– The Norwegian Health Authority has grossly failed in its assessments of the Health Personnel Act, a law they are set to administer and should presumably be able to master, says associate attorney Synne Bernhardt. She represents the doctor, who had actually lost his authorisation. Now he also gets to keep his job. LAWYER: Synne Bernhardt represents the doctor. Photo: Advokatfirmaet Meling AS It is clear after the crushing verdict that came from the Oslo district court this week. – He is very happy to have won. He hopes the case is over now, says Bernhardt. The trial took place in mid-August. The state has one month to appeal the case. – The load has been absolutely extreme. I would almost say that it is a miracle that he is alive. It has been very demanding not to be heard, says Bernhardt. Going to work The case started one January evening in 2020 when the man was going to work at an emergency room in Eastern Norway. 25 January 2020: The doctor is stopped at a speed check at 10.20 pm. The blood test shows a THC concentration that corresponds to over 0.2 parts per thousand. 22 October 2021: In a routine check at around 11 pm in the center of Oslo, the doctor is stopped again. The amount of THC in the blood corresponds to well over 0.5 per thousand. The man was out of work for six months. In court, he has documented a monthly salary of over NOK 200,000. The parties agree on a total loss of over NOK 1.5 million, including future loss of income. The state must now pay for this. – He receives compensation for the state having done something illegal. They have deprived him of the opportunity to work, without authority in law, says his defender. Must assess several errors The case also has an additional dimension. This is because later this year the Supreme Court will assess what is involved in being “affected” by THC, as the condition reads in section 22 of the Road Traffic Act. SUPREME COURT: This autumn, the Supreme Court will decide on THC intoxication in traffic. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Bernhardt says that THC values can be seen in the blood, without necessarily being clinically affected. Later this autumn, the Supreme Court will assess whether the rule in the Road Traffic Act may have been applied incorrectly in several cases. – Several have claimed that the threshold value for alcohol cannot be the same for THC, because THC can be detected in the blood even if one is not clinically affected, says Bernhardt. Can be affected for a long time The criminality limit for THC concentration in the blood is set at 0.004 micromoles per liter of blood. It is determined by the Ministry of Transport. – Then you are as affected as you are with 0.2 per thousand. That has been calculated based on scientific research, says senior researcher Jørgen Bramness at the Institute of Public Health. Although 0.004 sounds small, Bramness explains that the ability to drive can be affected by this concentration. – You become less able to assess situations, have poorer eye-hand coordination and you become less able to react. According to the doctor, he was exposed to passive cannabis smoking, and many hours had passed between the time he smoked and he was stopped by the police. MUCH LONGER: Senior researcher at FHI Jørgen Bramness explains that the half-life of THC is much longer than alcohol. This means that you can show up on rust tests a long time after you have smoked cannabis. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther The senior researcher says that you can have far above legal values even if it has been a long time since you smoked, but it is doubtful that such concentrations are reached after passive smoking. – The half-life of THC is much longer than that of alcohol, especially if you have consumed a lot of cannabis over time. Passive smoking The doctor has explained that he did not use cannabis even before driving in 2020. The first time he was stopped: Left the party between 3am and 4am. The following day at 10.20pm, he was stopped by the police for speeding. He was then on his way to a night shift. He explains the effect of THC with a party where there were between 20 to 30 people in a small room with tight air, where several smoked cannabis. A few months later, the man adopted a proposal of NOK 14,500. A year and a half later, the doctor received a warning from the Norwegian Health Authority, and three weeks later he was stopped by the police again. The second time he was stopped: The night before he held a party at his own home. At 03-04 in the morning a joint was passed around between those who remained at the party. About 15–16 hours after the joint was passed around the party, the doctor was going into the center of Oslo to buy food. The police stopped him during a routine check at approximately 11 p.m. He has explained that he did not feel under the influence when he got into the car. PASSIVE SMOKING: The doctor has explained that he did not use cannabis even before driving in 2020. The picture is an illustrative picture. Photo: Reuters The court assumes that traces of TCH can be detected in the blood for a longer time than alcohol, without the person being clinically affected by THC. Surprised by the decision According to the verdict, the doctor was very surprised by the decision. He had explained that he himself did not use cannabis, and he was very surprised by the analysis result. The doctor did not understand what consequences this could have for him later, the judgment states. The court believes that the first incident, viewed in isolation, does not exceed the threshold for revocation of authorization under the Health Personnel Act. COURT: The main hearing in the case was held in mid-August in the Oslo District Court. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB For the second incident, the court emphasizes that the man had a THC concentration that made him “moderately affected” in the clinical examination. The court believes that the incidents show reprehensible behavior that is likely to undermine his trust as a doctor. Especially because he had also received a warning three weeks before the second incident. The court has concluded that the behavior barely exceeded the threshold for what is considered “incompatible with professional practice”. Failed to mention what the doctor did. The question then was whether the doctor is unfit to practice as a doctor? Here it was crucial that the doctor himself had initiated a number of measures. The court believes that the Norwegian Health Authority has made a mistake in that the doctor showed a belittling attitude towards drugs and did not take into account the seriousness of the actions, as stated in the decision. On the contrary, the court believes that it is difficult to see what more the doctor could have done to restore trust as a doctor and nurse. The court points to several witnesses who have explained the opposite of what the Norwegian Health Authority described in the decision. The doctor had also implemented a number of measures, such as Safe Traffic courses and rust tests. The National Health Service is located in Møllergata in central Oslo. Photo: NTB In addition, two psychological specialists have explained that the doctor was deeply distressed by the situation and that he had decided to become a abstainer as a result of his actions. A meeting was also held between the doctor and the Norwegian Health Authority, where he was given an account of all the things he had done. Despite this meeting, none of these measures were mentioned in the decision from the Norwegian Health Authority on 14 July 2022. – The decision is an example of what can be perceived as a serious system failure by the supervisory authorities, says lawyer Bernhardt. Lawyer Sverre-Mangor Innjord at the Government Attorney represents the Norwegian Health Authority in this case. For now, he is tight-lipped: – The state has received the verdict. We look forward to going through it thoroughly. After we have done that, we will decide whether to appeal.
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Doctor caught driving under the influence of hashish twice – keeps his job and receives millions in compensation
