[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53964-53965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22091]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Dale J. Bingham, P.A.; Revocation of Registration

    On February 4, 2011, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, issued an Order to 
Show Cause to Dale J. Bingham, P.A. (Registrant), of Ash Fork, Arizona. 
The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Registrant's DEA 
Certificate of Registration MB1048746, which authorizes him to dispense 
controlled substances in schedules II through V, as a mid-level 
practitioner, on the ground that Registrant had entered into a consent 
agreement with the Arizona Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants, 
pursuant to which he no longer has ``authority to handle

[[Page 53965]]

controlled substances in * * * Arizona, the [S]tate in which [he is] 
registered with DEA.'' Show Cause Order at 1 (citing 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(3)). The Show Cause Order also notified Registrant of his right 
to either request a hearing on the allegations or to submit a written 
statement in lieu of a hearing, the procedures for doing either, and 
the consequences if he failed to do either. Id. at 2 (citing 21 CFR 
1301.43(a), (c)-(e)).
    The Government initially attempted to serve Registrant with the 
Order to Show Cause by certified mail addressed to him at his 
registered location. However, this mailing was returned unclaimed with 
the notations: ``No City Delivery'' and ``Requires PO Box Number.'' GX 
3. On March 8, 2011, the Government served the Show Cause Order on 
Registrant by certified mail addressed to him at an address he had 
previously provided to the Agency for receiving mail.\1\ GX 4. The 
Investigative Record includes a signed return receipt card establishing 
service. Id.
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    \1\ In its request for final agency action, the Government also 
stated that it mailed the Show Cause Order to Registrant at his last 
known address.
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    Since the date of service of the Show Cause Order, neither 
Registrant, nor anyone purporting to represent him, has either 
requested a hearing or submitted a written statement in lieu thereof. 
Because more than thirty days have now passed since service of the Show 
Cause Order, I find that Registrant has waived his right to either 
request a hearing or to submit a written statement. I therefore issue 
this Decision and Final Order based on relevant evidence contained in 
the Investigative Record submitted by the Government.

Findings

    Registrant is the holder of DEA Certificate of Registration 
MB1048746, which authorizes him to dispense controlled substances in 
schedules II through V as a mid-level practitioner, at the registered 
address of 112 Ash Park Drive, Ash Fork, AZ. GX 1. Registrant's 
registration does not expire until July 31, 2012. Id.
    Registrant is also the holder of a license issued by the Arizona 
Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants which formerly authorized him 
to perform health care tasks in Arizona. GX 6, at 1. However, according 
to a Consent Agreement which Registrant entered into with the Board on 
March 26, 2010, Registrant ``has a medical condition that may limit his 
ability to safely engage in the performance of health care tasks.'' \2\ 
Id. Accordingly, the Board ordered that Registrant's practice be 
``limited in that he shall not perform health care tasks in the State 
of Arizona and is prohibited from prescribing any form of treatment 
including prescription medication until [he] applies to the Board and 
receives permission to do so.'' Id. at 2. I therefore find that 
Registrant is without authority to dispense controlled substances under 
the laws of the State of Arizona, the State in which he holds his DEA 
registration.
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    \2\ The Board noted, however, that ``[t]here has been no finding 
of unprofessional conduct against'' Registrant. GX 6, at 2.
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Discussion

    The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) grants the Attorney General 
authority to revoke a registration ``upon a finding that the registrant 
* * * has had his State license or registration suspended [or] revoked 
* * * and is no longer authorized by State law to engage in the * * * 
distribution [or] dispensing of controlled substances.'' 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(3). Moreover, consistent with the CSA's definition of the term 
``practitioner,'' DEA has long held that a practitioner must be 
currently authorized to handle controlled substances in ``the 
jurisdiction in which he practices'' in order to maintain a DEA 
registration. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21) (``[t]he term `practitioner' means 
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''). See also id. Sec.  823(f) 
(``The Attorney General shall register practitioners * * * if the 
applicant is authorized to dispense * * * controlled substances under 
the laws of the State in which he practices.'').
    As these provisions make plain, possessing authority under state 
law to dispense controlled substances is an essential condition for 
holding a DEA registration. See David W. Wang, 72 FR 54297, 54298 
(2007); Sheran Arden Yeates, 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A. 
Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 11919, 11920 
(1988). Here, while Registrant retains an Arizona P.A. license, the 
evidence establishes that he is no longer authorized under his license 
to dispense controlled substances. Because Registrant no longer 
satisfies this requirement, he is not entitled to maintain his 
registration. Accordingly, I will order that Registrant's registration 
be revoked and any pending application be denied.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 
824(a)(3), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of 
Registration MB1048746, issued to Dale J. Bingham, P.A., be, and it 
hereby is, revoked. I further order that any application of Dale H. 
Bingham, P.A., to renew or modify his registration, be denied. This 
Order is effective September 29, 2011.

    Dated: August 17, 2011.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-22091 Filed 8-29-11; 8:45 am]
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