Notice2022-16628
Rebecca L. Adams, N.P.; 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
August 3, 2022
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47466-47467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16628]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Rebecca L. Adams, N.P.; Decision and Order
On March 10, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(hereinafter, DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause
(hereinafter, OSC) to Rebecca L. Adams, N.P. (hereinafter, Registrant).
OSC, at 1 and 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's
Certificate of Registration
[[Page 47467]]
No. MA5778228 at the registered address of 1200 N. State St., Suite
420, Jackson, Mississippi, 39202. 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
Mississippi, the state in which [she 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 July 12, 2022.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on the Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator
that the Government submitted with its RFAA, the Agency finds that
the Government's service of the OSC on Registrant was adequate.
RFAA, Exhibit (hereinafter, RFAAX) B, at 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 2; see also 21 CFR 1301.43(d) and 21 U.S.C.
824(c)(2)(C).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Findings of Fact
On April 15, 2021, the Mississippi Board of Nursing issued an Order
revoking Registrant's license to practice medicine in Mississippi.
RFAAX C (Final Order), at 3. According to Mississippi's online records,
of which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's license is
still revoked. \2\ Mississippi Board of Nursing License Verification,
<a href="https://gateway.licensure.msbn.ms.gov/verification/search.aspx">https://gateway.licensure.msbn.ms.gov/verification/search.aspx</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 Mississippi, the state in which she is registered with the
DEA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#711514105f1015151e5f1005051e031f140802311514105f0402151e1b5f161e07"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="57333236793633333879362323382539322e241733323679222433383d79303821">[email protected]</span></a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 Mississippi 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.'' Miss. Code Ann.
Sec. 41-29-105(j) (2022). Further, a ``practitioner'' means a person
``licensed, registered or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense,
conduct research with respect to or to administer a controlled
substance in the course of professional practice or research in this
state.'' Id. at Sec. 41-29-105(y)(i). Because Registrant is not
currently licensed as a nurse practitioner, or otherwise licensed in
Mississippi, she is not authorized to dispense controlled substances in
Mississippi.
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Mississippi. As
already discussed, a person must be a licensed practitioner to dispense
a controlled substance in Mississippi. Thus, because Registrant lacks
authority to practice medicine in Mississippi and, therefore, is not
authorized to handle controlled substances in Mississippi, 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.
MA5778228 issued to Rebecca L. Adams, N.P. 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 Rebecca L. Adams, N.P., to renew or
modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of
Rebecca L. Adams, N.P., for additional registration in Mississippi.
This Order is effective [insert Date Thirty Days From the Date of
Publication in the Federal Register].
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
July 26, 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. 2022-16628 Filed 8-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 3, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.