Notice2022-19972
Mohammad H. Said, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
September 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 178 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 178 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56712-56713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19972]
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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\
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\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).
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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,
<a href="https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch">https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch</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 Washington, the state in which he 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 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#e6828387c887828289c8879292899488839f95a6828387c8939582898cc8818990"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c7a3a2a6e9a6a3a3a8e9a6b3b3a8b5a9a2beb487a3a2a6e9b2b4a3a8ade9a0a8b1">[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
Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA) ``upon a finding that the
registrant . . . has had his State license or registration
[[Page 56713]]
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).
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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 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.
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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 Sec. 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 Sec. 69.50.101(nn). Finally, a ``practitioner'' as
defined by Washington statute includes ``[a] physician under chapter
18.71 RCW.'' Id. at Sec. 69.50.101(mm)(1).\4\
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\4\ Chapter 18.71 regulates physicians.
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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
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