As far as being an authorization mill where "patients" just go to get prescribed a toke goes, recommending a non-intoxicating cream and then cancelling the authorization after the contact info proved bad don't exactly fit the pattern.

The Secret Squirrel undercover business is obviously a terrible policy. But you never said what the significant effect on the future of medical marijuana might be.

sounds like some crazy busybody complained and they acted on it. which seems to be par for the course in this state.

I got a warning from animal control for letting my dog off-leash during a sideways rainstorm in February years back. the only other person in the park was an old birder lady who I headed the opposite direction from, but she wrote down my plate # and turned me in.

snitches get stiches.

Does she need money for her defense? I would gladly donate. She's an American hero, who has devoted her life to caring for people in need. I applaud her.

What a surprise...a naturopath suspected of providing bullshit medical treatments and advice. Its like going to a psychic for investment strategies.

@5 nowhere to go since komo closed its cesspool of a comment section? Go take a lipitor with some cocaine and malt liquor.

Sounds good to me, except for the lipitor. You seem to have no doubt that "lots of veggies, fish and fruits“ would have completely healed that torn rotator cuff the narc was pretending to have? The weed would have probably eased any pain symptoms, but not as well as a few Vicodin.

@7 Correct, you have deduced, from my two unrelated sentences, that I clearly have no doubt that physical trauma is healed by food choices. And we all know that highly addictive narcotics are a better choice than cannabis. Now isn't there an Eastside paper you can read to cure YOURSELF of Trollism?

Of the many, many reasons why one might legitimately want to sent a "naturopath" (gag) to jail, providing a medical pot prescription has to rank dead fucking last. Letting the woo-purveyors prescribe largely-harmless mild intoxicants seems like a win for everybody.

Christ, roll a fatty and relax, hippie. I have no problem with anything in this story with the exception of the assertion that naturopathy actually does anything. Legalize weed, go see a naturopath; whatever. Just don't expect any results.

Seems this doc was working well within her scope and I'm unclear on how the public will benefit from this action against her, not to mention the taxpayer money used to fund the sting and the legal fees.
@10, if you don't like naturopaths, fine, but they're licensed in WA to practice as primary care providers. If that offends you personally, don't go. If you believe NDs are a detriment to public health, work to change the law.

I'm not offended. It's just malarkey, like going to a chiropractor to cure AIDS through spinal manipulation.

Whether or not you agree with their philosophy, do you agree that this suit by the DOH is bullshit? Prosecuting a licensed provider for working within her scope of practice? Couldn't this also happen to an MD?

#5 is a trolling hater.

So where are all of the sting operations on M.D. doctors for all of the over-prescribed narcotics, steroids and antibiptics they dole out by the bucketful everyday in their less-than-10-minute patient exams!

Don't be distracted by the stupid off-point comments by the "trolling hater" above. I'm familiar with the case files on this matter. DOH is totally in the wrong! They "tried and failed" to set up an "idiotic sting" on the word of some lunatic plaintiff. Now they are trying to railroad an ethical, honest, caring ND (who is also a Nurse practitioner) for absolutely no reason at all. She has done nothing wrong, the DOH has acted completely unethically, throughout the process, in their typical bumbling fashion. As a "Sting" it was completely laughable, as the ND NEVER EVEN AUTHORIZED MJ. All she recommended was topical cream with less than .3 % THC (which you can now buy over the counter in some places) NOT smokable weed or concentrates. Tiger Balm! Like Ben Gay ointment! It is a complete farce, from everything I have seen, trust me. Dr. Naughton is to be commended for having the courage to stick to her guns and not let them get away with trying to railroad her.
I (personally) hope she gets her day in court in front of a real judge if they continue to press her, so she can sue the hell out of the DOH. They deserve it. DOH should cut and run from this as fast as they can if they have any brains (obviously not) and admit they are in the wrong now to save the public any more money and embarrassment. She and her lawyer deserve to get a big settlement out of this one in my opinion. I'll bet any judge worth their salt will see it the same way. Look Out DOH!

One person having a different opinion than you is not trolling, no matter how fragile and important your opinion is to you.

