[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17273]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: July 15, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
[Docket No. 94-29]
Community Methadone Health Services Revocation of Registration
On February 10, 1994, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), issued an
Order to Show Cause to Community Methadone Health Services
(Respondent), of Rockville, Maryland, proposing to revoke its DEA
Certificate of Registration, RC0173271, and to deny any pending
applications for registration as a narcotic treatment program. The
Order to Show Cause alleged that Respondent's continued registration
would be inconsistent with the public interest as that term is used in
21 U.S.C. 823(g) and 824(a)(4), in that on September 23, 1992, an
investigation of the Community Methadone Health Services narcotic
treatment program (program) by the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Administration indicated lax accountability controls and shortages of
17,000 mg. of methadone, a Schedule II controlled substance; that on
March 6, 1993, an investigation of the narcotic treatment program by
the DEA indicated shortages of 44,339 mg. of methadone, and in
addition, the program failed to maintain complete and accurate records
in violation of 21 CFR 1304.21(a), permitted the unauthorized handling
of methadone by an employee in violation of 21 CFR 1301.74(h), failed
to comply with a U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation
regarding take-home doses in violation of 21 CFR 1301.74(k), failed to
document the alleged theft or loss of a controlled substance in
violation of 21 CFR 1301.76(b), and failed to execute a power of
attorney for the execution of DEA order forms required under 21 CFR
1305.07; that on March 6, 1993, an investigation of the narcotic
treatment program by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene agencies indicated numerous violations of State and Federal
law, and in lieu of issuing a cease and desist order, the state entered
an agreement in which the program ceased operations until the
completion of the state investigation, and subsequently, a consent
agreement allowed the program to reopen on April 30, 1993, under
specified conditions and guidelines, including a prohibition of its
owner from participating in day to day program operations; that the
Community Methadone Health Services narcotic treatment program was
initially registered with the DEA on May 4, 1992 and its owner and
executive director is Mr. Daniel Flint; that on December 2, 1987, Mr.
Daniel Flint was convicted of attempting to obtain a controlled
dangerous substance and was sentenced to one year probation in
Montgomery County, Maryland; that in March 1993, Mr. Daniel Flint
allegedly acquired methadone for his own use from a private physician
in Washington, DC, and as a result, on June 25, 1993, he was arrested
in Montgomery County, Maryland for obtaining methadone by fraud, and
subsequently, on July 8, 1993, was indicted for this offense in the
Superior Court of Washington, DC; and that on August 6, 1993, the
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Drug
Control ordered the suspension of Community Methadone Health Services'
controlled dangerous substances (CDS) registration, and therefore,
Community Methadone Health Services is not authorized to handle
controlled substances in the state in which it operates.
The Respondent, by its Director, Daniel Flint, responded to the
Order to Show Cause and requested a hearing. Counsel for the Government
filed a motion for summary disposition on April 15, 1994, alleging that
the Respondent no longer held state authorization to handle controlled
substances for reason that the Maryland Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, Division of Drug Control, ordered the suspension of
Respondent's controlled dangerous substances (CDS) registration on
August 6, 1993. The Respondent did not file any response to the
Government motion.
On May 17, 1994, the administrative law judge entered an order
granting the Government's motion for summary disposition and
recommended that the Respondent's registration be revoked. No
exceptions were filed by either party. The administrative law judge
transmitted the record to the Deputy Administrator on June 17, 1994.
The Deputy Administrator has considered the record in its entirety
and, under the provision of 21 CFR 1316.67, enters his final order in
this matter, based on findings of fact and conclusions of law as
hereinafter set forth.
No evidentiary hearing was held in this case as there were no
factual issues involved, only a question of law. Judge Tenney found
that the Respondent lacked state authorization to handle controlled
substances in the State of Maryland, the jurisdiction in which the
Respondent is registered with the DEA. Judge Tenney concluded that DEA
has no authority to maintain a DEA registration, where the registrant
is without state authority to handle controlled substances.
The DEA has consistently held that it does not have statutory
authority under the Controlled Substances Act to register a
practitioner unless that practitioner is authorized by the state to
dispense controlled substances. The Administrator has consistently held
that termination of a registrant's state authority to handle controlled
substances requires that DEA revoke the registrant's DEA Certificate of
Registration. See Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919 (1987); Lawrence R.
Alexander, M.D., 57 FR 22256 (1992).
The Deputy Administrator adopts the findings and recommendation of
the administrative law judge. Based on the foregoing, the Deputy
Administrator concludes that the Respondent's registration must be
revoked. 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3). In light of Respondent's lack of state
authorization to handle controlled substances in the State of Maryland,
the Deputy Administrator concludes that it is not necessary to address
whether Respondent's continued registration is inconsistent with the
public interest.
Accordingly, the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, pursuant to the authority vested in him by 21 U.S.C.
823 and 824 and 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104 (59 FR 23637), hereby orders
that DEA Certificate of Registration, RC0173271, previously issued to
Community Methadone Health Services, be, and it hereby is, revoked, and
that any pending applications for registration, be, and they hereby
are, denied. This order is effective July 15, 1994.
Dated: July 8, 1994.
Stephen H. Greene,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-17273 Filed 7-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-M
