Tri-City doctor’s license suspended after refusing to turn over records

A Kennewick doctor has had his license to practice in Washington state suspended by the Washington Medical Commission after it said he would not provide patient records and information it requested in two investigations.

The information involved prescriptions that Dr. Michael Kwame Turner allegedly wrote for ketamine and ivermectin in 2024-25.

Turner had previously been fined for prescribing ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19.

The commission’s current statement of charges said he told the commission that it had no authority over him because he was operating under a license to practice indigenous medicine.

That license was granted by the First Nation Medical Board, a nonprofit licensing agency under the authority of the Crow Nation and based in Las Vegas, Nev., he told the commission, according to Washington state Department of Health documents.

Ketamine prescription investigation

One of the two latest investigations began when the commission received a complaint in April 2025 that Turner allegedly was prescribing 90 hydrocodone pills per month, as well as gabapentin, causing a patient to sleep up to 16 hours a day.

Hydrocodone is an opioid and gabapentin may be prescribed for seizures and nerve pain.

Turner provided the requested information and an explanation of his treatment of the patient.

But the commission continued its investigation of Turner’s prescriptions, finding that he had prescribed ketamine to several patients.

The Washington Medical Commission asked Turner in December 2025 and January 2026 to provide records of his treatment of seven patients with ketamine, but both times Turner responded with an email declining the request, according to Washington state Department of Health documents.

Ketamine is used for sedation and anesthesia for medical procedures and is rated as a Schedule III controlled substance by the Food and Drug Administration due to its potential for physical and psychological dependence and its potential for abuse.

It is the drug that “Friends” actor Matthew Perry overdosed on at his home in 2024.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists has issued guidance on the use of ketamine, saying that patients treated with the drug in outpatient clinics or in their home may not have immediate access to vital sign monitoring, rescue personnel or emergency resuscitation equipment.

Ivermectin for cancer investigation

The Washington Medical Commission also was conducting audits of Turner’s medical practices as permitted under its 2024 order related to his prescriptions of ivermectin for COVID.

The order restricted him from prescribing ivermectin for preventing or treating COVID-19 after the commission found in 2024 that he failed to meet the standard of care for five patients, one of whom died, when he prescribed ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 in 2021.

An audit in August 2025 allegedly found that Turner was prescribing ivermectin to a patient with cancer, leading to an investigation into the doctor’s use of ivermectin to treat cancer patients.

Ivermectin is a drug approved to treat parasites in people and animals, and it is not approved by the FDA to treat or prevent COVID or to treat or prevent cancer.

The commission twice asked Turner to send information about his cancer patients before Turner sent a letter in November 2025 saying the commission had no jurisdiction over his treatment of patients in the state, according to Department of Health documents.

Turner said he was treating them under a license to practice indigenous medicine granted by the First Nation Medical Board, according to the documents.

The commission investigator responded in December 2025 by asking Turner if his patients were members of a tribe or lived on a tribal reservation, whether Turner was a tribal member and whether Turner was performing services for the Indian Health Service. It also asked for the records of three patients being treated for cancer.

The executive director of the First Nation Medical Board responded to that request, saying that Turner is dual-licensed as a certified tribal healer with the First Nation Medical Board and that the cancer patients the commission asked about were private members of the tribal health care program, according to Department of Health records.

The executive director agreed with Turner that the Washington Medical Commission had no jurisdiction in the matter, and no patient records were sent to the commission, according to Department of Health records.

Turner’s failure to cooperate in the investigations regarding ketamine and invermectin for cancer patients “has thwarted the commission’s ability to fully evaluate his care and conduct and to ensure the respondent (Turner) is meeting the standard of care and practicing medicine in a safe manner,” said the commission’s order signed May 29 and announced Thursday.

Turner has the right to petition the commission for reinstatement.

He did not immediately respond Thursday to a Tri-City Herald request for comment left at his office.

This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Tri-City doctor’s license suspended after refusing to turn over records."