82 FR 8432 - Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D.; Decision and Order

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 15 (January 25, 2017)

Page Range		8432-8433
FR Document		2017-01690
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8432-8433]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01690]


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 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On September 20, 2016, the Assistant Administrator, Diversion 
Control Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to Gentry R. Dunlop, M.D. (Registrant), of Aurora, 
Colorado. The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Registrant's 
DEA Certificate of Registration on the ground that he does not have 
authority to dispense controlled substances in Colorado, the State in 
which he is registered with the DEA. Order to Show Cause, at 1 (citing 
21 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  823(f) and 824(a)(3)).
    As grounds for the action, the Show Cause Order alleged that 
Registrant is the holder of Certificate of Registration BD0874378, 
pursuant to which he is authorized to dispense controlled substances in 
schedules II through V as a practitioner, at the registered address of 
4745 South Helena Way, Aurora, Colorado. Id. The Order alleged that 
Registrant's registration does not expire until June 30, 2019. Id.
    The Show Cause Order also alleged that effective on July 19, 2016, 
the Colorado Medical Board issued an order ``which suspended 
[Registrant's] authority to practice medicine'' and that Registrant is 
``without authority to [dispense] controlled substances in Colorado, 
the [S]tate in which [he is] registered with the'' Agency. Id. The 
Order then asserted that as a consequence of the Board's action, ``DEA 
must revoke your [registration] based upon your lack of authority to 
handle controlled substances in the State of Colorado.'' Id. (citing 21 
U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  802(21), 823(f) and 824(a)(3)).
    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 for failing to elect either option. Id. at 2 (citing 21 CFR 
1301.43). In addition, the Show Cause Order notified Registrant of his 
right to submit a Corrective Action Plan. Id. at 2-3.
    On or about September 21, 2016, a Diversion Investigator (DI) with 
the Denver Division Office mailed the Show Cause Order to Registrant 
via Certified Mail addressed to him at his registered address of 4745 
South Helena Way, Aurora, Colorado. GX 3, at 1-2 (Declaration of DI). 
According to the DI, using the Postal Service's tracking system, she 
determined that the Show Cause Order was delivered to Registrant's 
address on September 28, 2016; the DI also averred that on or about 
September 30, 2016, she received back the return receipt card. Id. at 
2.
    On November 7, 2016, the Government forwarded its Request for Final 
Agency Action (RFAA) and an evidentiary record to my Office. Therein, 
the Government represents that it ``has not received a request for 
hearing or any other reply from Registrant.'' RFAA, at 2.
    Based on the Government's representation that more than 30 days 
have now passed since the date of service of the Show Cause Order and 
that Registrant has not submitted a request for a hearing or any other 
reply, I find that Registrant has waived his right to a hearing or to 
submit a written statement in lieu of a hearing. 21 CFR 1301.43(d). I 
therefore issue this Decision and Final Order based on

[[Page 8433]]

relevant evidence contained in the record submitted by the Government. 
21 CFR 1301.43(d) & (e). I make the following findings of fact. Id. 
Sec. 1301.43(e).

Findings of Fact

    Registrant is the holder of DEA Certificate of Registration 
BD0874378, pursuant to which he is authorized to dispense controlled 
substances in Schedules II through V as a practitioner, at the 
registered address of 4745 S. Helena Way, Aurora, Colorado. GX 2. His 
registration does not expire until June 30, 2019. Id.
    Registrant is also the holder of a license to practice medicine 
(DR-28729) issued by the Colorado Medical Board (the Board). GX 4, at 
1. However, on July 19, 2016, the Board issued Registrant an Order of 
Suspension effective the same day which ``shall remain in effect until 
resolution of this matter.'' \1\ Id. at 2. As Registrant did not 
respond to the Show Cause Order, let alone submit any evidence to show 
that his state license has been reinstated, I find that he does not 
possess authority to dispense controlled substances under the laws of 
Colorado, the State in which he is registered with the Agency.
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    \1\ As the basis for its order, the Board found that Registrant 
signed several hundred certifications recommending the medical use 
of marijuana and authorizing the possession of increased plant 
counts, and that these certifications were ``for conditions other 
than cancer.'' GX 4, at 1. The Board further found that ``signing 
the . . . certifications . . . in the absence of cancer diagnosis 
and treatment falls below generally accepted standards of medical 
practice and lacks medical necessity'' and was ``unprofessional 
conduct'' in violation of the Colorado Revised Statute Sec.  12-36-
117(l)(p) and (mm). Id. Based on its review of information relevant 
to three investigations pertaining to Registrant, the Board found 
``reasonable grounds to believe that the public health, safety or 
welfare imperatively requires emergency action and/or that 
[Registrant] was guilty of a deliberate and willful violation of 
law.'' Id. at 1-2.
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Discussion

