On February 18, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Tanya Newlove, N.P., of Peoria, Illinois (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 1, at 1, 4. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's DEA Certificate of Registration (COR) No. MD3642077, alleging that Registrant is “currently without authority to . . . handle controlled substances in the State of Illinois, the state in which [she is] registered with DEA.” Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).

The OSC notified Registrant of her right to file a written request for hearing, and that if she failed to file such a request, she would be deemed to have waived her right to a hearing and be in default. Id. at 2-3 (citing 21 CFR 1301.43). Here, Registrant did not request a hearing. RFAA, at 2.^[1] “A default, unless excused, shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of the registrant's/applicant's right to a hearing and an admission of the factual allegations of the [OSC].” 21 CFR 1301.43(e).

Further, “[i]n the event that a registrant . . . is deemed to be in default . . . DEA may then file a request for final agency action with the Administrator, along with a record to support its request. In such circumstances, the Administrator may enter a default final order pursuant to [21 CFR] 1316.67.” Id. at 1301.43(f)(1). Here, the Government has requested final agency action based on Registrant's default pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(c) and (f), 1301.46. RFAA, at 1; see also21 CFR 1316.67.

Findings of Fact

The Agency finds that, in light of Registrant's default, the factual allegations in the OSC are deemed admitted. According to the OSC, Registrant's Illinois registered professional nurse license, advanced practice registered nurse license, and advanced practice nurse controlled substance license expired on June 30, 2024. RFAAX 1, at 2. According to Illinois online records, of which the Agency takes official notice,^[2] Registrant's Illinois licenses have a status of “Not Renewed.” Illinois DFPR License Search, https://online-dfpr.micropact.com/​lookup/​licenselookup.aspx (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not licensed as a practitioner in Illinois, the ( printed page 30098) state in which she is registered with DEA.^[3]

Discussion

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General may suspend or revoke a registration issued under 21 U.S.C. 823 “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, 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. Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243, 270 (2006) (“The Attorney General can register a physician to dispense controlled substances `if the applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled substances under the laws of the State in which he practices.' . . . The very definition of a `practitioner' eligible to prescribe includes physicians `licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, by the United States or the jurisdiction in which he practices' to dispense controlled substances. § 802(21).”). The Agency has applied these principles consistently. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, M.D.,76 FR 71371, 71372 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D.,43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).^[4]

According to Illinois statute, “dispense” means “to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a prescriber, including the prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery.” 720 ILCS 570/102(p) (West 2025). Further, a “practitioner” means an “advanced practice registered nurse, . . . registered nurse, . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise lawfully permitted by . . . [Illinois] to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, [or] administer . . . a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research.” Id. at 570/102(kk).^[5]

Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant is not a currently licensed practitioner in Illinois. As discussed above, a nurse must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled substance in Illinois. Thus, because Registrant's nursing licenses are expired in Illinois and, therefore, she is not currently authorized to handle controlled substances in Illinois, Registrant is not eligible to maintain a DEA registration in Illinois. 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. MD3642077 issued to Tanya Newlove, N.P. 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 Tanya Newlove, N.P., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Tanya Newlove, N.P., for additional registration in Illinois.

This Order is effective August 6, 2025.

Signing Authority

This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on July 1, 2025, by Acting Administrator Robert J. Murphy. 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 .