Doctor Who Prescribed Cocaine to Face Third Hearing : Bingham’s License Was Revoked on Allegations of ‘Gross Negligence and Incompetence’

The professional competence of a 76-year-old physician who claimed that cocaine is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis must be reviewed a third time, a state court of appeal ruled Thursday.

Dr. Robert Bingham’s license to practice medicine was revoked by the State Board of Medical Quality Assurance in 1981 for “gross negligence and incompetence.” Bingham appealed, and then-Superior Court Judge Bruce W. Sumner overturned that decision and reinstated his license three years ago.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ordered a new hearing because Sumner failed to detail the reasons for his finding.

Bingham, now practicing in Stanton and Desert Hot Springs, said he was disappointed in the decision.

“It was all a very ethical and open treatment,” Bingham said. “We had approval of (the U.S.) Food and Drug Administration to carry out the treatment. . . . The state has wasted a great deal of money on this, and I have, too, defending cases that never should have been filed.”

“We’re looking for a full and fair hearing in superior court,” said M. Gayle Askren, a deputy state attorney general who argued the case.

Cocaine has never been approved by the FDA for treatment of arthritis, nor has it been shown to be safe and effective for that purpose, Askren said. Bingham had unsuccessfully sought state approval for use of the drug on an experimental basis, Askren said.

The medical board also found Bingham negligent in operating on a patient to remove a bone tumor without first performing a biopsy. The patient eventually lost a leg. On Thursday, Bingham insisted that four biopsies had been performed before the surgery.

Bingham said his role in the arthritis cases was to confirm that patients had the disease and that other treatments had been ineffective and to write prescriptions for the drug for a colleague who was running the program. “I never personally administered the drug,” Bingham said.

“We thought it was effective. It was given in very minute doses and seemed to loosen up tight muscles and tight joints and give the patients a good deal of symptomatic relief,” Bingham said.

“The treatment dose was one-fifth as much as a patient would take to get a lift or a high or a psychological effect,” Bingham said. “No one ever had any kicks out of it.”

All 129 patients reported relief from pain, Bingham said.

Despite Sumner’s ruling, the medical board refused to restore Bingham’s license. All sides then agreed that, pending the appeal, Bingham would regain his license to practice medicine, providing that he dropped the arthritis program and refrained from treating bone tumors.