Doctors in California who recommend that patients use marijuana for medical purposes have been prosecution by federal authorities and investigated by state medical officials, the Associated Press reported Nov. 5.

Mollie Fry, M.D., had her office raided by federal drug agents and has been charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana; in addition to writing medical-marijuana recommendations for thousands of patients, Fry also gave patients advice on where to get the drug.

"I assumed the fact that I had 'M.D.' at the end of my name gave me the right to make judgments about people's health," said Fry. California's medical-marijuana law, passed in 1999, requires users to get a doctor's written approval to grow and/or buy the drug. Statewide, about 1,500 doctors have made such recommendations, but most of the medical-marijuana recommendations come from a group of 15 physicians, like Fry, who label themselves medical-marijuana specialists.

The California Medical Association says the so-called specialists are operating in a "gray area between the clearly permissible and clearly impermissible categories of action." Almost all of the 15 have been investigated by state medical authorities and/or drug agents. Some have been rebuked or had their medical licenses suspended as a result.

The California Medical Board issued medical-marijuana guidelines to physicians two years ago, and federal courts have ruled that the DEA can't target doctors solely because they are recommending marijuana. But that has hardly shielded doctors from federal prosecution.

The Board advised doctors to always conduct an independent exam of a patient before recommending medical marijuana, and the California Medical Association said that doctors should never tell patients where to get the drug. The association also warns doctors about other interactions on medical marijuana that could get them sanctioned, including discussing dosage or signing forms that allow patients to get medical-marijuana ID cards.

The medical-marijuana doctors complain that they are being held to higher standards than doctors who prescribe far more powerful prescription painkillers.