No joy here: Doctor who spiked female physician's drink with ecstasy loses licence

An Alberta doctor who spiked another physician’s drink with ecstacy has been stripped of his licence. Dr. Max Klein, an Edmonton resident whose registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has been inactive since 2015, had been found guilty in April 2022 of slipping methylenedioxymethamphetamine into the drink of a female colleague, who subsequently felt unwell and had to be taken by her husband to emergency. In addition to cancelling his licence, the hearing tribunal ordered Dr. Klein to pay 100% of investigation and court costs, estimated at $30,000. “The hearing tribunal believed that the sanction to be imposed should send a very clear message to Dr. Klein, the profession, and the public, that there will be zero tolerance for the conduct in question,” wrote the tribunal. Read: Doctor found guilty of spiking fellow physician's drink with ecstasy The case against Dr. Klein dates back to January 2015, when he was a fifth-year resident at the University of Alberta. He asked a female doctor to go out for a beer and she accepted, under the impression another resident might be joining them and also because she believed Dr. Klein was struggling at work and wanted to talk. But when they were in Dr. Klein’s car that evening, he insisted on going to a fast-food drive-through instead and eating in the parking lot. According to hearing documents, he handed her a drink which he had made with a mix of gin and grapefruit juice. Dr. Klein then drove around the city. When he started to make inappropriate sexual comments, the female physician asked him to drive her home. At this point, she had started to feel “strange sensations of numbness.” Read: Unwelcome: Doctor who forced sex talk on female colleagues gets six-month suspension Her symptoms got worse so her husband took her to emergency. Over text, Dr. Klein denied putting any drugs in her drink and suggested she had too much alcohol. But a toxicology report showed near-undetectable alcohol levels while showing positive results for MDMA. Following the incident, the University of Alberta suspended Dr. Klein and Alberta Health Services rescinded his privileges. “Dr. Klein has undoubtedly been subject to very serious consequences as a result of his conduct,” wrote the tribunal. “His medical career came to an abrupt halt the day after the events in question.” Read: Cardiologist faces four more accusers, additional sexual assault charges

No joy here: Doctor who spiked female physician's drink with ecstasy loses licence

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