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Cheryl White, N.P.; Decision and Order

Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration On March 17, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Cheryl Wh...

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Department of Justice

Drug Enforcement Administration

On March 17, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Cheryl White, N.P., of Newburgh, Indiana (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 2, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. MW0411049, alleging that Registrant is “currently without authority to prescribe, administer, dispense, or otherwise handle controlled substances in the State of Indiana, the state in which [she is] registered with DEA.” Id. at 2. (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).^[1]

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. (citing 21 CFR 1301.43). Here, Registrant did not request a hearing, and the Agency finds her to be in default. RFAA, at 2.^[2] “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), (f), 1301.46. RFAA, at 3; 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, on October 31, 2023, Registrant's Indiana registered nurse license, Registrant's Indiana Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Prescriptive Authority license, and Registrant's Indiana Controlled Substances Registration (CSR) Prescriptive Authority license all expired by their own terms. RFAAX 2, at 1-2.

According to Indiana online records, of which the Agency takes official notice,^[3] Registrant's Indiana registered nurse license, Registrant's Indiana APRN Prescriptive Authority license, and Registrant's Indiana CSR Prescriptive Authority license all remain expired. State of Indiana License Search, www.mylicense.in.gov/everification/Search.aspx (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not licensed to practice nursing nor to handle controlled substances in Indiana, the state in which she is registered with DEA.^[4]

Discussion

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized to 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 ( printed page 57928) 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 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th Cir. 2012); Shane Lydon, M.D.,91 FR 43112 (2026) ; Javaid A. Perwaiz, M.D.,86 FR 20732 (2021).^[5]

According to Indiana statute, and subject to exceptions irrelevant here, “[e]very person who dispenses or proposes to dispense any controlled substance within Indiana must have a registration issued by the [Indiana Board of Pharmacy] in accordance with the board's rules.” Ind. Code 35-48-3-3(b) (2025). Further, “dispense” means “to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner and includes the prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery.” Id. at 35-48-1.1-11.

Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant currently lacks authority to handle controlled substances in Indiana because her Indiana CSR Prescriptive Authority license is expired. As discussed above, a person must hold an Indiana controlled substances registration to dispense a controlled substance in Indiana. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to handle controlled substances in Indiana, 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. MW0411049 issued to Cheryl White, 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 Cheryl White, N.P., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Cheryl White, N.P., for additional registration in Indiana. This Order is effective October 13, 2026.

Signing Authority

This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on September 2, 2026, by DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole. 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 .

Heather Achbach,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.

Footnotes

1. According to Agency records, Registrant's registration expired on May 31, 2026. The fact that a registrant allows her registration to expire during the pendency of an OSC does not impact the Agency's jurisdiction or prerogative under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to adjudicate the OSC to finality. Jeffrey D. Olsen, M.D.,84 FR 68474, 68476-79 (2019).

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2. Based on the Government's submissions in its RFAA dated May 21, 2026, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on Registrant was adequate. The RFAA's included Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator (DI) indicates that on or about March 31, 2026, the DI mailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's residential address in Lexington, Kentucky. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment D. On the same date, the DI emailed a copy of the OSC to Registrant's registered email address. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment F. The mailed copy of the OSC was successfully delivered on April 2, 2026. RFAAX 3, at 3; see also id., Attachment E. Here, the Agency finds that Registrant was successfully served the OSC by email and that the DI's efforts to serve Registrant by other means were “ `reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise [Registrant] of the pendency of the action.' ” Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220, 226 (2006) (quoting Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314 (1950)). Therefore, due process notice requirements have been satisfied. See Mohammed S. Aljanaby, M.D.,82 FR 34552, 34552 (2017) (finding that service by email satisfies due process where the email is not returned as undeliverable and other methods have been unsuccessful); Emilio Luna, M.D.,77 FR 4829, 4830 (2012) (same).

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3. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency “may take official notice of facts at any stage in a proceeding—even in the final decision.” United States Department of Justice, Attorney General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 80 (1947) (Wm. W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 1979).

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4. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e), “[w]hen an agency decision rests on official notice of a material fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, a party is entitled, on timely request, to an opportunity to show the contrary.” The material fact here is that Registrant, as of the date of this Order, is not licensed to practice nursing nor to handle controlled substances in Indiana. Accordingly, Registrant may dispute the Agency's finding by filing a properly supported motion for reconsideration of findings of fact within fifteen calendar days of the date of this Order. Any such motion and response shall be filed and served by email to the other party and to the DEA Office of the Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, at dea.addo.attorneys@dea.gov.

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5. 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. 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. 823(g)(1). Because Congress has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess state authority in order to be deemed a practitioner under the CSA, 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. See, e.g.,Elias Garcia Garcia, P.A.,90 FR 31242 (2025); Jason Weakley, R.N., A.P.R.N.,90 FR 10085 (2025); Khursheed Haider, M.D.,90 FR 21950 (2025).

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[FR Doc. 2026-18599 Filed 9-10-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410-09-P

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91 FR 57927

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“Cheryl White, N.P.; Decision and Order,” thefederalregister.org (September 11, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-18599/cheryl-white-n-p-decision-and-order.