KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasDrug Dealing Las Vegas Doctor Stripped of License
In what local doctors are calling an extremely rare case, a former Las Vegas physician has lost his license to practice medicine in Nevada.
Oxycontin is one of the most potent prescription painkillers on the market today. It's also one of the most abused drugs in Nevada and the rest of the nation.
So, after a former Las Vegas doctor was convicted of possessing and distributing it for sale, the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners decided Friday to strip him of his license to practice medicine.
Former Las Vegas OB-GYN Dr. Doyle Stuart Steele closed his West Charleston office after his medical license was suspended in 2005 by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners.
The board now voted unanimously to revoke Dr. Steele's license following his felony criminal conviction in March.
"The public deserves to be protected from someone like this," a board spokesperson said.
Dr. Steele was accused of providing oxycontin to women in Las Vegas in exchange for sex. Investigators said he also provided prescriptions for the potent painkiller to people in Virginia to distribute for sale.
He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence at a federal facility in California.
While revoking his license is the strongest disciplinary action the medical board can take, it does not ban him from legally practicing in Nevada or in any other state, for that matter, again some day.
"People who redeem themselves and re-educate themselves and pay their debt to society would be welcome to re-apply," the board spokesperson added.
Though the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners say his felony conviction would make it more difficult for Dr. Steele to get his license reinstated in Nevada, it's not unheard of.
Should he apply for a medical license in another state, those state boards would be made aware of his criminal record because it will be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank.
