Notice2026-01499
Adam Maass, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
January 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3546-3547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01499]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Adam Maass, M.D.; Decision and Order
On September 5, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Adam Maass, M.D., of
Bentonville, Arkansas (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. BM6528369, 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 Arkansas, 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 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.
(citing 21 CFR 1301.43). Here, Registrant did not request a hearing,
and the Agency finds him to be in default. RFAA, at 3.\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\ Based on the Government's submissions in its RFAA dated
November 4, 2025, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. Specifically, the Government's Declarations
from a DEA Diversion Investigator (DI) and a DEA Task Force Officer
(TFO) indicate that on September 24, 2025, Registrant was personally
served with a copy of the OSC. RFAAX 2, at 2, 6 (Form-DEA 12 signed
by Registrant, acknowledging receipt of the OSC); RFAAX 3, at 1.
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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, on March 5, 2025, Registrant pleaded guilty to two counts of
harassment. RFAAX 1, at 2. As a result of Registrant's guilty plea, he
was ordered to surrender his State of Arkansas medical license. Id. On
April 25, 2025, Registrant surrendered \2\ his Arkansas medical license
to the Arkansas State Medical Board. Id. According to Arkansas online
records, of which the Agency takes official notice,\3\ the current
status of Registrant's Arkansas medical license is ``Inactive.''
Arkansas State Medical Board License Verification, <a href="https://www.armedicalboard.org/public/verify/default.aspx">https://www.armedicalboard.org/public/verify/default.aspx</a> (last visited date of
signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant
is not licensed to practice medicine in Arkansas, the state in which he
is registered with DEA.\4\
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\2\ Under the Arkansas Medical Board's Definitions,
``surrendered'' means that the ``[p]ractitioner has voluntarily
relinquished his license.'' Because Registrant was ordered to
surrender his registration, the surrender was not voluntary, and
more closely resembles the definition of a revocation. The Arkansas
Medical Board defines ``revoked'' to mean that the ``[l]icense has
been removed.''
\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 to
practice medicine in Arkansas. 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#b8dcddd996d9dcdcd796d9ccccd7cad6ddc1cbf8dcddd996dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="87e3e2e6a9e6e3e3e8a9e6f3f3e8f5e9e2fef4c7e3e2e6a9e0e8f1">[email protected]</span></a>.
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Discussion
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized
to
[[Page 3547]]
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., Merry Alice Troupe, N.P., 89 FR 81,549,
(2024); Rachel Jackson, P.A., 90 FR 13,198 (2025).\5\
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\5\ 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, M.D., 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, M.D., 43 FR at 27,617.
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According to Arkansas 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 controlled substance for that delivery.'' Ark.
Code Ann. 5-64-101(7) (2025). 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 in the course of professional
practice or research in [the] state.'' Id. 64-101(20)(A).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
lacks authority to practice medicine in Arkansas. As discussed above,
an individual must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled
substance in Arkansas. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to
practice medicine in Arkansas and, therefore, is not authorized to
handle controlled substances in Arkansas, 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.
BM6528369 issued to Adam Maass, 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 Adam Maass, M.D., to renew or
modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of
Adam Maass, M.D., for additional registration in Arkansas. This Order
is effective [insert Date Thirty Days From the Date of Publication in
the Federal Register].
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
January 16, 2026, 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. 2026-01499 Filed 1-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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