[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 84 (Thursday, May 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24754-24755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09961]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Gregory White, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On December 18, 2013, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, issued an Order to 
Show Cause to Gregory White, M.D. (Registrant), of Redding, California. 
The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Registrant's 
Certificate of Registration BW7606619, and the denial of any pending 
application to renew or modify his registration, on the ground that he 
is no longer authorized to handle controlled substances in California, 
the State in which he is registered with DEA. Show Cause Order at 
1(citing 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 824(a)(3)).
    The Show Cause Order alleged that Registrant is registered with the 
DEA as a practitioner in Schedules II-V, at the registered address of 
473 South Street, Redding, California 96001, and that his registration 
does not expire until May 31, 2016. Id. at 1. The Show Cause Order then 
alleged that on May 21, 2013, the Medical Board of California (MBC) 
issued an accusation against Registrant, seeking to revoke or suspend 
his state medical license. Id.
    Next, the Show Cause Order alleged that on September 13, 2013, an 
administrative law judge (ALJ) with the State's Office of 
Administrative Hearings (hereinafter, OAH) issued an order granting the 
MBC's Petition for an Ex Parte Interim Suspension Order, which 
immediately suspended Registrant's license to practice medicine. Id. 
The Show Cause Order further alleged that on October 9, 2013, the OAH 
ALJ issued a Decision and Order, which suspended Registrant's license 
to practice medicine in the State of California and scheduled a hearing 
for June 30 through August 8, 2014. Id. at 1. The Show Cause Order thus 
alleged that Registrant does not have a valid license to handle 
controlled substances as required by state law, and that he is 
therefore currently without authority to handle controlled substances 
in the State in which he is registered with the DEA. Id. at 2 (citing 
Cal. Health & Safety Code section 11000 et seq.; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 
section 2000 et seq.). The Show Cause Order also notified Registrant of 
his right to request a hearing on the allegations or to submit a 
written statement in lieu of a hearing, the procedure for electing 
either option, and the consequence of failing to elect either option. 
Id. at 2 (citing 21 CFR 1301.43).
    On December 19, 2013, a DEA Special Agent personally served the 
Order to Show Cause on Registrant. GX 6, at 1. Since the date of 
service, neither Registrant, nor anyone purporting to represent him, 
has requested a hearing or submitted a written statement in lieu of a 
hearing. Because more than thirty (30) days have passed since service 
of the Show Cause Order, I conclude that Registrant has waived his 
right to a hearing or to submit a written statement. 21 CFR 1301.43(d). 
I therefore issue this Decision and Order based on relevant material 
contained in the record submitted by the Government. I make the 
following factual findings.

Findings

    Registrant is the holder of DEA Certificate of Registration 
BW7606619, pursuant to which he is authorized to dispense controlled 
substances in schedules II through V. GX 2, at 1. Registrant also holds 
an identification number as a Data-Waived Practitioner. Id. Registrant 
last renewed his registration on April 15, 2013, and his registration 
does not expire until May 31, 2016. Id.
    On September 13, 2012, the MBC filed an Accusation against 
Registrant's California Physician's and Surgeon's Certificate, and on 
May 21, 2013, the MBC filed a First Amended Accusation which raised 
extensive allegations regarding his prescribing of controlled 
substances to five patients. GX 3; GX 5, at 3.
    On some date which is not clear on the record, the MBC filed a 
Petition for an Ex Parte Interim Suspension Order. GX 4, at 1. On 
September 13, 2013, a state ALJ conducted a hearing, after which she 
concluded that Registrant ``is unable to practice safely due to 
violations of the Medical Practice Act,'' that permitting him ``to 
continue to engage in the practice of medicine will endanger the public 
health, safety, and welfare,'' and that ``[s]erious injury would result 
to the public before the matter can be heard on notice.'' Id. at 2. The 
ALJ then ordered that Registrant's state medical license be immediately 
suspended pending a further hearing. Id.
    On October 2, 2013, the state ALJ conducted that hearing (at which 
both parties put on evidence), after which she concluded that: (1) The 
MBC had established that there was ``a reasonable probability that [it 
would] prevail if an accusation is filed against'' Registrant, and (2) 
``the likelihood of injury to the public in not issuing an [immediate 
suspension order] outweighs the likelihood of injury to respondent in 
issuing the order.'' GX 5, at 9.

[[Page 24755]]

Accordingly, the state ALJ granted the MBC's petition and suspended 
Registrant's California medical license and thus prohibited him from 
practicing medicine in the State pending a final decision on the 
accusation. Id. at 12 \1\ (citing Cal. Govt. Code Sec.  11529(f) (West 
2013)). An internet search of the MBC's public record actions Web page 
found the following entry for Registrant: ``Full interim suspension 
order issued--no practice.''
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    \1\ The Order also scheduled the final hearing on the MBC's 
accusation for June 30 through August 8, 2014. GX 5, at 3.
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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 section 823 ``upon a 
finding that the registrant . . . has had his State license . . . 
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 
repeatedly 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.'' Richard H. Ng, 77 FR 
29694, 29695 (2012).
    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(f).
    Because Congress has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess 
state authority in order to be deemed a practitioner under the CSA, DEA 
has further held 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 medicine. See, e.g., Calvin Ramsey, 76 FR 20034, 20036 
(2011); Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick 
A. Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 11919, 11920 
(1988). This is so even where the practitioner's state authority has 
been suspended prior to a hearing on the merits of the State's 
accusation and at which, the practitioner may ultimately prevail. See, 
e.g., Ng, 77 FR 29695 (citations omitted).
    Because Registrant is no longer licensed to practice medicine and 
to dispense controlled substances in California, the State in which he 
is registered with DEA, under the CSA, he is no longer entitled to hold 
his registration. Accordingly, I will order that his registration and 
X-number be revoked and that any pending applications be denied.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 
824(a), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, I order that DEA 
Certificate of Registration BW7606619 and Data-Waiver Identification 
Number XW7606619 issued to Gregory White, M.D., be, and they hereby 
are, revoked. I further order that any pending application of Gregory 
White, M.D., to renew or modify his registration, be, and it hereby is, 
denied. This Order is effective immediately.\2\
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    \2\ For the same reasons that the State of California has 
immediately suspended Registration's medical license, I conclude 
that the public interest necessitates that my Order be effective 
immediately. See 21 CFR 1316.67.

    Date: April 21, 2014.
Thomas M. Harrigan,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-09961 Filed 4-30-14; 8:45 am]
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