The California Medical Board of California has accused an Upper Lake physician of gross negligence in connection with dispensing medical marijuana recommendations.
It's the third time since 1979 that the medical board has taken action against Dr. Milan L. Hopkins.
Hopkins, 67, on Tuesday called the new allegations, filed March 30, "baseless."
"I am confident that the eventual outcome of this case will affirm that my procedures conform to the standard of medical care," he wrote in a prepared statement.
The board is seeking revocation or suspension of Hopkins' medical license. It alleges that he: provided marijuana recommendations to patients without adequately reviewing their medical histories, searched for reasons to prescribe marijuana, failed to obtain patients' medical records, failed to perform appropriate exams and ignored one patient's serious medical issues.
In one of three cases cited in the accusation, Hopkins in 2010 provided marijuana recommendation paperwork to an undercover agent who said she wanted it so she could "chill out on the weekends" and not get into trouble for smoking pot, according to the accusation. The accusation states that Hopkins quizzed the patient to find a reason to justify a medical need for marijuana before settling on insomnia. He charged the agent $250, investigators said.
Hopkins has battled with the medical board dating back to 1979, when he was placed on probation for 10 years on an accusation of overprescribing controlled substances.
In 1998, he was placed on probation for five years. That time, Hopkins was accused of excessive prescribing of controlled substances and of possessing 23 marijuana plants, psilocybin mushrooms and methamphetamine. Jason Wright, Hopkins' office manager, said Wednesday that the methamphetamine allegation was untrue and was dropped by Lake County prosecutors.
Wright said the allegations against his employer are unfair and one sided. Hopkins holds free clinics on the second Sunday of every month, caters to Spanish-speaking migrants and donates generously to local charities and fundraisers, he said.
"That's what these people are forgetting," he said.
Hopkins became a licensed physician in 1972. He's been practicing medicine in Upper Lake since 1973, Wright said. About 70 percent of his practice is based on medical marijuana, he said.
Hopkins also is the lead singer in a local band, "The Freak Clinic," Wright said.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 562-6473 or Glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.
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