An Australian physician who has experimented with the medical uses of cannabis since 1990 has been arrested and charged with drug possession, according to a Daily Telegraph report. Dr. Andrew Katelaris, 62, was arrested in his home where police seized cannabis and cash they claim is proceeds from crime.
Katelaris was deregistered as a physician in 2005 after he was found to have given medical cannabis to children suffering from seizure disorders. Following his arrest, he was jailed and refused bail. During his court appearance, he entered no plea, was granted bail, and scheduled to appear in court on June 28.
Last year, Katelaris was referred to police for injecting doses of cannabis oil into two ovarian cancer patients which, according to the report, caused “catastrophic” illness that included severe pain, delusions, and vomiting. In that case, Health Care Complaints Commission investigators found the doctor had obtained the cannabis on the illicit market and did not test it before injecting it into the women. According to an Echonetdaily report, Katelaris had also been treating a 4-year-old who suffers from spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy who was taken from his parents after a news broadcast featured Katelaris administering cannabis oil to the child.
Katelaris has been arrested in the past for giving patients cannabis oils and admits to supplying CBD-dominant cannabis to more than 50 children suffering from seizure disorders.