Report: Doctor Catered to Drug Demands of Celebs, Including Winona Ryder

LOS ANGELES – A doctor who had his medical license revoked last week frequently catered to the prescription drug demands of celebrities, including actress Winona Ryder, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Jules Mark Lusman, 49, would make house calls to celebrities, examining them only briefly before prescribing drugs, the Los Angeles Times said.

Singer-actress Courtney Love was among the patients named by the newspaper. Pat Kingsley, a spokeswoman for Love, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

The Medical Board of California said Lusman's stated specialty was laser surgery. But he catered to "the demands of wealthy and/or famous drug-seekers for prescription narcotics which would otherwise have to be obtained on the street," according to a board report cited by the newspaper.

Candis Cohen, a spokeswoman for the state board that licenses and regulates the state's 112,000 doctors, said it's possible that criminal proceedings will be launched against Lusman.

Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, declined comment, saying an investigation was underway.

Lusman called the decision to revoke his license "grossly unfair" in an interview Monday with the television program Inside Edition from his mother's home in South Africa. He denied any wrongdoing.

The medical board's report cited Lusman's treatment of eight patients. One patient received approximately 360 prescriptions over five years, more than two-thirds from Lusman, the newspaper said.

The patients were not identified by name in the board's report. Only initials were used.

One was referred to as C.L., whom the report went on to describe as "a fairly well known musician." Two sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to the Times that the C.L. was Love.

C.L. was treated by Lusman during the summer of 2001, and received Demerol and prescriptions for syringes and the hypnotic drugs Ambien and Xanax, according to the medical board.

Ryder had 37 prescriptions filled by 20 doctors from January 1996 to December 1998, according to Ryder's probation report, released Friday.

Lusman lost his license the same day a Los Angeles County judge sentenced Ryder, 31, to three years probation, community service and drug and psychological counseling for shoplifting nearly $6,000 in designer merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.

Ryder's attorney, Mark Geragos, said he knew of no other investigations involving doctors who prescribed drugs to her.

"All were completely legitimate," Geragos said. "Lusman was legitimate, but I don't know what his problems are. The other doctors are well thought of."