Probation, $5,000 fine formally imposed.

Byline: TIM CHRISTIE The Register-Guard

The state Board of Medical Examiners imposed final disciplinary action Friday against a Molalla doctor who has signed medical marijuana applications for close to 2,000 Oregonians, some of whom he never met in person.

Dr. Phillip Leveque, an osteopath, will be suspended from practicing medicine for 90 days, starting May 1, fined $5,000 and placed on 10 years' probation. The board's order also requires him to follow accepted standards of medical care when signing for medical marijuana patients.

For instance, before signing an application, he must review patients' medical records; conduct a medical history and physical exam; meet the patients in person to discuss the diagnosis and risks and benefits of treatment options; provide a written treatment plan; and maintain medical records.

The order also requires Leveque to report in person for an interview with the board at each of its quarterly meetings.

Kathleen Haley, executive director of the state Board of Medical Examiners, said that by signing the board's order, Leveque acknowledged that he violated the standard of care required of Oregon physicians and admitted that his practice constituted unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.

"The other point is, this isn't about marijuana," she said.

She said the board previously disciplined another Oregon doctor who was prescribing drugs over the Internet for similar reasons: He wasn't reviewing charts or conducting medical exams.

Leveque has said some patients he signed for, who lived in remote corners of the state, mailed him their medical records. He would confer with them by phone before signing their applications, he said.

Last week, before the board gave its final approval, Leveque faxed a copy of the disciplinary order to The Register-Guard. He called the board's punishment "draconian" and maintained he has done nothing wrong.

"The people who are being punished are my patients," he said.

State medical regulators punished Leveque in the 1980s, as well, for what they described as improper treatment of pain.

Oregon's medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 1998, permits people with certain specified illnesses and symptoms to smoke, grow and possess marijuana as long as a doctor says the drug could help them.