Notice2026-11572
Ashley Vermillion, N.P.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
June 10, 2026
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35270-35271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11572]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Ashley Vermillion, N.P.; Decision and Order
On November 17, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Ashley Vermillion,
N.P., of Brunswick, Maine (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. MV8750134, 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 Maine, the state
in which [she is] registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C.
824(a)(3)).
The OSC notified Registrant of her right to file a written request
for hearing, and that if she failed to file such a request, she would
be deemed to have waived her 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 her 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
January 5, 2026, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. The included declaration from a DEA
Diversion Investigator (DI) indicates that on November 18, 2025, the
DI emailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's registered email
address and mailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's ``mail to''
address. RFAAX 2, at 1-2; see also id., Attachments A-B. Further, on
November 25, 2025, the DI and other DEA personnel attempted to
personally serve Registrant at her registered address but were
informed upon arrival that Registrant no longer worked there and had
relocated to Ohio. Id. at 2. Here, the Agency finds that Registrant
was successfully served the OSC by email and that the DI's efforts
to serve Registrant by other means were `` `reasonably calculated,
under all the circumstances, to apprise [Registrant] of the pendency
of the action.' '' Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220, 226 (2006)
(quoting Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306,
314 (1950)); see also Mohammed S. Aljanaby, M.D., 82 FR 34552, 34552
(2017) (finding that service by email satisfies due process where
the email is not returned as undeliverable and other methods have
been unsuccessful).
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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, Registrant's state nursing license expired on July 8, 2025. RFAAX
1, at 2. According to Maine online records, of which the Agency takes
official notice,\2\ Registrant's state nursing license remains expired.
Maine State Board of Nursing License Search, <a href="https://www.pfr.maine.gov/ALMSOnline/ALMSQuery/Welcome.aspx">https://www.pfr.maine.gov/ALMSOnline/ALMSQuery/Welcome.aspx</a> (last visited date of signature of
this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not
licensed as a nurse practitioner in Maine, the state in which she is
registered with DEA.\3\
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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).
\3\ 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 Maine. 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#5a3e3f3b743b3e3e35743b2e2e3528343f23291a3e3f3b743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c4a0a1a5eaa5a0a0abeaa5b0b0abb6aaa1bdb784a0a1a5eaa3abb2">[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
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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., Lawrence Rudolph, D.M.D., 89 FR 79310 (2024); Henry-Norbert O.
Ndekwe, M.D., 90 FR 15990 (2025); Benson Sergiles, P.A., 90 FR 32016
(2025).\4\
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\4\ 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., Elias Garcia Garcia, P.A., 90 FR 31242 (2025); Jason Weakley,
R.N., A.P.R.N., 90 FR 10085 (2025); Khursheed Haider, M.D., 90 FR
21950 (2025).
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According to Maine statute, a ``prescription drug order'' means ``a
lawful written or oral order of a practitioner for a drug or device.
Written orders may be issued on a prescription form or by electronic
transmission.'' Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 32, Sec. 13702-A(31) (2025).
Further, ``practitioner'' means ``an individual who is licensed,
registered or otherwise authorized in the appropriate jurisdiction to
prescribe and administer drugs in the course of professional
practice.'' Id. Sec. 13702-A(29).'' Additionally, a ``prescriber''
means ``a licensed health care professional or veterinarian with
prescriptive authority, including a licensed health care professional
or veterinarian who uses telehealth in providing health care to
prescribe controlled substances to patients located in th[e] State.''
Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, Sec. 7246(5) (2025). ``Dispense'' means ``the
preparation and delivery of a prescription drug in a suitable container
appropriately labeled for subsequent administration to or use by a
patient or other individual entitled to receive the prescription drug
pursuant to a lawful order of a practitioner.'' Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 32,
Sec. 13702-A(9) (2025).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
lacks authority to practice nursing in Maine because her Maine nursing
license expired. As discussed above, an individual must be a licensed
practitioner to dispense or prescribe a controlled substance in Maine.
Thus, because Registrant currently lacks authority to practice nursing
in Maine, and, therefore, is not currently authorized to handle
controlled substances in Maine, 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.
MV750134 issued to Ashley Vermillion, 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 Ashley Vermillion, N.P., to
renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending
application of Ashley Vermillion, N.P., for additional registration in
Maine. This Order is effective July 10, 2026.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
June 2, 2026, by DEA 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. 2026-11572 Filed 6-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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