On July 19, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (hereinafter, DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (hereinafter, OSC) to Mohammad H. Said, M.D. (hereinafter, Registrant). OSC, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. AS9144786 at the registered address of 524 East Division, P.O. Box 40, Ephrata, Washington 98823. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged that Registrant's registration should be revoked because Registrant is “without authority to handle controlled substances in the State of Washington, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA.” Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).

The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), submitted August 1, 2022.^[1]

Findings of Fact

On January 28, 2021, the State of Washington, Department of Health, Washington Medical Commission, issued an Order indefinitely suspending Registrant's license to practice medicine in Washington. RFAAX 4 (State of Washington, Dept. of Health Order dated January 28, 2021), at 2, 13-14. According to Washington's online records, of which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's license is still suspended.^[2] Washington State Department of Health Provider Credential Search, https://fortress.wa.gov/​doh/​providercredentialsearch (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not currently licensed to engage in the practice of medicine in Washington, the state in which he is registered with the DEA.

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 or registration ( printed page 56713) 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, M.D.,76 FR 71,371 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D.,43 FR 27,616, 27,617 (1978).^[3]

According to Washington statute, “A practitioner may dispense or deliver a controlled substance to or for an individual or animal only for medical treatment or authorized research in the ordinary course of that practitioner's profession.” Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.308(j) (2022). Further, a “prescription” means “an order for controlled substances issued by a practitioner duly authorized by law or rule in the state of Washington to prescribe controlled substances within the scope of his or her professional practice for a legitimate medical purpose.” Id. at § 69.50.101(nn). Finally, a “practitioner” as defined by Washington statute includes “[a] physician under chapter 18.71 RCW.” Id. at § 69.50.101(mm)(1).^[4]

Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Washington. As already discussed, a physician must be a licensed practitioner to dispense or prescribe a controlled substance in Washington. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to practice medicine in Washington and, therefore, is not authorized to handle controlled substances in Washington, Registrant is not eligible to maintain a DEA registration. Accordingly, the Agency will order that Registrant's DEA registration be revoked.

Order

Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate of Registration No. AS9144786 issued to Mohammad H. Said, M.D. Further, pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f), I hereby deny any pending applications of Mohammad H. Said, M.D., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Mohammad H. Said, M.D., for additional registration in Washington. This Order is effective October 17, 2022.

Signing Authority

This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on September 8, 2022, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of DEA. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .