HONALO — A Hawaii Island doctor specializing in anti-aging medicine was arrested Thursday on allegations he violated the state Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
HONALO — A Hawaii Island doctor specializing in anti-aging medicine was arrested Thursday on allegations he violated the state Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Clifton W. Arrington, Jr., 68, of Ocean View, was arrested by the state Narcotics Enforcement Division at 9:10 a.m. at his office in the Honalo Business Plaza while patients were awaiting appointments.
Arrington was arrested under the “prohibited acts-B” section of the USCA and on a charge of promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree, said Toni Schwartz, Department of Public Safety public information officer.
The first charge is from the section of the law that deals with violating rules of prescribing controlled substances, dispensing to unknown people, dispensing outside a physician-patient relationship and other matters. The offense is a class C felony.
The detrimental drug law applies to the possession of marijuana or any Schedule V drug, including many prescription medications, without a prescription. It is a petty misdemeanor.
Arrington’s practice specializes in anti-aging medicine and he is a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, according to the doctor’s website.
“Anti-Aging Medicine is the new medical discipline which aspires to halt the degeneration and disability normally associated with aging. Biological aging is attacked on many fronts to recapture and maintain the lost vigor of youth by using all accepted advances in medical technology,” Arrington wrote on his website.
The American Board of Medical Specialties does not list anti-aging as a recognized member board, although it recognizes the sub-speciality of geriatric medicine. Geriatrics deals with health and care of elderly people.
The ABMS is the largest board certifying agency in the nation.
Arrington’s National Provider Identifier lists his primary focus as family medicine. Anti-aging is not a listed specialty, although geriatrics is.
Arrington was issued his Hawaiian license to practice medicine on May 13, 1982. It’s set to expire on Jan. 31, 2018.
There is a pending complaint through the Regulated Industries Complaint Office stemming from 2013. As it is pending, there is no additional information available. No other complaints have been filed with the state, according to a check of RICO records.
But he has prior trouble with licensing boards. Arrington’s license to practice medicine in Colorado was suspended on June 9, 1983. He received that license on July 8, 1975.
The Colorado suspension lists two areas of trouble. First, he spent from August 1978 to May 1979 serving as a contractor for a hair implant company, allowing other employees without medical training or supervision to perform the service. Second, he was working with a holistic medical group, allowing employees to act as if they were able to diagnose, treat and prescribe, even though they were not legally able to.
He waived a formal disciplinary hearing and his license was suspended for five years. If he sought to reinstate his license in Colorado, he would need to go through five years of probation.
If he had gone that route, the records of his discipline would have been sealed.
It was not clear as of press time if Arrington had a lawyer, and full formal charges had not been filed.
The practice is normally closed on Fridays and there was no one present when West Hawaii Today visited.