Specialties:
- Pharmacology
- Physiology and Symptomatology of drugs including: medicinal cannabis, sympathomimetics, depressants, opiates, and inhalants
- DUI
- Urine Testing
- EAP
- Methadone Maintenance
- Drug Detox
- Chronic Pain
Dr. Bearman graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin in 1963 with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. He graduated in 1967 from the University of Washington School of Medicine. During his internship year at the US Public Health Hospital in Seattle he helped start the third Free Clinic in the country.
This began his illustrative 45 plus year professional relationship in the drug abuse treatment and prevention field. He has had over 220 hours experience and over 500 cases worked on in consulting and expert witness, with over 150 hours at trial. This experience includes prominent in the community clinic movement, being the Co-director of the Haight-Ashbury Drug Treatment Program, being a member of Governor Reagans Inter Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse, a member of the California State Community Clinic Advisory Board, and a member of both the Santa Barbara County and San Diego County Drug Abuse Technical Advisor Committees. He founded the Isla Vista Medical Clinic in 1970. He has been Medical Director of Santa Barbra County Methadone Maintenance Clinic and Ventura County Opiate Detox Program, taught courses on substance use and abuse at UCSF, UCSB, and SDSU, been a consultant to Hoffman LaRoche, NIDA and the National PTA, directed several conferences related to drug abuse treatment and prevention, delivered numerous professional talks, consulted widely, and been an expert witness in over 450 civil, criminal, and family court cases. Currently he is a Medical Director of Zona Seca, and practices pain management and cannabinoid medicine.
Dr. Bearman has served at every level of government: He was officer in the United States Public Health Service, Director of Health Services at San Diego State University, Health Officer and Director of the Sutter County Health Department, and Medical Director of oldest Medicaid Managed Care program in the country, CenCal.
Awards include the Santa Barbara Medical Society Humanitarian Award, the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinic’s Health Care Hero Award, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog Doctor of the Day Recognition, NORML’s Peter McWilliams Memorial Award and Dr. Michael Alcamay Memorial Award from Americans for Safe Access.