Vitals Spotlight - We Give the Doctor an Exam

Dr. Robert Sterner

Medicine on the high. Dr. Robert Sterner’s website www.antiagingarts.com, presents his mission to provide patients with wellness services as a “one-stop convenience” to save you time and to keep you looking and feeling wonderful about yourself!

Two undercover narcotics police officers, Kimber Hammond and Conrado DeCastro, disguised as patients with mild medical conditions were offered the “feeling wonderful” treatment. Last year, they came in separately to Dr. Robert Sterner’s office posing as patients complaining of insomnia and migraines, ailments far less serious than those contemplated by the framers of the marijuana law.

In the waiting room, before the officers met with Sterner, his receptionist spelled out the arrangement, as a six-month recommendation for marijuana use with a cost of $125 and a one-year recommendation at $200.

After a normal check up with both ‘patients’, Dr. Sterner encouraged and prescribed marijuana as a recommendation.

“Once people get their recommendations, 10News discovered there’s no limit or control as to how much marijuana they can buy from storefronts called dispensaries.  They are like a blank check.”

For one of the patients, he even agreed to prescribe it to his 9-year-old Labrador retriever instead, who was suffering from arthritis. According to the accusation, Dr. Sterner “replied he was not sure if Proposition 215 applies to dogs as well as people and that only two-legged patients were covered by California’s medical marijuana law”.  But after DeCastro proposed having Sterner appoint him as the dog’s caregiver, he got the doctor’s signed authorization.

The doctor, now, has been put on probation for seven years and suspended from practice for 15 days for failing to follow established medical standards when prescribing marijuana. Allegations suggest he lacked knowledge about the safe use of marijuana and its therapeutic value. An administrative law judge concluded that Sterner violated numerous state standards of care, including telling patients that marijuana would not cause cancer and issuing a prescription for a drug that could disguise the use of marijuana.

The Medical Board of California also is requiring Robert Sterner to enroll in a number of medical refresher courses, including classes on ethics, prescribing drugs and keeping medical records.

Sterner has denied the accusations and is preparing an appeal of the medical board’s penalties. He said he didn’t violate standards of care and has become the target of authorities because he prescribes marijuana. Sterner speaks passionately about his belief in the marijuana’s medicinal value.

“I want to see as many options as possibly available to my patients.  It causes no harm and provides great benefit.”

According to Vitals, Dr. Sterner has been licensed in California since 1983.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. ROBERT STERNER