    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Sec.  824(a)(3), the Attorney General is 
authorized to suspend or revoke a registration issued under section 823 
of Title 21, ``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.'' Moreover, with respect to a 
practitioner, DEA has 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 registration. See, e.g., 
James L. Hooper, 76 FR 71371 (2011) (collecting cases), pet. for rev. 
denied, 481 Fed. Appx. 826 (4th Cir. 2012); see also Frederick Marsh 
Blanton, 43 FR 27616 (1978) (``State authorization to dispense or 
otherwise handle controlled substances is a prerequisite to the 
issuance and maintenance of a Federal controlled substances 
registration.'').
    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. Sec.  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. Sec.  823(f). Because Congress has clearly 
mandated that a practitioner possess state authority in order to be 
deemed a practitioner under the Act, 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 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); see also Frederick Marsh 
Blanton, 43 FR 27616 (1978).
    Moreover, because ``the controlling question'' in a proceeding 
brought under 21 U.S.C. Sec.  824(a)(3) is whether the holder of a DEA 
registration ``is currently authorized to handle controlled substances 
in the [S]tate,'' Hooper, 76 FR at 71371 (quoting Anne Lazar Thorn, 62 
FR 12847, 12848 (1997)), the Agency has also long held that revocation 
is warranted even where a practitioner has lost his state authority by 
virtue of the State's use of summary process and the State has yet to 
provide a hearing to challenge the suspension. Bourne Pharmacy, 72 FR 
18273, 18274 (2007); Wingfield Drugs, 52 FR 27070, 27071 (1987). Thus, 
it is of no consequence that the Colorado Medical Board has employed 
summary process in suspending Registrant's state license. What is 
consequential is that Registrant is no longer currently authorized to 
dispense controlled substances in the State in which he is registered. 
I will therefore order that his registration be revoked.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. Sec.  824(a), 
as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of 
Registration BD0874378, issued to Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D., be, and 
it hereby is, revoked. Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 
U.S.C. Sec.  823(f), I further order that any pending application of 
Gentry Reeves Dunlop, 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 led the Colorado Board to 
summarily suspend Registrant's medical license, I find that the 
public interest necessitates that this Order be effective 
immediately. 21 CFR 1316.67.

    Date: January 17, 2017.
Chuck Rosenberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-01690 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
8432 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 25, 2017 / Notices

