'Doctor' not in the house; he's in jail

Suspect allegedly prescribed pot, claimed to be 'sexologist'

Antelope Valley Press
Friday, June 5, 2009.

By DAISY RATZLAFF
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A Palmdale man who deputies said posed as a surgeon, doctor and "sexologist" was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of illegally prescribing medical marijuana, sheriff's officials said Thursday.

Michael Rene Washington, 30, was arrested when deputies on a bicycle patrol found him standing outside a duplex apartment bearing a sign on its door reading: "Medical Marijuana Evaluations and Recommendations, 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Mon - Sun, In Compliance with Prop 215 and Senate Bill 240, Compassionate Patient Resources," sheriff's officials said.

"He was posing as a doctor to sell certificates for medical marijuana," said Sgt. Ron Maples of the Palmdale Partners Against Crime team. "He was also charging $150 an hour as a sexologist."

Washington was booked on suspicion of practicing medicine without a license and possession of marijuana. He has been charged with petty theft with a prior offense and practicing medicine without a license, authorities said.

Washington apparently sold the medical marijuana certificates for $25 each, said Sgt. Kyle Bistline of the PAC team.

Bistline said some of the falsified certificates Washington provided to patients have been accepted at medical marijuana dispensaries.

Not knowing the number of certificates Washington has sold, detectives are looking for people who have purchased them from him. Bistline said people who paid for the forms are victims of petty theft.

Deputies said they found numerous plaques bearing Washington's name hanging on the walls. One said Washington was a "Doctor of Sexology" with a degree from a school in England and another said he earned a medical degree in 2008 from an institution called "Vassor University," deputies said.

During questioning by deputies, Washington said he was a doctor but did not have a license to practice in California.

"We asked if he can prove that he is a doctor, and he told us that we can go online and print out the certificate," Bistline said.

Washington also allegedly was selling forms asserting he was the attending physician of certificate holders so they could get medical marijuana, Bistline said.

Deputies pedaled to the duplex in the 500 block of East Avenue Q-5 about 2 p.m. Wednesday after Palmdale Building and Safety investigators asked them to check the property, which has been targeted by vandals and trespassers. The duplex has not been certified for occupancy, officials said.

The deputies discovered a woman standing in a driveway and Washington a few steps away.

Code enforcement officers secured the house, which is unfit to be occupied, authorities said.

Washington was booked at Palmdale Sheriff's Station and is held in lieu of $20,000 bail.