82 FR 8434 - Donald W. Lamoureaux, M.D.; Decision and Order

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration

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

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8434-8435]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01688]


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 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Donald W. Lamoureaux, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On September 16, 2016, the Assistant Administrator, Division of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an 
Order to Show Cause to Donald W. Lamoureaux, M.D. (Registrant), of 
Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation 
of his DEA Certificate of Registration, pursuant to which he is 
authorized to dispense controlled substances in schedules II through V, 
as a practitioner, on the ground that he ``do[es] not have authority to 
handle controlled substances in Arkansas, the [S]tate in which he is 
registered with the DEA.'' Show Cause Order, at 1.
    As grounds for the proceeding, the Show Cause Order alleged that 
Registrant is registered with the DEA as a practitioner authorized to 
dispense controlled substances in schedules II through V, pursuant to 
Certificate of Registration No. FL2413297, at the registered address of 
707 Third Street, Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. Id. The Order also alleged 
that his registration does not expire until March 31, 2017. Id.
    The Show Cause Order then alleged that Registrant's Arkansas 
medical license expired on April 30, 2015, and that he is currently 
without authority to dispense controlled substances in Arkansas, the 
State in which he is registered with the DEA. Id. at 1-2. Based upon 
Registrant's lack of authority to handle controlled substances in the 
State of Arkansas, the Government asserts that his registration is 
subject to revocation. Id. at 2 (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 procedures for electing either option, and 
the consequence for failing to elect either option. Id. at 2 (citing 21 
CFR 1301.43). In addition, the Order notified Registrant of his right 
to submit a Corrective Action Plan. Id. at 2-3.
    On September 19, 2016, the Show Cause Order was sent via certified 
mail to Registrant at his current residence, the Federal Correctional 
Institution, Butner, North Carolina, 27509. Government Request for 
Final Agency Action (RFAA), Appendix 4, Declaration, at 1. As evidenced 
by a copy of the signed return receipt card, service was accomplished 
on September 22, 2016. Id.; See also Appendix 4, at 3-4.
    On November 1, 2016, the Government forwarded to my Office a 
Request for Final Agency Action and an evidentiary record. In its 
Request, the Government represents that it has not received a request 
for a hearing or any other reply from Registrant. RFAA, at 2. The 
Government thus seeks the revocation of Registrant's Registration on 
the ground that he lacks state authority. Id. at 4.
    Based upon the Government's representation and the record, I find 
that more than 30 days have now passed since the date of service of the 
Show Cause Order, and neither Registrant, nor anyone purporting to 
represent him, has requested a hearing or submitted a written statement 
in lieu of a hearing. I therefore find that Registrant has waived his 
right to a hearing or to submit a written statement in lieu of a 
hearing and issue this Decision and Final Order based on relevant 
evidence contained in the record submitted by the Government. 21 CFR 
1301.43(d) & (e). I make the following findings of fact.

Findings

    Respondent is the holder of practitioner's registration FL2413297, 
pursuant to which he is authorized to dispense controlled substances in 
schedules II through V at the registered address of 707 Third Street, 
Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas; this registration does not expire until March 
31, 2017. Declaration of the Diversion Investigator (DI), at 1. 
According to the DI, Registrant's license to practice medicine in 
Arkansas lapsed on April 30, 2015, and he currently has no authority to 
practice medicine in that State. Id. at 1.
    As further support for the action, the DI obtained, and the 
Government submitted, a license verification from the Arkansas State 
Medical Board along with a Certification from the Board's Executive 
Secretary that the license verification was true and correct as of 
September 15, 2016. Appendix 2, at 1; Appendix 3, at 1. This document 
shows that as of September 14, 2016, the Board listed the expiration 
date of Registrant's medical license as ``April 30, 2015'' and the 
status of his license as ``Inactive''; it also includes the notation: 
``License Category: Felony Conviction.'' Appendix 3, at 2. Also, the 
document contains the following Board History notes, which include 
that:

    1. On February 9, 2015, the Board issued an Emergency Order of 
Suspension to Registrant;
    2. On April 10, 2015, the Board voted ``to continue the 
disciplinary hearing until after [Registrant's] [] trial date'';
    3. On July 2, 2015, the Board voted ``to block [Registrant's] 
access to renew his license should he wish to renew''; and
    4. On December 3, 2015, Registrant's ``medical license lapsed 
subsequent to the felony criminal conviction.''

Appendix 3, at 4-5. 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 Arkansas, the State in which he 
is registered with the Agency.

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 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.'' With respect to a practitioner, 
DEA has repeatedly held that the possession of authority to dispense 
controlled

[[Page 8435]]

substances under the laws of the State in which he engages in 
professional practice is a fundamental condition for obtaining and 
maintaining a registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 76 FR 71371 
(2011), 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 
engages in professional practice. 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); Blanton, 43 FR at 27617.
    Accordingly, because Registrant currently lacks authority to 
dispense controlled substances in Arkansas, the State in which he holds 
his DEA registration, I will order that his registration be revoked.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  
823(f) and 824(a)(3), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b), I order that DEA 
Certificate of Registration FL2413297 issued to Donald W. Lamoureaux, 
M.D., be, and it hereby is, revoked. I further order that any pending 
application of Donald W. Lamoureaux, M.D., to renew or modify his 
registration, be, and it hereby is, denied. This Order is effective 
February 24, 2017.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Chuck Rosenberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-01688 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-09-P