On November 18, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Karl Kauffman, M.D. (Respondent). OSC, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of ( printed page 17269) Respondent's registration ^[1] because Respondent is “without authority to handle controlled substance[s] in Texas, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA.” OSC, at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).

Respondent timely requested a hearing; thereafter, the Government filed and the Chief Administrative Law Judge (hereinafter, CALJ) granted a Motion for Summary Disposition recommending the revocation of Respondent's registration. Order Granting the Government's Motion for Summary Disposition and Recommended Rulings, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decision of the Administrative Law Judge (hereinafter, RD), at 5-6. Respondent did not oppose the Government's Motion or file exceptions to the RD. Id. at 2. Having reviewed the entire record, the Agency adopts and hereby incorporates by reference the entirety of the CALJ's rulings, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended sanction and summarizes and expands upon portions thereof herein.

Findings of Fact

On March 30, 2022, the Texas Medical Board issued an Order of Temporary Suspension that suspended Respondent's Texas medical license. RD, at 4; see also Government's Notice of Filing of Evidence and Motion for Summary Disposition, Exhibit (GX) A, at 1-2. According to Texas online records, of which the Agency takes official notice, Respondent's license is still suspended.^[2] Texas Medical Board License Verification, https://profile.tmb.state.tx.us (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Respondent is not currently licensed to engage in the practice of medicine in Texas, 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 CSA “upon a finding that the registrant . . . has had his State license or registration 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 71371 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D.,43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).^[3]

According to Texas statute, “[d]ispense” means “the delivery of a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research, by a practitioner or person acting under the lawful order of a practitioner, to an ultimate user or research subject. The term includes the prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for delivery.” Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 481.002(12) (2022). Further, a “practitioner” means “a physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, analyze, conduct research with respect to, or administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in this state.” Id. at § 481.002(39)(A).

Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Respondent currently lacks authority to practice medicine in Texas. RD, at 4-5. As discussed above, a person must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled substance in Texas. Id. at 5. Thus, because Respondent lacks authority to practice medicine in Texas and, therefore, is not authorized to handle controlled substances in Texas, Respondent is not eligible to maintain a DEA registration. Id. Accordingly, the Agency will order that Respondent'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. FK0627642 issued to Karl Kauffman, M.D. Further, pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1), I hereby deny any pending applications of Karl Kauffman, M.D., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Karl Kauffman, M.D., for additional registration in Texas. This Order is effective April 21, 2023.

Signing Authority

This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on March 15, 2023, 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 .