Notice2023-05804
Heather M. Entrekin, DVM; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
March 22, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17266-17267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05804]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
[Docket No. 23-8]
Heather M. Entrekin, DVM; Decision and Order
On August 9, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Heather M. Entrekin,
DVM (Respondent). OSC, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of
Respondent's Certificate of Registration \1\ because Respondent is
``without authority to handle controlled substances in the State of
Alabama, the state in which [she is] registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2.
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\1\ Registration No. FE4914164 at the registered address of 1360
Montgomery Hwy., Ste. 114, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216-2750. Id. at 1.
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Respondent timely requested a hearing; thereafter, the Government
filed and the Chief Administrative Law Judge (CALJ) granted a Motion
for Summary Disposition recommending the revocation of Respondent's
registration. Order Granting the Government's Motion for Summary
Disposition and Recommended Rulings, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of
Law, and Decision of the Administrative Law Judge (Recommended Decision
or RD), at 5-7. Respondent did not file exceptions to the RD. Having
reviewed the entire record, the Agency adopts and hereby incorporates
by reference the entirety of the CALJ's rulings, findings of fact,
conclusions of law, and recommended sanction and summarizes and expands
upon portions thereof herein.
Findings of Fact
On May 19, 2022, the Alabama Board of Veterinary Examiners issued
an Order that suspended Respondent's Alabama controlled substance
license. RD, at 4; see also Government's Motion for Summary
Disposition, Exhibit (GX) 2, Attachment A, at 1. As of November 22,
2022, Respondent's Alabama controlled substance license was still
suspended. RD, at 4; GX 2, Attachment B.\2\ Accordingly, the Agency
finds that Respondent is not currently licensed to handle controlled
substances in Alabama, the state in which she is registered with the
DEA.
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\2\ The Agency has no indication that the status of Respondent's
license (which is not publically available information) has changed.
Prior to the issuance of the RD, Respondent acknowledged that her
license was suspended. See Respondent's Response, at 3-4. Following
the issuance of the RD, Respondent did not file any Exceptions to
indicate that her license had been restored, nor has the Agency to
date received any correspondence from Respondent regarding any
changes to the status of her license. Accordingly, the Agency finds
that Respondent's Alabama controlled substance license remains
suspended as of the date of signature of this Order. Respondent may
dispute the Agency's finding by filing a motion for reconsideration
of findings of fact within fifteen calendar days of the date of this
Order with supporting documentation (showing that Respondent was
able to dispense controlled substances on or before the date of this
Order). Any such motion and response shall be filed and served by
email to the other party and to the DEA Office of the Administrator,
Drug Enforcement Administration at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eb8f8e8ac58a8f8f84c58a9f9f8499858e9298ab8f8e8ac58c849d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e6a6b6f206f6a6a61206f7a7a617c606b777d4e6a6b6f20696178">[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 (CSA) ``upon a finding that the registrant .
. . has had his State license or registration suspended . . .
[[Page 17267]]
[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 \3\ for obtaining and
maintaining a practitioner's registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper,
M.D., 76 FR 71371 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th
Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 27616, 27617
(1978).\4\
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\3\ As such, the Agency finds Respondent's arguments regarding
the permissive nature of 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), see Respondent's
Response, at 3-4, to be unavailing. RD, at 5; see also Bhanoo
Sharma, M.D., 87 FR 41355, 41356 n.4 (2022).
\4\ This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the
CSA. First, Congress defined the term ``practitioner'' to mean ``a
physician . . . veterinarian . . . 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(g)(1) (this section, formerly section 823(f), was
redesignated as part of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol
Research Expansion Act, Public Law 117-215, 136 Stat. 2257 (2022)).
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
71371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006);
Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts,
M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR
27617. Moreover, because ``the controlling question'' in a
proceeding brought under 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3) is whether the holder
of a practitioner's registration ``is currently authorized to handle
controlled substances in the [S]tate,'' Hooper, 76 FR at 71371
(quoting Anne Lazar Thorn, 62 FR 12847, 12848 (1997)), the Agency
has also long held that revocation is warranted even where a
practitioner is still challenging the underlying action. Bourne
Pharmacy, 72 FR 18273, 18274 (2007); Wingfield Drugs, 52 FR 27070,
27071 (1987). Thus, it is of no consequence here that the final
outcome of the underlying action against Respondent may still be
pending. See Respondent's Response, at 3-4. What is consequential is
the Agency's finding that Respondent is not currently authorized to
dispense controlled substances in Alabama, the state in which she is
registered with the DEA. Austin J. Kosier, M.D., 87 FR 4941, 4943
(2022).
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According to Alabama statute, ``[e]very person who manufactures,
distributes, or dispenses any controlled substance within [the] state
or who proposes to engage in the manufacture, distribution, or
dispensing of any controlled substance within [the] state must obtain
annually a registration issued by the certifying boards in accordance
with [their] rules.'' Ala. Code section 20-2-51(a) (2022); see also
Ala. Admin. Code r. 930-X-1.13(1) (2022) (``[a]ll licensed
veterinarians who handle controlled substances must register annually
with the State Board and get a state controlled substance number from
the Board''). Further, ``dispense'' means ``[t]o 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.'' Ala. Code section 20-2-2(7) (2022).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Respondent
currently lacks authority to dispense controlled substances in Alabama
because her Alabama controlled substance license has been suspended.
RD, at 5. As discussed above, an individual must hold an Alabama
controlled substance license to dispense a controlled substance in
Alabama. RD, at 5-6. Thus, because Respondent lacks authority to handle
controlled substances in Alabama, Respondent is not eligible to
maintain a DEA registration. See RD, at 6. Accordingly, the Agency will
order that Respondent'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.
FE4914164 issued to Heather M. Entrekin, DVM. Further, pursuant to 28
CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1), I
hereby deny any pending applications of Heather M. Entrekin, DVM, to
renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending
application of Heather M. Entrekin, DVM, for additional registration in
Alabama. This Order is effective April 21, 2023.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
March 15, 2023, 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. 2023-05804 Filed 3-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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