Notice2022-13627
Jonathan Rosenfield, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 27, 2022
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 122 (Monday, June 27, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 122 (Monday, June 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38185-38186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13627]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Jonathan Rosenfield, M.D.; Decision and Order
On March 31, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(hereinafter, DEA or Government), issued an Order to Show Cause
(hereinafter, OSC) to Jonathan Rosenfield, M.D. (hereinafter,
Registrant). OSC, at 1 and 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of
Registrant's Certificates of Registration Nos. FR4795780 and FR5759216
at the registered addresses of 393 Georgia Avenue SE, Atlanta, Georgia,
and 1077 South Main Street, Madison, Georgia. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged
that Registrant's registrations should be revoked because Registrant is
``without authority to handle controlled substances in Georgia, the
state in which [he is] registered with DEA for [both] registrations.''
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) dated May 31, 2022.\1\
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\1\ Based on the two Declarations from DEA Diversion
Investigators that the Government submitted with its RFAA, the
Agency finds that the Government's attempts to serve Registrant with
the OSC were adequate. RFAA, Apps. 1-2. 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 4; see also 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and 21 U.S.C.
824(c)(2)(C).
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Findings of Fact
A DEA Diversion Investigator attested that he became aware of the
lapse in Registrant's Georgia medical license in the course of his
official duties and confirmed the lapse on the state website and also
``through conversations with those at the Georgia Composite Medical
Board.'' RFAA, App. 2, at 3. According to Georgia's online records, of
which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's Georgia medical
license expired on March 31, 2021, and is currently in a ``lapsed''
status.\2\ Georgia Composite Medical Board, <a href="https://gcmb.mylicense.com/verification">https://gcmb.mylicense.com/verification</a> (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 Georgia, the state in which
Registrant is registered with the DEA.
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\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
findings 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#acc8c9cd82cdc8c8c382cdd8d8c3dec2c9d5dfecc8c9cd82d9dfc8c3c682cbc3da"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b6d2d3d798d7d2d2d998d7c2c2d9c4d8d3cfc5f6d2d3d798c3c5d2d9dc98d1d9c0">[email protected]</span></a>.
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Discussion
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 CSA
``upon a finding that the registrant . . . has had his State license or
registration suspended . . . [or] revoked . . . by competent State
authority and is no longer authorized by State law to engage in the . .
. dispensing of controlled substances.'' With respect to a
practitioner, the DEA has also long held that the possession of
authority to dispense controlled substances under the laws of the state
in which a practitioner engages in professional practice is a
fundamental condition for obtaining and maintaining a practitioner's
registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, M.D., 76 FR 71,371 (2011),
pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh
Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 27,616, 27,617 (1978).\3\
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\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
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
27,617.
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According to Georgia statute, ``dispense'' means ``to deliver a
controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or
pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the
prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding
necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery.'' Ga. Code Ann.
Sec. 16-13-21(9) (2022). Further, a ``practitioner'' means a
``physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise
authorized under the laws of [Georgia] to distribute, dispense, conduct
research with respect to, or administer a controlled substance in the
course of professional practice or research in [Georgia].'' Id. at
Sec. 16-13-21(23)(A). Because Registrant is not currently licensed as
a physician, or otherwise licensed in Georgia, he is not authorized to
dispense controlled substances in Georgia. Therefore, 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 Certificates of Registration Nos.
FR4795780 and FR5759216 issued to Jonathan Rosenfield, 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 Jonathan Rosenfield,
M.D. to renew or modify these registrations, as well as any other
pending application of Jonathan Rosenfield, M.D. for additional
registration in Georgia. This Order is effective July 27, 2022.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
June 21, 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
[[Page 38186]]
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Scott Brinks,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-13627 Filed 6-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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