AUGUSTA (AP) – A psychiatrist from Yarmouth who sold a gun to a patient has temporarily been stripped of his license to practice.

The Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine issued a reprimand to Joseph Ruffner and placed his license on probation for five years. During that period, Ruffner’s practice must be monitored by a board-approved physician.

Ruffner also must pay a 1,000 dollar fine and complete board-approved education in ethics and doctor-patient boundaries.

Ruffner signed a consent agreement stating that the board had sufficient evidence to conclude that his sale of a firearm to a psychiatric patient under his care was a breach of ethics.

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