Designation of Two Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, 23523 [2016-09230]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 77 / Thursday, April 21, 2016 / Notices
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
practice.’’ 21 U.S.C. 802(21). Likewise,
the CSA conditions the granting of a
practitioner’s application on his/her
possession of authority to dispense
controlled substances under state law.
See 21 U.S.C. 823(f) (‘‘The Attorney
General shall register practitioners . . .
to dispense . . . controlled substances
. . . if the applicant is authorized to
dispense . . . controlled substances
under the laws of the State in which he
practices.’’). Of further note, the CSA
defines the term ‘‘dispense’’ as meaning
‘‘to deliver a controlled substance to an
ultimate user . . . by, or pursuant to the
lawful order of, a practitioner.’’ Id.
§ 802(10) (emphasis added).
Thus, the Agency has repeatedly 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, 76 FR 71371 (2011),
pet. for rev. denied, 481 Fed Appx. 826
(4th Cir. 2012). And because a
practitioner’s authority under the CSA
is based on his/her authority to dispense
controlled substances under the laws of
the State in which he practices, the
Agency has further held that ‘‘to the
extent a practitioner is not authorized
under state law to dispense certain
categories or schedules of controlled
substances, he can no longer lawfully
dispense them under federal law.’’
Kenneth Harold Bull, 78 FR 62666,
62672 (2013).
In Bull, a case in which the
practitioner’s state board had prohibited
him from prescribing narcotics, the
Agency explained that ‘‘where a state
board takes such action, at a minimum,
a practitioner’s CSA registration must be
limited to authorize the dispensing of
only those controlled substances, which
he can lawfully dispense under state
law.’’ Id. at 62672. Here, the Florida
Department of Health has suspended
Respondent’s authority to prescribe any
medications listed in schedules II, III, or
IV of the Florida schedules of controlled
substances, and under Florida law,
Respondent is limited to prescribing
only those controlled substances in
schedule V.4 Accordingly, I will order
4 Have reviewed the schedules of controlled
substances under Florida law, I conclude that they
are coterminous with those of the CSA with the
exception of buprenorphine, which under Florida
law, is a schedule V controlled substance. While
buprenorphine was formerly a schedule V drug
under the CSA, in 2002, the drug was placed in
schedule III following the Department of Health and
Human Services’ reevaluation of the drug’s ‘‘abuse
potential and dependence profile in light of
numerous scientific studies and years of human
experience with [the] drug.’’ Schedules of
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:27 Apr 20, 2016
Jkt 238001
that Respondent’s registration shall be
restricted to prohibit him from
dispensing controlled substances in
schedules II through IV and to authorize
only the prescribing of schedule V
controlled substances.
The conduct giving rise to the
criminal charges for racketeering
activity, unlawful distribution of
controlled prescription drugs, and
manslaughter related to drug overdose
deaths could serve as the basis for a
request for total revocation based on
public interest grounds (or, in the event
of a conviction, based upon a conviction
of a felony related to controlled
substances). 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(2) and (4).
The Order to Show Cause before me is
based solely upon Respondent’s lack of
state authority to handle certain
controlled substances. This Order is
constrained by the basis set forth in the
Order to Show Cause, and I will only
consider Respondent’s alleged criminal
conduct if and when he is served with
an Order to Show Cause why his
registration should not be revoked in
total based on public interest grounds,
and he is given the opportunity to
address that allegation.
Order
Pursuant to the authority vested in me
by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), as well as 28 CFR
0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of
Registration BB3166053, issued to Ibem
R. Borges, M.D., be, and it hereby is,
restricted to prohibit the dispensing of
controlled substance in schedules II
through IV and to authorize only the
prescribing of controlled substances in
schedule V of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 CFR 1308.15). This Order is
effective immediately.
Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of
Buprenorphine From Schedule V to Schedule III, 67
FR 62354 (2002) (final rule). Thus, this Agency has
determined that the drug ‘‘has a potential for abuse
less than the drugs or other substances in schedules
I and II,’’ that it ‘‘has a currently accepted medical
use in treatment in the United States,’’ and most
importantly, that ‘‘[a]buse of the drug . . . may lead
to moderate or low physical dependence or high
psychological dependence.’’ 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(3); see
also 67 FR at 62367.
Notably, Florida has adopted the same criteria for
placing a drug in its schedule III as the CSA uses,
see Fla. Stat. 893.03(3), and the State has
determined that Respondent’s ‘‘continued,
unrestricted practice of medicine poses an
immediate serious danger to the public health,
safety or welfare,’’ and concluded, inter alia, that
he cannot safely prescribe controlled substances in
schedule III. GX 8, at 20; see also id. at 28. I
therefore hold that notwithstanding that
buprenorphine remains a schedule V drug under
Florida law and that the scope of his federal
authority derives from his authority under state
law, the placement of the drug in schedule III of the
CSA precludes him from lawfully prescribing the
drug under his DEA registration.
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23523
Dated: April 5, 2016.
Chuck Rosenberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016–09274 Filed 4–20–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–09–P
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE
PRESIDENT
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Designation of Two Counties as High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
Office of National Drug Control
Policy, Executive Office of the
President.
ACTION: Notice of HIDTA Designations.
AGENCY:
The Director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy designated
two additional counties as High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
(HIDTA) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 1706.
The new counties are Austin and
Walker Counties in Texas as part of the
Houston HIDTA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions regarding this notice should
be directed to Michael K. Gottlieb,
Associate Director, Programs Office,
Office of National Drug Control Policy,
Executive Office of the President,
Washington, DC 20503; (202) 395–4868.
SUMMARY:
Dated: March 23, 2016.
Michael Passante,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016–09230 Filed 4–20–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3280–F5–P
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[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 77 (Thursday, April 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 23523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09230]
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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Designation of Two Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas
AGENCY: Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the
President.
ACTION: Notice of HIDTA Designations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
designated two additional counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas (HIDTA) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 1706. The new counties are Austin
and Walker Counties in Texas as part of the Houston HIDTA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this notice should
be directed to Michael K. Gottlieb, Associate Director, Programs
Office, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the
President, Washington, DC 20503; (202) 395-4868.
Dated: March 23, 2016.
Michael Passante,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016-09230 Filed 4-20-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3280-F5-P
