Notice2023-23958
Siamak Arassi, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
October 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74521-74522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23958]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Siamak Arassi, M.D.; Decision and Order
On May 24, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Siamak Arassi, M.D.
(Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 1
at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of
Registration No. BA8851809 at the registered address of 19115 W Capitol
Dr., Suite 117, Brookfield, Wisconsin 53045. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged
that Registrant's registration should be revoked because Registrant is
``currently without authority to handle controlled substances in the
State of Wisconsin,'' the state in which he is registered with DEA. Id.
at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
The OSC notified Registrant of his right to file with DEA a written
request for hearing, and that if he failed to file such a request, he
would be deemed to be in default. OSC, at 2 (citing 21 CFR 1301.43).
Here, Registrant did not request a hearing. RFAA, at 2.\1\ ``A default,
unless excused, shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of the
registrant's/applicant's right to a hearing and an admission of the
factual allegations of the [OSC].'' 21 CFR 1301.43(e).
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\1\ On June 1, 2023, a DEA Diversion Investigator (DI) emailed
Registrant at his personal email address, attaching a copy of the
OSC with a delivery and read receipt request. RFAAX 2, at 2. DI
received notification that the email was delivered successfully. Id.
Registrant responded on the same day by email but did not request a
hearing. RFAAX 2, Attachment E. Based on the information in the
record, the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. RFAA, at 2 (citing Emilio Luna, M.D., 77 FR
4829, 4830 (2012) (finding service via email can satisfy due
process)).
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Further, ``[i]n the event that a registrant . . . is deemed to be
in default . . . DEA may then file a request for final agency action
with the Administrator, along with a record to support its request. In
such circumstances, the Administrator may enter a default final order
pursuant to [21 CFR] Sec. 1316.67.'' Id. Sec. 1301.43(f)(1). Here,
the Government has requested final agency action based on Registrant's
default pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(c), (f). See also id. Sec. 1316.67.
Findings of Fact
The Agency finds that, in light of Registrant's default, the
factual allegations in the OSC are admitted. According to the OSC, on
February 15, 2023, the State of Wisconsin Medical
[[Page 74522]]
Examining Board issued a Final Decision and Order indefinitely
suspending Registrant's license to practice medicine and surgery. RFAAX
1, at 2; RFAAX 2, Attachment C, at 15.
According to Wisconsin's online records, of which the Agency takes
official notice, Registrant's Wisconsin medical license remains
suspended.\2\ Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services,
Wisconsin Credential/License Search, <a href="https://licensesearch.wi.gov/">https://licensesearch.wi.gov/</a>
(last visited date of signature of this Order). Therefore, the Agency
finds that Registrant is not authorized to practice medicine nor to
handle controlled substances in Wisconsin, the state in which he is
registered with 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 the DEA Office of the Administrator,
Drug Enforcement Administration at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#244041450a4540404b0a4550504b564a415d57644041450a434b52"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91f5f4f0bff0f5f5febff0e5e5fee3fff4e8e2d1f5f4f0bff6fee7">[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 21 U.S.C. 823 ``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, 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, D.O., 76 FR 71371 (2011), pet. for rev.
denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton,
D.O., 43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).\3\
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\3\ This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the
Controlled Substances Act (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). Because Congress has clearly mandated that a
practitioner possess state authority in order to be deemed a
practitioner under the CSA, 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, D.O., 71
FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, D.O., 58 FR 51104, 51105
(1993); Bobby Watts, D.O., 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); Frederick
Marsh Blanton, 43 FR 27617.
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According to Wisconsin 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.'' Wis. Stat.
section 961.01(7) (2023). Further, a ``practitioner'' means a
``physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, certified or
otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with
respect to, administer or use in teaching or chemical analysis a
controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research
in [Wisconsin].'' Id. section 961.01(19)(a).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Wisconsin. As already
discussed, a practitioner must be a licensed practitioner to dispense
controlled substances in Wisconsin. Thus, because Registrant lacks a
license to practice medicine in Wisconsin and, therefore, is not
authorized to handle controlled substances in Wisconsin, 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.
BA8851809 issued to Siamak Arassi, M.D. 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 Siamak Arassi, M.D., to renew
or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application
of Siamak Arassi, M.D., for additional registration in Wisconsin. This
Order is effective November 30, 2023.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
October 20, 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. 2023-23958 Filed 10-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 31, 2023.
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