” This is a pharmaco-fascist state we live in ” Dr Katelaris declared . “ It ’ s child abuse what ’ s going on , I mean , what civilised country refuses to treat children with one of the safest medicines known to man ?” “ They ’ re irrelevant to my existence ” Dr Katelaris said about Health Care Complaints Commission ( HCCC ) sanctions against him after the NSW Chief Health Officer , Dr Kerry Chant , made a formal complaint about the cannabis “ experiment ” involving two women . He said he had not been contacted by police after the HCCC referred its report and findings to them about the two women , one taken to the Calvary Mater hospital , the other , to the John Hunter hospital , two days after injections . In a statement , Dr Katelaris criticised federal and state governments after a police raid on his Newcastle premises in December 2016 that led to the destruction of more than 200 cannabis plants .
“ Will I bother to go and appeal the decision ? Hardly . It ’ s easier to simply ignore it . I answer to a higher moral authority than the HCCC . My own conscience ”, even though Dr Katelaris alleged the HCCC report contained “ errors of fact ”. NSW Police confirmed Dr Katelaris had been referred to them for investigation but declined to comment further . Dr Katelaris told the HCCC that he had warned both women on 2 September 2015 , that cannabis oil injections directly into tumours had never been tried before , “… you ’ re in unchartered waters ”. Asked about the ethical issues raised by breaking the law , Dr Andrew Katelaris asked in reply , “ What are the ethics of forcing sick people to go to criminals ?” Dr Katelaris held the Department of Health responsible for the failure of his “ experiment ”, after alleging it prevented him from having the University of Sydney test the strength of the active ingredient in the cannabis oil he used . He placed blame “ squarely at the feet of the ministry ( of health )”, the HCCC found . “ We ’ re not cavalier and I ’ m not stupid ” he told the
HCCC . Dr Katelaris was asked why he persisted in describing cannabis as a “ safe and effective herbal medication ” given what the commission termed a “ catastrophic ” outcome for both women . “ He completely and somewhat angrily repudiated the use of the word ‘ catastrophic ’”, the HCCC report said . The HCCC found his insight was “ so deficient , that he poses a serious risk to the health and safety of the public . The commission finds that he devised a hasty , illconceived and unsafe clinical trial of this experimental treatment , which would give him the ‘ protection ’ of a disclaimer if things went badly , but personal accolades and good publicity if things went well ”, it found .
Type ‘ Katelaris ’ into the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency database for cancelled health professionals and it doesn ’ t come up , and it ’ s the same if you try it in the field for “ practitioners who have given an undertaking not to practice ”. AHPRA advises you to go to AustLII , the Australasian Legal Information Institute , where you can search for court or tribunal cases . However , you won ’ t find the 2005 Medical Board decision that led to Dr Katelaris ’ deregistration if you check on AustLII , which makes the AHPRA referral of limited assistance . That ’ s if you ’ re even aware AHPRA exists at all , despite the millions of dollars spent establishing and running it since 2010 .
Dr Katelaris referred to the Medical Board – now the Medical Council – as “ a bunch of f … wits ” and the Health Care Complaints Commission was a “ pharmacofascist ” institution . In October 2015 , the HCCC ruled that “ Andrew Katelaris is permanently prohibited from supplying or administering cannabis or any of its derivatives to any person for the treatment , or purported treatment , of cancer ”. The HCCC report is available on their website . The commission concluded Dr Katelaris put his own interest in self-protection and self-promotion ahead of the health and safety of two vulnerable women suffering from ovarian cancer .