Marijuana treatments investigated

REGINA A doctor is facing allegations that he improperly prescribed marijuana to patients in Saskatoon, seeing nearly 1,000 over a six-week period and potentially overcharging the province.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan is charging Dr. Mishack Zwane with unprofessional conduct.

The charges must still go before a disciplinary committee, and have not been admitted or proven.

“The allegations are that he failed to do a proper assessment to determine whether marijuana was the appropriate treatment for their medical conditions,” said Bryan Salte, who is associate registrar of the college.

The charges date from early last year, when Zwane was practising at Natural Health Services in Saskatoon.

The clinic specializes in access to marijuana.

He later had his licence revoked, but it was for a licensing issue unrelated to the current charges.

Salte said that Zwane did not comply with college bylaws on the prescription of marijuana, which require a physician to conduct a proper assessment and discuss options with a patient before marijuana is prescribed.

Salte said the charges against Dr. Zwane allege that he “failed to follow the requirements in the bylaw and prescribed marijuana without meeting those expectations.”

According to the college, Zwane saw 972 people between Jan. 3 and Feb. 16, 2017.

Salte said the charges allege that Zwane billed the province’s medical services plan $67 for “virtually all” of the visits, the rate for a full physical despite the fact that the visits allegedly involved shorter consultations.

A hearing is pending on the charges.