Hesheng’’) based upon good cause. This Shenzhen Zm Hesheng has not filed an BD0874378, pursuant to which he is
terminates the investigation. answer or made any appearance in this authorized to dispense controlled
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: investigation. On December 21, 2016, substances in schedules II through V as
Panyin A. Hughes, Office of the General the Commission investigative attorney a practitioner, at the registered address
Counsel, U.S. International Trade filed a response in support of the of 4745 South Helena Way, Aurora,
Commission, 500 E Street SW., motion. No other responses to the Colorado. Id. The Order alleged that
Washington, DC 20436, telephone 202– motion were filed. Registrant’s registration does not expire
205–3042. Copies of non-confidential On December 28, 2016, the ALJ issued until June 30, 2019. Id.
documents filed in connection with this the subject ID (Order No. 11) granting The Show Cause Order also alleged
investigation are or will be available for the motion. The ALJ noted that that effective on July 19, 2016, the
inspection during official business Commission Rules permit terminating Colorado Medical Board issued an order
hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in the the investigation as to any respondent ‘‘which suspended [Registrant’s]
Office of the Secretary, U.S. based upon good cause (19 CFR authority to practice medicine’’ and that
International Trade Commission, 500 E 210.21(a)(1)) and found that good cause Registrant is ‘‘without authority to
Street SW., Washington, DC 20436, exists to grant the motion because [dispense] controlled substances in
telephone 202–205–2000. General service was unsuccessful. ID at 2 (citing Colorado, the [S]tate in which [he is]
information concerning the Commission Certain Protective Cases and registered with the’’ Agency. Id. The
may also be obtained by accessing its Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337–TA– Order then asserted that as a
Internet server (https://www.usitc.gov). 780, Order No. 23 (Dec. 30, 2011) consequence of the Board’s action,
The public record for this investigation (finding good cause to terminate ‘‘DEA must revoke your [registration]
may be viewed on the Commission’s investigation as to respondents after based upon your lack of authority to
electronic docket (EDIS) at https:// service was unsuccessful), not rev’d by handle controlled substances in the
edis.usitc.gov. Hearing-impaired Comm’n Notice (Jan. 24, 2012). None of State of Colorado.’’ Id. (citing 21 U.S.C.
the parties petitioned for review of the §§ 802(21), 823(f) and 824(a)(3)).
persons are advised that information on
ID. The Show Cause Order also notified
this matter can be obtained by
The Commission has determined not Registrant of his right to request a
contacting the Commission’s TDD hearing on the allegations or to submit
terminal on 202–205–1810. to review the ID and to terminate the
investigation. a written statement in lieu of a hearing,
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The the procedure for electing either option,
Commission instituted this investigation The authority for the Commission’s
determination is contained in section and the consequence for failing to elect
on May 16, 2016, based on a complaint either option. Id. at 2 (citing 21 CFR
filed by CTC Global Corporation, of 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (19 U.S.C. 1337), and in Part 1301.43). In addition, the Show Cause
Irvine, California (‘‘CTC Global’’). 81 FR Order notified Registrant of his right to
30340–41 (May 16, 2016). The 210 of the Commission’s Rules of
submit a Corrective Action Plan. Id. at
complaint alleges violations of section Practice and Procedure (19 CFR part
2–3.
337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 210). On or about September 21, 2016, a
amended (19 U.S.C. 1337), in the By order of the Commission. Diversion Investigator (DI) with the
importation into the United States, the Issued: January 19, 2017. Denver Division Office mailed the Show
sale for importation, and the sale within Katherine M. Hiner, Cause Order to Registrant via Certified
the United States after importation of Acting Supervisory Attorney. Mail addressed to him at his registered
certain electrical conductor composite [FR Doc. 2017–01699 Filed 1–24–17; 8:45 am] address of 4745 South Helena Way,
cores and components thereof by reason Aurora, Colorado. GX 3, at 1–2
BILLING CODE 7020–02–P
of infringement of certain claims of U.S. (Declaration of DI). According to the DI,
Patent No. 7,211,319 and U.S. Patent using the Postal Service’s tracking
No. 7,368,162. The notice of system, she determined that the Show
investigation named as respondents, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Cause Order was delivered to
Shenzhen Zm Hesheng and Mercury Registrant’s address on September 28,
Drug Enforcement Administration
Cable & Energy, Inc. of San Juan 2016; the DI also averred that on or
Capistrano, California (‘‘Mercury’’). The Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D.; Decision about September 30, 2016, she received
Office of Unfair Import Investigations is and Order back the return receipt card. Id. at 2.
a party to the investigation. On November 7, 2016, the
On September 23, 2016, the ALJ On September 20, 2016, the Assistant Government forwarded its Request for
issued an ID (Order No. 9) granting an Administrator, Diversion Control Final Agency Action (RFAA) and an
unopposed motion to terminate the Division, Drug Enforcement evidentiary record to my Office.
investigation as to Mercury based upon Administration (DEA), issued an Order Therein, the Government represents that
consent based upon a consent order to Show Cause to Gentry R. Dunlop, it ‘‘has not received a request for hearing
stipulation and consent order. The M.D. (Registrant), of Aurora, Colorado. or any other reply from Registrant.’’
Commission determined not to review. The Show Cause Order proposed the RFAA, at 2.
Comm’n Notice of Non-Review and revocation of Registrant’s DEA Based on the Government’s
Issuance of Consent Order (Oct. 21, Certificate of Registration on the ground representation that more than 30 days
2016). that he does not have authority to have now passed since the date of
On December 13, 2016, CTC Global dispense controlled substances in service of the Show Cause Order and
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES

