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Medical-pot probe flags 8 doctors

By Arizona Republic  
   August 22, 2011

State health officials have filed complaints against eight physicians who have recommended nearly half of the 10,000 Arizonans certified to use medical marijuana, saying they failed to check patients' prescription-drug histories, as required. State rules regulating the voter-approved medical-marijuana law require people to obtain a written recommendation from a licensed physician. The doctor must perform a physical exam, review a year's worth of medical records, discuss the risks and benefits of medical marijuana, and review a state database that tracks prescription-drug use.In one case, a naturopathic physician issued recommendations to about 1,000 people but checked the state Board of Pharmacy's controlled-substances database just 56 times, said Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services.

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