[Federal Register: May 8, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 89)]
[Notices]
[Page 24760-24761]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08my03-89]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
[Docket No. 01-30]
Michael D. Jackson, M.D.; Revocation of Registration
On June 8, 2001, the then-Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), issued an Order to Show Cause, Immediate
Suspension of Registration to Michael Delano Jackson, M.D. (hereinafter
referred to as ``Respondent'') of the Myrtle Beach Medical Center in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Order to Show Cause notified the
Respondent of an opportunity to show cause as the why DEA should not
revoke his DEA Certificate of Registration, BJ5063532 pursuant to 21
U.S.C. 824(a)(4) and deny any pending applications for renewal or
modification of that registration pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(f), for
reason that Respondent's continued registration with DEA would be
inconsistent with the public interest.
Specifically, the Order to Show Cause outlined numerous allegations
related to inter alia, the Respondent issuing various Schedules II
through IV controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose.
Included among the drug purportedly prescribed in this fashion was
OxyContin, a heavily abused Scheduled II narcotic controlled substance.
The Order to Show Cause further notified the Respondent of the
immediate suspension of his DEA Certificate of Registration, with the
suspension to remain in effect until the final determination was
reached in this matter.
By letter dated June 20, 2001, the Respondent acting pro se
requested a hearing on the matter raised in the Order to Show Cause.
Following the filing of various pre-hearing submissions by the
respective parties, on May 22, 2002, the Government filed Government's
Request for Stay of Proceedings and Motion for Summary Judgment
(Motion). The Government asserted in its motion that the Respondent was
without state authority to handle controlled substances in the State of
South Carolina as well as in Alabama where he has apparently relocated
his medical practice. On May 28, 2002, the presiding Administrative Law
Judge Mary Ellen Bittner (Judge Bittner) issued a Memorandum to Counsel
and Ruling on Motion affording the Respondent until June 11, 2002, to
respond to the Government's Motion. However, the Respondent did not
file a response.
On June 13, 2002, Judge Bittner issued her Opinion and Recommended
Ruling of the Administrative Law Judge (Opinion and Recommended Ruling)
where she granted the Government's Motion for Summary Disposition and
found that the Respondent lacks authorization to handle controlled
substances in South Carolina. In granting the Government's motion,
Judge Bittner further recommended that the Respondent's DEA
registration be revoked and any pending applications for modification
or renewal be denied. Neither party filed exceptions to the
Administrative Law Judge's Opinion and Recommended Decision, and on
July 17, 2002, Judge Bittner transmitted the record of these
proceedings to the Office of the Deputy Administrator. Following a
review of the record in this proceeding, the Deputy Administrator now
enters his final order pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.46.
The Deputy Administrator finds that the South Carolina Department
of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Bureau of Drug Control,
maintains a database of practitioners in South Carolina who possess
valid state authority to handle controlled substances. On May 17, 2002,
a DEA Diversion Investigator assigned to the agency's South Carolina
District Office contacted DHEC and inquired whether the Respondent
possessed state authority to handle controlled substances in that
state. The investigator was informed that on June 14, 2001, DHEC
revoked Respondent's state controlled substance license following the
suspension of his DEA Certificate of Registration. DHEC divulged
further that the Respondent surrendered his state medical license on
June 29, 2001, and as a consequence, he lacks authority to handle
controlled substances in South Carolina.
The Deputy Administrator's review of the records of the Alabama
State Board of Medical Examiners reveals that the Respondent was also
issued a controlled substance certificate in that state on June 29,
2001. That certificate expired on December 31, 2001. There is no
evidence in the record that the Respondent's South Carolina medical
license or his Alabama controlled substances certificate have been
reinstated. It is clear that the Respondent lacks controlled substance
authority in Alabama. In addition, since the Respondent is not
currently authorized to practice medicine in the State of South
Carolina, the Deputy Administrator finds it reasonable to infer that he
is not authorized to handle controlled substances in that state as
well.
DEA does not have statutory authority under the Controlled
Substances Act to issue or maintain a registration if the applicant or
registrant is without state authority to handle controlled substances
in the state in which he conducts business. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21),
823(f) and 824(a)(3). This prerequisite has been consistently upheld.
See Joseph Thomas Allevi, M.D., 67 FR 35581 (2002); Dominick A. Ricci,
M.D., 58 FR 51104 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919 (1988).
Here, it is clear that the Respondent is not licensed to handle
controlled substances in South Carolina where he is registered with
DEA, or in Alabama, where he has apparently relocated his medical
practice. Therefore, the Respondent is not entitled to maintain his DEA
Certificate of Registration. Because he is not entitled to a DEA
registration due to his lack of state authorization to handle
controlled substances, the Deputy Administrator concludes that it is
unnecessary to
[[Page 24761]]
address whether the Respondent's registration should be revoked based
upon the public interest grounds asserted in the Order to Show Cause.
See Nathaniel-Aikens-Afful, M.D., 62 FR 16871 (1997).
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, hereby orders that DEA
Certificate of Registration, BJ5063552, issued to Michael D. Jackson,
M.D., be, and it hereby is, revoked. The Deputy Administrator further
orders that any pending applications for renewal or modification of
such registration be, and they hereby are, denied. This order is
effective June 9, 2003.
Dated: April 21, 2003.
John B. Brown, III,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-11433 Filed 5-7-03; 8:45 am]
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