filed a motion to terminate the Colorado, the State in which he is that Registrant has not submitted a
investigation as to Shenzhen Zm registered with the DEA. Order to Show request for a hearing or any other reply,
Hesheng, the only remaining Cause, at 1 (citing 21 U.S.C. §§ 823(f) I find that Registrant has waived his
respondent. CTC Global stated that and 824(a)(3)). right to a hearing or to submit a written
despite repeated attempts, it has been As grounds for the action, the Show statement in lieu of a hearing. 21 CFR
unable to serve the complaint on Cause Order alleged that Registrant is 1301.43(d). I therefore issue this
Shenzhen Zm Hesheng and that the holder of Certificate of Registration Decision and Final Order based on

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 25, 2017 / Notices 8433

relevant evidence contained in the 76 FR 71371 (2011) (collecting cases), therefore order that his registration be
record submitted by the Government. 21 pet. for rev. denied, 481 Fed. Appx. 826 revoked.
CFR 1301.43(d) & (e). I make the (4th Cir. 2012); see also Frederick Marsh
Order
following findings of fact. Id. Sec. Blanton, 43 FR 27616 (1978) (‘‘State
1301.43(e). authorization to dispense or otherwise Pursuant to the authority vested in me
handle controlled substances is a by 21 U.S.C. § 824(a), as well as 28 CFR
Findings of Fact 0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of
prerequisite to the issuance and
Registrant is the holder of DEA maintenance of a Federal controlled Registration BD0874378, issued to
Certificate of Registration BD0874378, substances registration.’’). Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D., be, and it
pursuant to which he is authorized to This rule derives from the text of two hereby is, revoked. Pursuant to the
dispense controlled substances in provisions of the CSA. First, Congress authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C.
Schedules II through V as a practitioner, defined ‘‘the term ‘practitioner’ [to] § 823(f), I further order that any pending
at the registered address of 4745 S. mean[] a . . . physician . . . or other application of Gentry Reeves Dunlop,
Helena Way, Aurora, Colorado. GX 2. person licensed, registered or otherwise M.D., to renew or modify his
His registration does not expire until permitted, by . . . the jurisdiction in registration, be, and it hereby is, denied.
June 30, 2019. Id. which he practices . . . to distribute, This Order is effective immediately.2
Registrant is also the holder of a Date: January 17, 2017.
dispense, [or] administer . . . a
license to practice medicine (DR–28729)
controlled substance in the course of Chuck Rosenberg,
issued by the Colorado Medical Board
professional practice.’’ 21 U.S.C. Acting Administrator.
(the Board). GX 4, at 1. However, on July
§ 802(21). Second, in setting the [FR Doc. 2017–01690 Filed 1–24–17; 8:45 am]
19, 2016, the Board issued Registrant an
requirements for obtaining a BILLING CODE 4410–09–P
Order of Suspension effective the same
day which ‘‘shall remain in effect until practitioner’s registration, Congress
resolution of this matter.’’ 1 Id. at 2. As directed that ‘‘[t]he Attorney General
Registrant did not respond to the Show shall register practitioners . . . if the DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Cause Order, let alone submit any applicant is authorized to dispense . . .
controlled substances under the laws of Drug Enforcement Administration
evidence to show that his state license
has been reinstated, I find that he does the State in which he practices.’’ 21 [Docket No. DEA–392]
not possess authority to dispense U.S.C. § 823(f). Because Congress has
controlled substances under the laws of clearly mandated that a practitioner Bulk Manufacturer of Controlled
Colorado, the State in which he is possess state authority in order to be Substances Application: Organix, Inc.
registered with the Agency. deemed a practitioner under the Act,
DEA has held repeatedly that revocation ACTION: Notice of application.
Discussion of a practitioner’s registration is the
appropriate sanction whenever he is no DATES: Registered bulk manufacturers of
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 824(a)(3), the the affected basic classes, and
Attorney General is authorized to longer authorized to dispense controlled
applicants therefore, may file written
suspend or revoke a registration issued substances under the laws of the State
comments on or objections to the
under section 823 of Title 21, ‘‘upon a in which he practices medicine. See,
