Harvey Leslie, M.D.; Decision and Order, 13885-13886 [2025-05165]

Agencies

• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Department of Justice

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 58 (Thursday, March 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13885-13886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05165]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Harvey Leslie, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On August 19, 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or 
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Harvey Leslie, M.D., 
of Decatur, Georgia (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action 
(RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 2, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of 
Registrant's Certification of Registration (COR) No. FL2241305, 
alleging that Registration's registration should be revoked because 
Registrant is ``currently without authority to prescribe, administer, 
dispense, or otherwise handle controlled substances in the State of 
Georgia, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2 
(citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
    The OSC notified Registrant of his right to file a written request 
for hearing, and that if he failed to file such a request, he would be 
deemed to have waived his right to a hearing and be in default. Id. 
(citing 21 CFR 1301.43). Here, Registrant did not request a hearing. 
RFAA, at 3.\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).
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    \1\ Based on the Government's submissions in its RFAA dated 
October 24, 2024, the Agency finds that service of the OSC on 
Registrant was sufficient. Specifically, the included Declaration 
from a DEA Diversion Investigator indicates that on August 28, 2024, 
a copy of the OSC was personally served on Registrant at his 
registered address. RFAAX 6, at 2; see also RFAAX 4 (Report of 
Investigation indicating issuance of OSC).
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    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] Sec.  1316.67.'' Id. Sec.  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 4; see 
also 21 CFR 1316.67.

Findings of Fact

    The Agency finds that, in light of Registrant's default, the 
factual allegations in the OSC are admitted. According to the OSC, on 
February 9, 2024, Registrant's Georgia medical license was revoked. 
RFAAX 2, at 2. According to Georgia online records, of which Agency 
takes official notice, Registrant's Georgia medical license remains 
revoked.\2\ Georgia Composite Medical Board License Search, https://gcmb.mylicense.com/verification (last visited date of signature of this 
Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not licensed 
to practice medicine in Georgia, the state in which he is registered 
with DEA.\3\
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    \2\ 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).
    \3\ 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 decision, is not licensed to 
practice medicine in Georgia. 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 
[email protected].
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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 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. Sec.  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\
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    \4\ This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the 
Controlled Substances Act (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., James L. Hooper, M.D., 76 FR 71371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, 
M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 
51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); 
Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 27617.
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    According to Georgia statute, ``dispense'' means ``to deliver a 
controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or 
pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the 
prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding

[[Page 13886]]

necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery.'' Ga. Code Ann. 
section 16-13-21(9) (2024). Further, a ``practitioner'' means a 
``physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise 
authorized under the laws of [Georgia] to distribute, dispense, conduct 
research with respect to, or administer a controlled substance in the 
course of professional practice or research in [Georgia].'' Id. at 
section 16-13-21(23)(A).
    Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant 
lacks authority to practice medicine in Georgia. As discussed above, a 
physician must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled 
substance in Georgia. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to 
practice medicine in Georgia and, therefore, is not authorized to 
handle controlled substances in Georgia, 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. 
FL2241305, issued to Harvey Leslie, 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 Harvey Leslie, M.D., to renew 
or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application 
of Harvey Leslie, M.D., for additional registration in Georgia. This 
Order is effective April 28, 2025.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on 
March 20, 2025, by Acting Administrator Derek Maltz. 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.
[FR Doc. 2025-05165 Filed 3-26-25; 8:45 am]
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