B.C. doctor disciplined for using MDMA, psilocybin, hypnosis in treatments
A Vancouver Island doctor has been reprimanded for prescribing medication to an employee without documentation, and using hypnosis and drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA as a form of therapy.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia has imposed conditions on Dr. Paul Michael Harris's practice after the Duncan, B.C., doctor was found in violation of the regulatory body's professional standards.
According to a Feb. 27 disciplinary notice, Harris admitted to prescribing medication to an employee without documentation and using hypnosis as a non-conventional therapy outside of a medical office setting.
"By repeatedly contravening college practice standards, Dr. Harris placed the employee at risk, and therefore, a disciplinary outcome was appropriate," the college's inquiry committee concluded.
Harris also used non-approved substances, namely psilocybin – or magic mushrooms – and MDMA, which were administered by a non-physician as a form of therapy.
The contraventions occurred between October 2020 and April 2021, according to the college.
As part of a consent resolution agreement between Harris and the regulatory body, Harris's registration with the college has been downgraded from a "specialty" class to "conditional" class and he has received a formal reprimand.
As part of the conditions placed on his practice, Harris must not provide medical care or prescribe medication to staff or any person close to him, and he must refrain from using non-conventional therapies, specifically hypnosis, outside of a health-care setting.
Harris also agreed to refrain from using non-approved substances, specifically MDMA and psilocybin, with employees outside of a research setting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Ford thanks Ottawa as minister cites 'deep concerns' over Toronto's decriminalization
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is thanking the federal government for rejecting Toronto's long-stalled pitch to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs.
Emergency convoy delivers provisions to survivors of devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea
Survivors searched through tons of earth and rubble by hand looking for missing relatives while a first emergency convoy delivered food, water and other provisions Saturday at the site of a landslide that devastated a remote village in the mountains of Papua New Guinea and was feared to have buried scores of people, officials said.
What we know about the young missionaries and religious leader killed in Haiti
The local director of a mission group in Haiti and a missionary couple from the U.S. were attacked and fatally shot by gang members after leaving a youth group activity at a church, a family member told The Associated Press.
After toddler's near drowning in backyard pool, Quebec mom has warning for parents
A Quebec mother who saved her child from the bottom of a backyard pool last weekend has a message for other families.