80 FR 50034 - Devra Hamilton, N.P.; Decision and Order

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 159 (August 18, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 159 (Tuesday, August 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50034-50035]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20348]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Devra Hamilton, N.P.; Decision and Order

    On November 24, 2014, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to Devra Hamilton, N.P. (hereinafter, Respondent), 
of Las Vegas, Nevada. GX 1. The Show Cause Order proposed the 
revocation of Respondent's Certificate of Registration MH2194176, on 
the ground that she does not currently possess authority to handle 
controlled substances in Nevada, the State in which she is registered 
with the Agency. Id. at 1-2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
    The Show Cause Order specifically alleged that on January 16, 2014, 
the Nevada State Board of Nursing suspended Respondent's license as an 
Advance Practitioner of Nursing (APN), after she admitted that the 
Board had ``sufficient evidence to prove that [she] prescribed large 
amounts of unit doses of controlled substances between January 1, 2012 
and December 31, 2012, that [she] failed to adequately assess patients 
prior to prescribing controlled substances, and that [she] documented 
inaccurate and contradictory information in medical records.'' Id. at 1 
(citations omitted). The Show Cause Order further alleged that in March 
2014, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy revoked her license to 
prescribe controlled substances based on the Nursing Board's suspension 
of her APN license. Id. The Order thus alleged that Respondent is 
``currently without authority to handle controlled substances'' in the 
State in which she is registered, and that her registration is 
therefore subject to revocation.\1\ Id. at 2.
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    \1\ The Show Cause Order also notified Respondent of her 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).
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    As evidenced by the signed return receipt card, on December 1, 
2014, Respondent was served with the Show Cause Order. GX 2. On January 
6, 2015, Respondent filed a letter (dated Jan. 2, 2015) which presented 
her position on the issues involved in the Nursing Board's proceeding. 
GX 3. Respondent did not, however, dispute that DEA ``must revoke'' her 
registration. Id. Nor did she request a hearing on the allegations of 
the Show Cause Order. Id.
    As explained above, under 21 CFR 1301.43(c), ``[a]ny person 
entitled to a hearing . . . may, within the period permitted for filing 
a request for a hearing or a notice of appearance, file with the 
Administrator a waiver of an opportunity for a hearing . . . together 
with a written statement regarding such person's position on the 
matters of fact and law involved in such hearing.'' However, DEA 
regulations require that the written statement be filed ``within 30 
days after the date of receipt of the'' Show Cause Order, 21 CFR 
1301.43(a), and specify that documents ``shall be dated and deemed 
filed upon receipt by the Hearing Clerk.'' Id. Sec.  1316.45. Thus, I 
find that Respondent's letter was untimely and do not consider it. I 
further find that Respondent has waived her right to a hearing.
    Thereafter, on January 28, 2015, the Government submitted a Request 
for Final Agency Action with accompanying documentation, including the 
Nursing Board's Order suspending her APN license and a printout from 
the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy showing the status of her state 
controlled substance license. I make the following findings of fact.

Findings

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e), I take official notice of Respondent's 
registration record with the Agency. According to that record, 
Respondent is currently registered as a mid-level practitioner, with 
authority to dispense controlled substances in schedules II through V, 
at the address of 9010 W. Cheyenne, Las Vegas, NV 89129. Respondent's 
registration does not expire under October 31, 2016.
    On January 8, 2014, Respondent entered into an ``Agreement for 
Probation and Suspension of [her] Advanced Practitioner of Nursing 
Certificate''; on January 16, 2014, the Board approved the agreement. 
Therein, Respondent denied the allegations raised by the Board, but 
admitted that ``the Board ha[d] sufficient evidence to prove that she 
prescribed large amounts of unit doses of controlled substances between 
January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, that she failed to adequately 
assess patients prior to prescribing controlled substances, and that 
she documented inaccurate and contradictory information in medical 
records.'' GX 4, at 1. Respondent further agreed to the Board's 
issuance of a decision and order which suspended her Advanced 
Practitioner of Nursing Certificate ``for a minimum of one year.'' Id. 
at 3. According to the online records of the Board, Respondent's 
Advanced Practitioner of Nursing Certificate either expired on January 
16, 2014 or remains suspended as of this date. So too, her Board of 
Pharmacy license remains suspended as of this date.

Discussion

    The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) grants the Attorney General 
authority to revoke a registration ``upon a finding that the registrant 
. . . has had [her] 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, DEA has long held that a practitioner must 
be currently authorized to handle controlled substances in the 
``jurisdiction in which [she] practices'' in order to maintain a DEA 
registration. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21) (``the term `practitioner' means a 
physician . . . or other person licensed, registered or otherwise 
permitted, by . . . the jurisdiction in which [she] 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 . . . to dispense 
. . . if the applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled 
substances under the laws of the State in which [she] 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, the evidence shows that both Respondent's Advance 
Practitioner of Nursing Certificate and her state Controlled Substance 
License have been suspended by the Nevada State Board of Nursing and 
the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy respectively. I therefore hold that 
Respondent no longer possesses authority under Nevada law to dispense 
controlled substances and that she is

[[Page 50035]]

therefore not entitled to maintain her DEA registration. See 21 U.S.C. 
802(21), 823(f), and 824(a)(3). Accordingly, I will order that her 
registration be revoked.

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 
MH2194176 issued to Devra A. Hamilton, A.P.N., be, and it hereby is, 
revoked. I further order that any pending application of Devra A. 
Hamilton, A.P.N., to renew or modify her registration, be, and it 
hereby is, denied. This Order is effective September 17, 2015.

    Dated: August 10, 2015.
Chuck Rosenberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-20348 Filed 8-17-15; 8:45 am]
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