A Hollywood doctor lost his medical license after recommending a father to give his 4-year-old son marijuana cookies to control the child's temper tantrums that were causing problems at preschool.
Pot Cookies To Improve Child's Behavior
Following the recommendations of natural medicine physician William Eidelman, the father gave his son pot cookies in the morning, which helped improve the toddler's behavior early in the day.
The child's problematic behavior, however, returned in the afternoon, so the father eventually went to the school nurse asking her to give his child more cannabis at lunch.
This set off a child protective services and law enforcement investigation and led to the medical board investigation against Eidelman.
Wrong Diagnosis
Interestingly, the case to revoke the license of Eidelman was made not because of his recommendation to give the young child cannabis, but because of his diagnosis of the boy's condition.
The Medical Board of California said that Eidelman's diagnosis of the child's emotional issues was wrong and "grossly negligent."
After a 30 minutes visit with the boy and the father, Eidelman wrote in is chart the toddler had a "probable combination" of Bipolar Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and should try pot in small amounts in cookies.
The board said the diagnosis was made without Eidelman consulting first with a psychiatrist, collecting information from the child's teachers, or questioning the father about the moods and sleep patterns of the child.
When asked how he diagnosed the boy, Eidelman allegedly said he went by the family history and was treating the symptoms. Eidelman had previously recommended marijuana for the father's ADHD and bipolar disorder, according to the board report.
The board did not find fault in recommending cannabis cookies for the child, but for making a diagnosis that was not supported by scientific evidence.
"Tantrums alone ... do not support either diagnosis," the decision reads. "'Being agitated' and 'having trouble sitting still' hint at ADHD, but could simply hint at a preschooler not happy to have driven many miles to a doctor's appointment."
