Notice2023-07498
Tiffani D. Shelton, D.O.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
April 11, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21716-21717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07498]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
[Docket No. 23-11]
Tiffani D. Shelton, D.O.; Decision and Order
On October 25, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Tiffani D. Shelton,
D.O. (Respondent). OSC, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of
Respondent's registration \1\ because Respondent is ``without authority
to prescribe, administer, dispense, or otherwise handle controlled
substances in the State of Florida--the state in which [she is]
registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2.
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\1\ Certificate of Registration No. FS5332818 at the registered
address of 5017 Glenn Drive, New Port Richey, Florida. Id. at 1.
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Respondent requested a hearing; \2\ thereafter, the Government
filed and the Administrative Law Judge (hereinafter, ALJ) granted a
Motion for Summary Disposition recommending the revocation of
Respondent's registration. RD, at 5-6. 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 ALJ's
rulings, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended sanction
and summarizes and expands upon portions thereof herein.
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\2\ The Government argued that the Respondent's request for a
hearing was untimely; Respondent argued that the OSC was not
properly served and, in the alternative, that the request for a
hearing was timely. Administrative Law Judge Exhibit (ALJX) 6, at 3-
4; ALJX 7. The ALJ determined, among other things, that Respondent
was properly served and that there was good cause to accept the
request for a hearing as timely filed. 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 2-5.
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Findings of Fact
On July 19, 2022, Respondent entered into a voluntarily agreement
to withdraw from the practice of medicine in Florida. RD, at 6; ALJX 6,
Exhibit B. According to Florida online records, of which the Agency
takes official notice, Respondent's Florida medical license is listed
as ``VOLUN. WITHDRAW,'' indicating that ``[l]licensee may not practice
in Florida while the licensee is under a voluntary withdrawal agreement
with the department.'' \3\ Florida Department of Health License
Verification, <a href="https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/">https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/</a>
(last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency
finds that Respondent is not currently licensed to engage in the
practice of medicine in Florida, the state in which she is registered
with the DEA.
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\3\ 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, Respondent 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#b2d6d7d39cd3d6d6dd9cd3c6c6ddc0dcd7cbc1f2d6d7d39cd5ddc4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d6b2b3b7f8b7b2b2b9f8b7a2a2b9a4b8b3afa596b2b3b7f8b1b9a0">[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 . . . [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 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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\4\ 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(g)(1) (this
section, formerly section 823(f), was redesignated as part of the
Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, Pub. L.
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 at 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 at 27617.
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According to Florida statute, ``A practitioner, in good faith and
in the course of his or her professional practice only, may prescribe,
administer, dispense, mix, or otherwise prepare a controlled
substance.'' Fla. Stat. section 893.05(1)(a) (2022). Further, a
``practitioner'' as defined by Florida statute includes ``a physician
licensed under chapter 458.'' \5\ Id. at section 893.02(23).
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\5\ Chapter 458 regulates medical practice and applies to
Respondent; it defines a ``physician'' as a person who is licensed
to practice medicine in this state.'' Id. at section 458.305(4).
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Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Respondent
currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Florida. RD, at 8. As
discussed above, a person must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a
controlled substance in Florida. Id. Thus, because Respondent lacks
authority to practice medicine in Florida and, therefore, is not
authorized to handle controlled substances in Florida, Respondent is
not eligible to maintain a DEA registration. Id. 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.
FS5332818 issued to Tiffani D. Shelton. D.O. 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 Tiffani D. Shelton, D.O., to
renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending
application of Tiffani D. Shelton, D.O., for additional registration in
Florida. This Order is effective May 11, 2023.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
April 4, 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
[[Page 21717]]
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Heather Achbach,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-07498 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 11, 2023.
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