. The text of the Department of Finance letter is below.
The Department of Finance will direct the Legislative Counsel to stop tracking of the remaining 343 reports, which will effectively end agency and department production requirements.
A list of reports which can be eliminated by the Legislative Council Bureau can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/docs/Legislative_Reports_Proposed_For_Elimination_-_LCB_Action.pdf . The reports which require legislative action can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/docs/Legislative_Reports_Proposed_For_Elimination_-_Leg_Action.pdf .
Following is the text of Director Matosantos’ letter to Secretary of the Senate Gregory Schmidt and Chief Clerk of the Assembly E. Dotson Wilson:
April 17, 2012
Mr. Gregory Schmidt
Secretary of the Senate
Mr. E. Dotson Wilson
Chief Clerk of the Assembly
As part of his ongoing effort to make government more effective, the Governor issued Executive Order B-14-11 in December 2011. Agency secretaries and department directors were instructed to prepare a list of all reports that they are required to submit to the Legislature, and identify those that may no longer be of significant value to the Legislature.
The Department of Finance (Finance) provided state agencies and departments instructions to assist them in identifying and reporting their respective lists of legislative reports to Finance. Finance provided guidelines for agencies and departments to consider in determining if their legislative reports are no longer considered of significant value, including:
- Whether the report is the result of a specific budget bill and the required information is no longer timely or relevant;
- Whether the report is still relevant or necessary given a change in law or circumstances;
- Whether other sources of information or other reports provide the same or similar information; and
- Whether interested parties continue to rely on the report, or whether there are other public interests in continuing to prepare the report.
Finance has reviewed the legislative reports submitted by agencies and departments and compiled a list identifying more than 700 legislative reports believed to be no longer of value or are one-time reporting requirements that have already been completed. Of this amount, 375 reports require legislative action to eliminate. For the remainder, we will be contacting the Legislative Counsel Bureau to have them deleted from their website that tracks outstanding reports.
We are providing this list of reports to the Legislature for its consideration and respectfully request legislative action to eliminate them.
If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact David Botelho, Chief, Office of State Audits and Evaluations, at (916) 322-2985.
Sincerely,
ANA J. MATOSANTOS
Director