[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 15, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38711-38712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17146]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Raman I. Popli, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On May 4, 2017, the Assistant Administrator, Diversion Control 
Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (hereinafter, DEA or 
Government), issued an Order to Show Cause to Raman Popli, M.D. 
(hereinafter, Registrant) of McHenry, Illinois, the holder of 
Certificate of Registration No. BP7189067. GX 2 (Registration 
Certificate). The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of 
Registrant's Certificate of Registration on the ground that Registrant 
does ``not have authority to handle controlled substances in the State 
of Illinois,'' the State in which he is registered. GX 1, at 1 (citing 
21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a)(3)).
    As the jurisdictional basis for the proceeding, the Show Cause 
Order alleged that registration BP7189067, pursuant to which Registrant 
is authorized to prescribe controlled substances in Schedules II 
through V, expires on March 31, 2019. Id.
    As the substantive grounds for the proceeding, the Show Cause Order 
alleged that Registrant currently lacks ``authority to handle 
controlled substances in the State of Illinois.'' Id. It alleged that, 
on March 13, 2017, Illinois suspended Registrant's ``authority to 
prescribe and administer controlled substances.'' Id.
    The Show Cause Order notified Registrant of his right to request a 
hearing on the allegation or to submit a written statement while 
waiving his right to a hearing, the procedures for electing each 
option, and the consequences for failing to elect either option. Id. at 
2, citing 21 CFR 1301.43. The Show Cause Order also notified Registrant 
of the opportunity to submit a corrective action plan. Id., citing 21 
U.S.C. 824(c)(2)(C).
    On May 5, 2017, a DEA Office of Chief Counsel Legal Assistant faxed 
and mailed ``via USPS First Class Mail'' a copy of the Show Cause Order 
to Registrant's attorney, Alan Rhine, Esq., at the fax number and 
business address he provided. GX 5, at 1 (Legal Assistant Declaration 
dated June 8, 2017) and attachment. The Legal Assistant's Declaration 
appended emails to and from Registrant's attorney confirming that 
Registrant authorized him to accept service of documents from the DEA 
on Registrant's behalf. Id. I find that the Government's service of the 
Show Cause Order on Registrant was legally sufficient.
    The Government submitted a Request for Final Agency Action 
(hereinafter, RFAA) dated June 9, 2017 and an evidentiary record to 
support the Show Cause Order's allegations. According to the 
Government's representations in the RFAA, ``more than thirty days have 
passed since the Order to Show Cause was served on Respondent and no 
request for hearing has been received by DEA, and . . . no written 
statement or other correspondence has been filed in lieu of a hearing 
request.'' RFAA, at 1.
    Based on the Government's representations and my review of the 
record, I find that more than 30 days have now passed since the date of 
service of the Show Cause Order on Registrant through his attorney, and 
that neither Registrant, his attorney, nor anyone else purporting to 
represent him, has requested a hearing or submitted a written statement 
while waiving his right to a hearing. Accordingly, I find that 
Registrant has waived his right to a hearing and his right to submit a 
written statement. 21 CFR 1301.43(d). I therefore issue this Decision 
and Order based on the record submitted by the Government. 21 CFR 
1301.43(e).

[[Page 38712]]

Findings of Fact

Registrant's DEA Registration

    Registrant currently holds DEA practitioner registration BP7189067 
authorizing him to dispense controlled substances in Schedules II 
through V. GX 2. This registration expires on March 31, 2019. Id.
    DEA practitioner registration BP7189067 is assigned to Registrant 
at ``Dr Raman Popli and Associates, Ltd, 5415 Bull Valley Road, 
McHenry, IL 60050.'' Id.

The Status of Registrant's State Licenses

    On March 13, 2017, the Director of the Division of Professional 
Regulation of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional 
Regulation issued an Order suspending Registrant's Illinois Physician 
and Surgeon License No. 036-104035 and Illinois Controlled Substance 
License No. 336-064820 pending proceedings before an Administrative Law 
Judge at the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and 
the Medical Disciplinary Board of the State of Illinois. GX 3 (Order, 
at 1-2).\1\ According to the Order, ``the public interest, safety and 
welfare imperatively require emergency action to prevent the continued 
practice of Raman Popli, M.D., Respondent, in that Respondent's actions 
constitute an immediate danger to the public.'' Id. (Order, at 1).
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    \1\ Since the pages in GX 3 are not consecutively paginated, 
this Decision and Order identifies the relevant document in GX 3 and 
the relevant page number of that document.
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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 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA), ``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, the 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. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 76 FR 71,371 
(2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 Fed. Appx. 826 (4th Cir. 2012); 
Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR 27,616 (1978).
    This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the CSA. 
First, Congress defined the term `` `practitioner' [to] mean[ ] a . . . 
physician, dentist, . . . 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. 
801(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, the 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., Hooper, 76 FR at 71,371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, 
71 FR 39,130, 39,131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, 58 FR 51,104, 51,105 
(1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 11,919, 11,920 (1988); Blanton, 43 FR at 
27,616.
    Under Illinois law, ``[n]o person shall practice medicine . . . 
without a valid, active license to do so . . . .'' 225 ILCS 60/3 
(2017). Further, ``[e]very person who . . . dispenses any controlled 
substances . . . must obtain a registration issued by the [Illinois] 
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in accordance with 
its rules.'' 720 ILCS 570/302(a).
    In this case, the Division of Professional Regulation of the 
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation took 
emergency action to suspend Registrant's Physician and Surgeon License 
and Illinois Controlled Substance License. Supra. Consequently, 
Registrant is not currently authorized to handle controlled substances 
in the State of Illinois, the State in which he is registered, and he 
is not entitled to maintain his registration. Blanton, supra. 
Accordingly, I will order this his registration be revoked and that any 
pending application for the renewal or modification of his registration 
be denied. 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3) and 823(f).

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), as well 
as 28 CFR 0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of Registration 
BP7189067 issued to Raman I. Popli, M.D., as well as DATA-Waiver 
Identification No. XP7189067, be, and they hereby are, revoked. I 
further order that any pending application of Raman I. Popli, M.D., to 
renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending 
application by him for registration in the State of Illinois, be, and 
it hereby is, denied. This order is effective immediately.\2\
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    \2\ For the same reasons the Division of Professional Regulation 
of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation 
suspended Registrant's Illinois Physician and Surgeon License and 
Illinois Controlled Substance License, I find that the public 
interest necessitates that this Order be effective immediately. 21 
CFR 1316.67.

    Dated: August 4, 2017.
Chuck Rosenberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-17146 Filed 8-14-17; 8:45 am]
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