Yes, the DOH is wrong. If she's licensed, pretending to be ill to get someone to prescribe to you and then prosecuting them because they didn't catch on that you were pretending is stupid, like most other sting operations. She shouldn't just be free, the whole situation should have never existed in the first place.

And I'm not a hater, I just think naturopathy is bunk; sure eating right will make you healthier and be beneficial overall, but as I said before, "lots of veggies, fish and fruits“ would not cure nor prevent a specific physical injury.

Y'all don't like pharmaceuticals or my opinion on naturopathy (I didn't say anything personal about the practitioner, I'm sure she's a very nice lady) and I even stated that weed would probably be helpful for pain management and you respond with personal attacks; who are the haters?

"Nursing" board? What nursing board? Does the subject of this article not know who is charging her? What does nursing have to do with any of this?

ah, @16 answered my question, thx. Still, there's no mention of the Nursing Board anywhere in the article except the one quote.

As someone with an authorization from Nature's Medical Group, and Dr. Naughton herself, I personally was somewhat suspect both times I've visited the doctor for authorization. Before raking me over the coals, let me state that I believe in many cases MMJ patients are actually using their weed for medicinal purposes, and Dr.Naughton is very nice and has probably helped thousands of people over a really great and lengthy career.

BUT, from my experience, there was only myself and one other person in the room of about 15 during that particular session who actually came with any documentation of medical conditions which might qualify for an authorization. In fact, at least one person said something like "no, I didn't bring any documentation" and the intake person said not to worry just take a seat and the doctor will see you shortly. They also accommodated a guy who showed up without an appointment or a shit and wanted to get his authorization before he and his girlfriend went to Wild Waves that afternoon...They do take your blood pressure when you pay (ahead of time), which I guess checks the box that they've performed some sort of basic medical examination of you and determined you're in fact alive.

Literally everyone walked out of there with an authorization. The authorizations were *already filled out* and in your file when you went in to see the doctor. She just chatted with you for five minutes and then signed your prescription and you were on your way.

I actually asked the doctor specific questions about which products/strains/methods of intake would be best for my particular issues. I really didn't get any actual help. She told me I could go next door and the bud tenders would help me. So instead of getting medical help from the doctor, I got to go talk to the stoned dude next door who knew less than the research I'd already done on the web. She did reaffirm that taking vitamins and fish oil and eating well were things I should continue doing, as well as drinking more water.

So, while there are many legitimate patients who have gotten authorizations there, from what I could tell the best qualification for getting an authorization for most people both times I've gone was merely showing up and asking for one. But, not having been in the actual room at the time of authorization, perhaps everyone else had their documentation folded and hidden in their pockets. Seemed more like a mill to me however. I see a naturopath for other things and have found him to provide solutions which have helped me much more than traditional medication, so I believe in naturopathy and the benefits for some folks--but I definitely felt like I didn't get any good advice or help here other than my authorization. In fact, I've been to some dispensaries that actually had stacks of documentation that were quite helpful in finding the right products for my needs. The packet for Nature's Medical mostly contained photocopies of reports about Rick Simpson Oil curing cancer and every other possible ailment you might have, and information about volunteering at the Hemp Fest booth.

Just my perspective from actually having been there..

JasonT, you make too many assumptions in an attempt to try and give the clinic a bad name. They could be renewing their authorizations, thus no need to bring in all their medical documents again. Do you bring in all yours when you renew?

This whole investigation is nothing but an attempt to stop/scare health care providers from writing authorizations and force everyone into the overtaxed and overregulated cannabis monopoly we call I-502.

About a dozen years ago, our midwife was prosecuted by the DOH in a similar corrupt DOH courtroom with DOH serving as the prosecutor and judge. DOH was clearly out to persecute midwives (court costs including the exorbitant fee for an expert M.D. state witness were used to gut the state midwifery budget). And it worked - heavy fine, and a midwife with unique skills was forced to leave the country for indefensible charges. The war on non-traditional medicine is nothing new. Thanks for covering the story Stranger - we need to keep an eye on this one.

420leaks - renewal or not, they take your money and fill out your prescription before you even go in to the consultation with the doctor.