issuance of the proposed registration in
finding that the registrant . . . has had e.g., Calvin Ramsey, 76 FR 20034, 20036
accordance with 21 CFR 1301.33(a) on
his State license . . . suspended [or] (2011); Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71
or before March 27, 2017.
revoked . . . by competent State FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A.
Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby ADDRESSES: Written comments should
authority and is no longer authorized by
State law to engage in the . . . Watts, 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); see be sent to: Drug Enforcement
dispensing of controlled substances.’’ also Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR Administration, Attention: DEA Federal
Moreover, with respect to a practitioner, 27616 (1978). Register Representative/DRW, 8701
DEA has long held that the possession Morrissette Drive, Springfield, Virginia
Moreover, because ‘‘the controlling
of authority to dispense controlled 22152.
question’’ in a proceeding brought
substances under the laws of the State under 21 U.S.C. § 824(a)(3) is whether SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
in which a practitioner engages in the holder of a DEA registration ‘‘is Attorney General has delegated her
professional practice is a fundamental currently authorized to handle authority under the Controlled
condition for obtaining and maintaining controlled substances in the [S]tate,’’ Substances Act to the Administrator of
a registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, Hooper, 76 FR at 71371 (quoting Anne the Drug Enforcement Administration
Lazar Thorn, 62 FR 12847, 12848 (DEA), 28 CFR 0.100(b). Authority to
1 As the basis for its order, the Board found that
(1997)), the Agency has also long held exercise all necessary functions with
Registrant signed several hundred certifications respect to the promulgation and
recommending the medical use of marijuana and
that revocation is warranted even where
authorizing the possession of increased plant a practitioner has lost his state authority implementation of 21 CFR part 1301,
counts, and that these certifications were ‘‘for by virtue of the State’s use of summary incident to the registration of
conditions other than cancer.’’ GX 4, at 1. The process and the State has yet to provide manufacturers, distributors, dispensers,
Board further found that ‘‘signing the . . . importers, and exporters of controlled
certifications . . . in the absence of cancer
a hearing to challenge the suspension.
diagnosis and treatment falls below generally Bourne Pharmacy, 72 FR 18273, 18274 substances (other than final orders in
accepted standards of medical practice and lacks (2007); Wingfield Drugs, 52 FR 27070, connection with suspension, denial, or
medical necessity’’ and was ‘‘unprofessional 27071 (1987). Thus, it is of no revocation of registration) has been
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES

conduct’’ in violation of the Colorado Revised redelegated to the Assistant
Statute § 12–36–117(l)(p) and (mm). Id. Based on its
consequence that the Colorado Medical
review of information relevant to three Board has employed summary process Administrator of the DEA Diversion
investigations pertaining to Registrant, the Board in suspending Registrant’s state license.
found ‘‘reasonable grounds to believe that the 2 For the same reasons that led the Colorado
What is consequential is that Registrant
public health, safety or welfare imperatively Board to summarily suspend Registrant’s medical
requires emergency action and/or that [Registrant]
is no longer currently authorized to license, I find that the public interest necessitates
was guilty of a deliberate and willful violation of dispense controlled substances in the that this Order be effective immediately. 21 CFR
law.’’ Id. at 1–2. State in which he is registered. I will 1316.67.

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Document Created: 2017-01-25 00:09:11
Document Modified: 2017-01-25 00:09:11
Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
Dates		January 17, 2017. Chuck Rosenberg, Acting Administrator. [FR Doc. 2017-01690 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
FR Citation		82 FR 8432
82 FR 8432 - Gentry Reeves Dunlop, M.D.; Decision and Order

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEDrug Enforcement Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 15 (January 25, 2017)

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
