Notice2025-23475
Timothy Balisky, N.P.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
December 19, 2025
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 242 (Friday, December 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59584-59585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23475]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Timothy Balisky, N.P.; Decision and Order
On July 28, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Timothy Balisky,
N.P., of Huntersville, North Carolina (Registrant). Request for Final
Agency Action (RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 1 at 1, 4. The OSC proposed the
revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration, No. MB7242352,
alleging that Registrant's registration should be revoked because
Registrant is ``currently without authority to prescribe, administer,
dispense, or otherwise handle controlled substances in the State of
North Carolina, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA.'' Id.
at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).\1\
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\1\ According to the OSC and Agency records, Registrant's
registration expired on July 31, 2025. RFAAX 1, at 2. The fact that
a registrant allows his registration to expire during the pendency
of an administrative enforcement proceeding does not impact the
Agency's jurisdiction or prerogative under the Controlled Substances
Act (CSA) to adjudicate the OSC to finality. Jeffrey D. Olsen, M.D.,
84 FR 68474, 68476-79 (2019).
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The OSC notified Registrant of his right to file a written request
for hearing, and that if he failed to file such a request, he would be
deemed to have waived his right to a hearing and be in default. Id. at
2-3 (citing 21 CFR 1301.43). Here, Registrant did not request a
hearing, and the Agency finds him to be in default. RFAA, at 2-3.\2\
``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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\2\ Based on the Government's submissions in its RFAA dated
September 9, 2025, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. Specifically, the Government's Declaration
from a DEA Diversion Investigator (DI) indicates that on July 29,
2025, Registrant was personally served with a copy of the OSC. RFAAX
2, at 1; see also id. at 3 (Form-DEA 12 signed by Registrant,
acknowledging receipt of the OSC).
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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] 1316.67.'' Id. 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), 1301.46. RFAA, at 1; see also 21
CFR 1316.67.
Findings of Fact
The Agency finds that, in light of Registrant's default, the
factual allegations in the OSC are deemed admitted. According to the
OSC, effective May 13, 2025, the North Carolina State Board of Nursing
issued an Order of Summary Suspension, suspending Registrant from the
practice of nursing in North Carolina. RFAAX 1, at 2. According to
North Carolina online records, of which the Agency takes official
notice,\3\ the current status of Registrant's North Carolina nurse
practitioner license is ``No License due to Discipline.'' North
Carolina Board of Nursing License Verification, <a href="https://portal.ncbon.com/licenseverification/search.aspx">https://portal.ncbon.com/licenseverification/search.aspx</a> (last visited date of
signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant
is not licensed as a nurse practitioner in North Carolina, the state in
which he is registered with DEA.\4\
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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).
\4\ 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.'' The material fact here is
that Registrant, as of the date of this decision, is not licensed as
a nurse practitioner in North Carolina. 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#c9adaca8e7a8adada6e7a8bdbda6bba7acb0ba89adaca8e7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c9adaca8e7a8adada6e7a8bdbda6bba7acb0ba89adaca8e7aea6bf">[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.
Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243, 270 (2006) (``The Attorney General
can register a physician to dispense controlled substances `if the
applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled substances under
the laws of the State in which he practices.' . . . The very definition
of a `practitioner' eligible to prescribe includes physicians
`licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, by the United States or
the jurisdiction in which he practices' to dispense controlled
substances. 802(21).''). The Agency has applied these principles
consistently. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, M.D., 76 FR 71371, 71372
(2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012);
Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).\5\
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\5\ 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). 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, M.D., 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, M.D., 43 FR at 27617.
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According to North Carolina 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.'' N.C. Gen. Stat.
90-87(8) (2024). Further, a ``practitioner'' means a ``physician . . .
or other person licensed, registered or otherwise permitted to
distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to or to administer
a controlled substance so long as such activity is within the normal
course of professional practice or research in [the] State.'' Id. at
90-87(22)(a).\6\
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\6\ North Carolina law permits licensed nurse practitioners to
handle controlled substances provided certain requirements are met.
See 21 N.C. Admin. Code 36.0809 (2024); N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-
87(22)(a).
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Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
lacks authority to practice as a nurse practitioner in North Carolina.
As discussed above, an individual must be a licensed practitioner to
dispense a controlled substance in North Carolina. Thus, because
Registrant lacks authority to practice as a nurse practitioner in North
Carolina and, therefore, is not authorized to handle controlled
substances in North Carolina, 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.
MB7242352 issued to Timothy Balisky, N.P. 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 Timothy Balisky, N.P., to renew
or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application
of Timothy Balisky, N.P., for additional registration in North
Carolina. This Order is effective January 20, 2026.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
December 15, 2025, by Administrator Terrance C. Cole. 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. 2025-23475 Filed 12-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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