Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2015
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Becky Schlikerman

DOCS INVESTING IN POT

It's OK for Illinois Physicians to Get into the Medical Marijuana 
Business- As Long As They Don't Recommend It to Patients

At least three Illinois doctors are getting into the legal medical 
marijuana business, according to a review of records of the companies 
recently approved to grow and sell marijuana.

The rules say that's OK as long as they don't recommend marijuana to 
their patients.

But physicians' involvement in the medical marijuana industry raises 
questions about the potential for conflicts of interest.

"We don't like doctors prescribing or directing patients to taking 
therapies they're making money on," said Laurie Zoloth a professor of 
bioethics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

But, it's not "inherently wrong" for doctors to be involved in this 
burgeoning field, she said.

Their medical knowledge could be useful.

"It's not a bad thing for doctors to be involved . . . you just want 
it to be separated," Zoloth said.

Katherine Katsoyannis, a licensed Illinois doctor, is an investor in 
MedMar and MedMar Rockford, which has been awarded licenses to open 
dispensaries in Lake View and northern Illinois.

In a statement released through a spokeswoman, Katsoyannis said she 
is "simply an investor" and will not be recommending patients to use 
the product.

Katsoyannis owns 10.21 percent of MedMar, the company that plans to 
open the Chicago dispensary, records obtained through a Freedom of 
Information Act request show.

On Friday, MedMar was denied a Chicago permit needed to operate the 
dispensary. A state spokesman did not respond to questions about what 
that means for MedMar's state permit.

Mapleglen Care Center LLC was also given permission to open in the 
Rockford area. The company's listed manager is Paul L. Manganelli, of 
Naperville. He's also a doctor, with a specialty in pain medicine, 
working in DuPage County, according to state records and his medical 
practice's website.

Manganelli, an investor with Mapleglen, could not be reached.

In a statement, Matt Sobolewski, a Mapleglen spokesman and investor, 
said, "Our investorship is made up of a diverse group of 
professionals including physicians, attorneys and business owners. We 
see great value with physician participation in medical marijuana 
dispensaries as their experience in evidence-based medicine makes 
them best qualified to provide education and training to care center 
staff and patients."

And Progressive Treatment Solutions LLC has been granted a permit to 
grow medical marijuana in the area near East St. Louis, records show.

Records show Christine Heck is the company's CEO. Online company 
documents identify Heck as a podiatric physician and surgeon who 
practices in Chicago and Melrose Park.

Heck and other company officials did not respond to a request for 
comment, but their online document described the company as 
"medically focused."

"Products and services provided by PTS will be condition specific and 
based on the most advanced research presently available," the 
document said. The company says it will produce products that won't 
require smoking the marijuana including vaporizers, transdermal 
patches, tablets, capsules, suppositories and topical products.

A state spokesman said regulators who awarded the business licenses 
relied on the clear-cut rules for medical marijuana dispensaries and 
cultivation centers.

A dispensary can't "allow a physician to hold a direct or indirect 
economic interest in the dispensary if the physician recommends the 
use of medical cannabis to qualifying patients or is in a partnership 
or other fee or profit-sharing relationship with a physician who 
recommends medical cannabis."

Doctors can't examine a patient at the dispensary in order to 
diagnose a condition that would allow for the use of medical marijuana.

The law also says doctors can't serve on a dispensary or cultivation 
center's board of directors or as an employee.

Katsoyannis said she won't be be violating any of those requirements.

The Mapleglen spokesman said they know the requirements, too.

The boundaries are important.

"We want to trust that the doctor is figuring out the complexity of 
the illness and he's not thinking of you as a potential customer for 
his product," Zoloth said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom