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Byron Shire
March 27, 2024

‘Dr Pot’ granted bail for cannabis charges

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Dr Andrew Katelaris. (picture supplied)
Dr Andrew Katelaris. (picture supplied)

UPDATE: Dr Andrew Katelaris, aka Dr Pot, was yesterday bailed to appear again in Hornsby Local Court on 28 June after being charged with a number of cannabis related offences.

Dr Katelaris entered no plea yesterday to charges of possession of drugs and also having cash suspected of being from the proceeds of crime.

He had spent the night in custody after police raided his St Ives home, just days after the deregistered doctor appeared on a Channel 7 program in which he was filmed administering cannabis oil to a four-year-old boy, who has been taken from his parents.

It’s understood bail of $5000 was posted to free Dr Katelaris.

Original report

Regular visitor to Nimbin’s MardiGrass and medical cannabis advocate, Dr Andrew Katelaris, will appear in the Hornsby Local Court today after being arrested yesterday.

Chief Inspector David Hogg confirmed to Echonetdaily that Dr Katelaris had been charged with a number of offences including drug possession, having an indictable quantity of cannabis, and having proceeds of crime.

On Sunday Dr Katelaris featured in a Channel Seven report in which he was shown giving cannabis oil to a four-year-old boy, who has since been taken from his parents.

He had spent the weekend at a Hemp Industry forum at Rosehill in Sydney, where police arrived on the final day after reports that a large crop of cannabis was on display.

No arrests were made as the ‘cannabis display’, which consisted of low-THC plants for hemp production, had been approved prior to the forum.

Dr Katelaris has been a staunch advocate of medical cannabis, having been researching its effects since 1990.

He has been arrested numerous times in the past and openly admits to supplying CBD dominant cannabis to over 50 children with serious seizure disorders.

Just last year the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) determined Dr Katelaris, who also holds a doctorate, had been involved in more breaches of a code of conduct for non-registered health professionals after injecting two women with cannabis oil to treat ovarian cancer.

 

 


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24 COMMENTS

  1. You trivialise the good man’s contribution by using the term “Dr.Pot”. In doing so you also demean your otherwise quality publication. Please stop.doc

  2. I believe he is doing something that no one else is, if you have family in this situation you would do anything. Don’t criminalise the guy, he is not using for ‘recreational use’, he is doing it so people are not in pain, reduce seizures etc, I applaud the guy.

  3. in my opinion he sells and used it only for medical reasons in that case a specific licence should be issued for medical use and testing only this would stop this stupidity .

  4. The police should not waste their time chasing a man doing good which the medical profession cannot do in this case. They should spend their money going after the real drug dealers who are doing harm.

  5. Seriously, arresting him for Cannabis! Let’s see, how many people have died from an overdose of Cannabis in recorded history – well that would be NONE! And how many have died on government approved pharmaceutical medicines in recorded history? That would be MILLIONS! So we know who the REAL doctor is now don’t we? Dr Katelaris! Meanwhile perhaps other doctors should remember their oath, DO NO HARM!!!

    • This is now just a witch hunt..
      This man is changing the way medicine could be used like it used to..in a more natural way.we the people are wanting that change..even though I have never used it and at the age of 72 ..I would rather be treated with something more natural than the toxic cocktails that are being produced. .
      The monopoly has to change..the laws need to change..

  6. When will the dinosaurs who govern our country catch up with the advances that have been seen overseas, through the use of Cannabis oil, particularly in the care of children with epilepsy

    For thousands of years its therapeutic qualities have benefited mankind in the treatment of numerous conditions — including the relief of pain, inflammation, epilepsy, glaucoma, schizophrenia, the list goes on.

    I am proud to say that I have had many dealings with Dr. Katelaris over the years, and have found him to be a man of integrity, a man whose profound humanity will not allow him to stand idly by, whilst many suffer because of ignorance and stupidity.

    The time must be rapidly approaching when we will at last realise that 100 years of marijuana prohibition has achieved zilch, nada, zero….other than to turn naturally law abiding citizens into criminals, and benefit hugely those crooks who are advantaged by persisting with its illegality.

    The persecution of honourable men like Dr. Katelaris is a travesty.

  7. Ridiculous. Arrest the government for abuse of office, the plant was banned under false pretenses and lies anyway. It should be immediately decriminalized, and any politician who supports its continued outlawing should be removed from office and charged with crimes against humanity.

  8. We need to change the laws and the way medicine is being controlled by Big Pharmaceutical companies. .
    I am 72 and do not use cannibus but will use if I need it as I get older.I refuse to use the toxic cocktails. We the people want change..and thankyou to Drs .that put others first and this man Dr Katerlaris is a catalyst for this change ..a pioneer and we are grateful for his determination and passion in helping others..

  9. This is so wrong in many ways. Here he is helping the community with healing patients. This is all Big pharma’s plain.

  10. This is ridiculous. Instead of calling him Dr. Pot your newspaper should be screaming his defence. I have never used illegal drugs in my life but I feel that the persecution of people supplying medical cannabis is a crime. Anyone who has seen the benefits of medical cannabis ( and there are many of us) wonder at the petty, small minded, individuals who still consider its supply to be a crime and not the life saving gift that it is.

  11. This is probably the government departments who took chase even when two court judges stopped them from taking him previously or should I say I illegally took the boy from his parents, trying to shut this qualified Doctor down so he can not treat the boy, it’s so great to see so many people finally seeing through the misuse of police and public resresource medical cannabis use has not killed one person but tell me how many Australian ddoctors and hospitals have killed patients in Australia with legal medications, Seriously laws are being twisted and manipulated to keep pharmaceutical companies which government make huge amounts of money from, prospering and making money keeping us sick! Pharmaceuticals are not natural to the body the medications they make react badly in our bodies do your research and stop blindly trustingtrust in Doctor. The only person who is invested 100% in you being healthy is you, so take the time to research how important food is to the body, how dangerous mainstream medicine is, who’s making money from you staying sick, this is not crazy theories this is fact about how our bodies work, look into how your body works and then you will realize natural medicine is the only safe way to treat any disease.

  12. Have you ever been in the position where you are told that chemotherapy MAY only extend your life. Only to be so sick because of the drugs they are injecting you with will kill all your cells with the hope that the cancer cells are not strong enough to survive but in that process you have no quality of life because you are so sick. OBVIOUSLY NOT. Otherwise you would understand the willingness to take something naturally grown that will give you quality of life with the same hope of more time but in a peaceful state. REALLY.
    PLEASE LET HUMANITY RULE AND LEGALIZE CANNIBAS FOR MEDICINAL USE. THIS MAN IS DOING NOTHING WRONG

  13. Change is needed now
    Wake up n smell the cannabis government
    Let us the ppl grow our own and save ourselves
    And the ones we love.medicale cannabis isn’t a crime,cannabis itself isn’t a crim,it’s a herb
    That can save your life it’s a herb that relaxes you,helps you sleep eat and be healthy,what is the crim in that?all dr k is doing is helping children with 2 natural products coconut oil and cannabis no harm there.his simple but very affective method there is no artificial crap in his medicine hell I do the same at home for myself
    The cannabis and coconut oil it’s all very natural and no nasty side affects.time to legalise cannabis me thinks.

  14. I agree with ALL THE ABOVE , but isn’t it interesting that a story like this gets so many responses and a story about developer atrocities or local politics or the environment that affect us all get NONE !
    Priorities come to the fore

    • PeterL
      It depends if the editor wants to censor or not censor, according to his personal opinion and his religious attitudes and political leanings in subjectivity, the weather and whether he had a bad day.

    • “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
      Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
      Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
      And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

  15. Saving childrens lives is a crime? NOT! NEVER WAS AND NEVER WILL BE! When parents have no where else to go, they turn to Dr Katelaris. This is called survival! To are programmed to survive at all costs and that includes helping our children to survive and thrive.

  16. i wonder who is behind all of this, they really have it in for this man and a good human being .Is it someone at the top that is trying to be a superior ruler and People that need it will scource it out, you are better of letting this happen and make it legal WE HAVE SEEN HIS GOOD WORK and good on him MAYBE WHO EVER IT IS, IS JUST A VERY UNHAPPY PERSON AND SITS BEHIND A DESK AND THINKS HE IS doing a great job running the health system and having people put in jail what a joke Tell australia this if this was your child or family member what would you DO or maybe you don’t have a concience

  17. This dreary prohibition of a useful plant has to end. How is prohibition working out for you government types, you know it has no merit whatsoever-and yet you continue to harass innocent people who fully know what they are doing. Criminal negligence should be leveled at our government, they are culpable of with holding a seriously effective medicine from the people.

  18. Australian Goverment are only interested in making money out of all this. The people of Australia need look harder at these poisonous bureaucratic monkeys.

  19. Hey Doc, I met you in Parklea I think it was 5 B I gave you my hand made skipping rope. Anyway I do appreciate your work and would like to catch up with you someday. If you read this that is.
    Sincerely Jaymen Briedis

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