87 FR 178 pgs. 56712-56713 - Mohammad H. Said, M.D.; Decision and Order
Type: NOTICEVolume: 87Number: 178Pages: 56712 - 56713
Pages: 56712, 56713FR document: [FR Doc. 2022-19972 Filed 9-14-22; 8:45 am]
Agency: Justice Department
Sub Agency: Drug Enforcement Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Mohammad H. Said, M.D.; Decision and Order
On July 19, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (hereinafter, DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (hereinafter, OSC) to Mohammad H. Said, M.D. (hereinafter, Registrant). OSC, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. AS9144786 at the registered address of 524 East Division, P.O. Box 40, Ephrata, Washington 98823. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged that Registrant's registration should be revoked because Registrant is "without authority to handle controlled substances in the State of Washington, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA." Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), submitted August 1, 2022. 1
Footnotes:
1 ?Based on a Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator and a Declaration from a federal government contractor assigned as a data analyst to the DEA Office of Chief Counsel, the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on Registrant was adequate. RFAA Exhibit (hereinafter, RFAAX) 2, at 2; RFAAX 5, at 1. Further, based on the Government's assertions in its RFAA, the Agency finds that more than thirty days have passed since Registrant was served with the OSC and Registrant has neither requested a hearing nor submitted a written statement or corrective action plan and therefore has waived any such rights. RFAA, at 1-2; see also 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and 21 U.S.C. 824(c)(2)(C).
Findings of Fact
On January 28, 2021, the State of Washington, Department of Health, Washington Medical Commission, issued an Order indefinitely suspending Registrant's license to practice medicine in Washington. RFAAX 4 (State of Washington, Dept. of Health Order dated January 28, 2021), at 2, 13-14. According to Washington's online records, of which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's license is still suspended. 2 Washington State Department of Health Provider Credential Search, https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not currently licensed to engage in the practice of medicine in Washington, the state in which he is registered with the DEA.
Footnotes:
2 ?Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency "may take official notice of facts at any stage in a proceeding-even in the final decision." United States Department of Justice, Attorney General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 80 (1947) (Wm. W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 1979). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e), "[w]hen an agency decision rests on official notice of a material fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, a party is entitled, on timely request, to an opportunity to show the contrary." Accordingly, Registrant may dispute the Agency's finding by filing a properly supported motion for reconsideration of findings of fact within fifteen calendar days of the date of this Order. Any such motion and response shall be filed and served by email to the other party and to Office of the Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration at dea.addo.attorneys@dea.usdoj.gov.
Discussion
[top] Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized to suspend or revoke a registration issued under section 823 of the Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA) "upon a finding that the registrant . . . has had his State license or registration
Footnotes:
3 ?This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the CSA. First, Congress defined the term "practitioner" to mean "a physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, by . . . the jurisdiction in which he practices . . . , to distribute, dispense, . . . [or] administer . . . a controlled substance in the course of professional practice." 21 U.S.C. 802(21). Second, in setting the requirements for obtaining a practitioner's registration, Congress directed that "[t]he Attorney General shall register practitioners . . . if the applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled substances under the laws of the State in which he practices." 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Because Congress has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess state authority in order to be deemed a practitioner under the CSA, the DEA has held repeatedly that revocation of a practitioner's registration is the appropriate sanction whenever he is no longer authorized to dispense controlled substances under the laws of the state in which he practices. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 76 FR at 71,371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39,130, 39,131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51,104, 51,105 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11,919, 11,920 (1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR at 27,617.
According to Washington statute, "A practitioner may dispense or deliver a controlled substance to or for an individual or animal only for medical treatment or authorized research in the ordinary course of that practitioner's profession." Wash. Rev. Code §?69.50.308(j) (2022). Further, a "prescription" means "an order for controlled substances issued by a practitioner duly authorized by law or rule in the state of Washington to prescribe controlled substances within the scope of his or her professional practice for a legitimate medical purpose." Id. at §?69.50.101(nn). Finally, a "practitioner" as defined by Washington statute includes "[a] physician under chapter 18.71 RCW." Id. at §?69.50.101(mm)(1). 4
Footnotes:
4 ?Chapter 18.71 regulates physicians.
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Washington. As already discussed, a physician must be a licensed practitioner to dispense or prescribe a controlled substance in Washington. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to practice medicine in Washington and, therefore, is not authorized to handle controlled substances in Washington, Registrant is not eligible to maintain a DEA registration. Accordingly, the Agency will order that Registrant's DEA registration be revoked.
Order
Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate of Registration No. AS9144786 issued to Mohammad H. Said, M.D. Further, pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f), I hereby deny any pending applications of Mohammad H. Said, M.D., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Mohammad H. Said, M.D., for additional registration in Washington. This Order is effective October 17, 2022.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on September 8, 2022, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of DEA. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .
Heather Achbach,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-19972 Filed 9-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P