Notice2026-18599
Cheryl White, N.P.; Decision and Order
Primary source
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Published
September 11, 2026
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 175 (Friday, September 11, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 175 (Friday, September 11, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57927-57928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18599]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Cheryl White, N.P.; Decision and Order
On March 17, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Cheryl White, N.P.,
of Newburgh, Indiana (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action
(RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 2, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of
Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. MW0411049, alleging that
Registrant is ``currently without authority to prescribe, administer,
dispense, or otherwise handle controlled substances in the State of
Indiana, the state in which [she is] registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2.
(citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).\1\
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\1\ According to Agency records, Registrant's registration
expired on May 31, 2026. The fact that a registrant allows her
registration to expire during the pendency of an OSC 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 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 2.\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 May
21, 2026, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on Registrant was
adequate. The RFAA's included Declaration from a DEA Diversion
Investigator (DI) indicates that on or about March 31, 2026, the DI
mailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's residential address in
Lexington, Kentucky. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment D. On
the same date, the DI emailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's
registered email address. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment F.
The mailed copy of the OSC was successfully delivered on April 2,
2026. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment E. 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)). Therefore, due process notice
requirements have been satisfied. See 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); Emilio Luna, M.D., 77 FR 4829, 4830
(2012) (same).
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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. at 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 3; 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 October 31, 2023, Registrant's Indiana registered nurse
license, Registrant's Indiana Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
Prescriptive Authority license, and Registrant's Indiana Controlled
Substances Registration (CSR) Prescriptive Authority license all
expired by their own terms. RFAAX 2, at 1-2.
According to Indiana online records, of which the Agency takes
official notice,\3\ Registrant's Indiana registered nurse license,
Registrant's Indiana APRN Prescriptive Authority license, and
Registrant's Indiana CSR Prescriptive Authority license all remain
expired. State of Indiana License Search, <a href="https://www.mylicense.in.gov/everification/Search.aspx">https://www.mylicense.in.gov/everification/Search.aspx</a> (last visited date of signature of this
Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not licensed
to practice nursing nor to handle controlled substances in Indiana, the
state in which she 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 Order, is not licensed to
practice nursing nor to handle controlled substances in Indiana.
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#214544400f4045454e0f4055554e534f445852614544400f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2d49484c034c494942034c5959425f4348545e6d49484c034a425b">[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
[[Page 57928]]
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 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th
Cir. 2012); Shane Lydon, M.D., 91 FR 43112 (2026); Javaid A. Perwaiz,
M.D., 86 FR 20732 (2021).\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., 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 Indiana statute, and subject to exceptions irrelevant
here, ``[e]very person who dispenses or proposes to dispense any
controlled substance within Indiana must have a registration issued by
the [Indiana Board of Pharmacy] in accordance with the board's rules.''
Ind. Code 35-48-3-3(b) (2025). Further, ``dispense'' means ``to deliver
a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or
pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner and includes the
prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding
necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery.'' Id. at 35-48-
1.1-11.
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
currently lacks authority to handle controlled substances in Indiana
because her Indiana CSR Prescriptive Authority license is expired. As
discussed above, a person must hold an Indiana controlled substances
registration to dispense a controlled substance in Indiana. Thus,
because Registrant lacks authority to handle controlled substances in
Indiana, 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.
MW0411049 issued to Cheryl White, 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 Cheryl White, N.P., to renew or
modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of
Cheryl White, N.P., for additional registration in Indiana. This Order
is effective October 13, 2026.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
September 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. 2026-18599 Filed 9-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 11, 2026.
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