Friday, Aug. 22, 2014 | 11:09 a.m.
CARSON CITY – The license of a Las Vegas doctor has been immediately suspended by the state Board of Medical Examiners on allegations that she has been taking an excessive amount of pain killing medication.
The board said Thursday that Dr. Arlyn M. Valencia will not be able to practice due to tests showing butalbital in her system. The complaint said there was a “shockingly high and excessive” amounts detected.
Butalbital can cause dizziness, an intoxicated feeling, severe impairment of judgment and memory loss.
The board has set Sept. 16 for a hearing in Reno for Dr. Valencia to contest whether the temporary suspension should be made permanent.
Dr. Valencia has been licensed since 2002 and her specialty is neurology.
The complaint said she was given a urine and hair test in April this year which turned up positive. She was ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation by Dr. Peter Mansky of the Nevada Professionals Assistance Program. In August, he recommended a detoxification program.
But a drug test this month showed almost six times the minimum positive level for butalbital and even higher levels than discovered in April.
The board, in its suspension order, said it had determined “that the health, safety and welfare of the public is at imminent risk of harm” due to the results of the drug tests.
Dr. Valencia could not be reached for immediate comment.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy