[Federal Register: July 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 135)]
[Notices]               
[Page 40382-40383]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jy08-106]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

[Docket No. 08-8]

 
Michael Chait, M.D.; Revocation of Registration

    On October 1, 2007, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, issued an Order to 
Show Cause to Michael Chait, M.D. (Respondent), of Amagansett, New 
York. The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Respondent's DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BC2825151, as a practitioner, and the 
denial of any pending applications to renew or modify his registration, 
on the ground that Respondent is ``not authorized to handle controlled 
substances in New York.'' Show Cause Order at 1.
    More specifically, the Show Cause Order alleged that effective on 
May 25, 2007, the New York State Department of Health, State Board for 
Professional Medical Conduct, had, pursuant to an interim non-
disciplinary order of conditions, prohibited Respondent from the 
practice of medicine in the State of New York. Id. The Show Cause Order 
thus alleged that Respondent is ``no longer authorized to handle 
controlled substances in New York, the state in which'' he maintains 
his DEA registration. Id. The Show Cause Order further alleged that 
Respondent ``failed to surrender [his] DEA Certificate of Registration 
as required'' under the terms of the State Board's order. Id.
    Respondent requested a hearing on the allegations and the matter 
was assigned to Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Gail Randall. 
Thereafter, the Government moved for summary disposition on the ground 
that under the terms of the State Board's order, Respondent was 
prohibited from practicing medicine and thus could not prescribe a 
drug. Gov. Mot. at 1-2. The Government therefore argued that there was 
no dispute that Respondent is not authorized to handle controlled 
substance in New York, the jurisdiction in which he maintains his DEA 
registration and that under Federal law, ``DEA cannot register a 
practitioner to

[[Page 40383]]

handle controlled substances who is without authority to handle 
controlled substances in the State in which he practices'' medicine. 
Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 823(f)).
    In support of its motion, the Government attached a copy of the 
Interim Order. The Interim Order specifically stated that Respondent 
``shall be precluded from all patient contact and any practice of 
medicine, clinical or otherwise. Licensee shall be precluded from 
diagnosing, treating, operating, or prescribing for any human disease, 
pain, injury, deformity, or physical condition.'' In re Chait, 
Stipulation and Application for an Interim Non-Disciplinary Order of 
Conditions Pursuant to N.Y. Pub. Health Law Sec.  230, at 3. The 
Interim Order also directed Respondent to ``surrender [his] Controlled 
Substance Registration Certificate to the United States Department of 
Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, within 15 days of the 
effective date of this Order.'' Id. at 4.\1\
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    \1\ The Government also attached a copy of a webpage maintained 
by the N.Y. Department of Health, entitled ``Professional Misconduct 
and Physician Discipline.'' This document indicates that the Interim 
Order precludes Respondent from the clinical practice of medicine in 
New York State ``until the final disposition of the current 
investigation being conducted by the New York State Office of 
Professional Medical Conduct.''
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    Although the ALJ ordered Respondent to respond by November 20, 
2007, he did not. The ALJ then granted the Government's motion.
    The ALJ observed that while the Interim Order did not ``make any 
findings of misconduct as to the matters under investigation, it does 
prohibit the Respondent from having any patient contact and from 
practicing medicine.'' ALJ Dec. at 3. The ALJ also explained that ``the 
Board's Order clearly states that the Respondent is barred from 
diagnosing, treating, operating, or prescribing for any human disease, 
pain, injury, deformity, or physical condition, and is required to 
surrender his DEA Registration * * * within 15 days of the effective 
date of the Board's Order.'' Id. The ALJ thus ``conclude[d] that * * * 
Respondent currently lacks authority to practice medicine in the State 
of New York or to prescribe controlled substances in that State.'' Id. 
Because DEA lacks authority under the Controlled Substances Act to 
register (and to continue an existing registration of) a practitioner 
who lacks authority under state law to handle controlled substances, 
the ALJ recommended that Respondent's registration be revoked. Id. at 
4-5 (citing cases). The ALJ then forwarded the record to me for final 
agency action.
    Having considered the record as a whole, I adopt the ALJ's decision 
in its entirety. I find that Respondent holds a current registration 
which does not expire until August 31, 2009. I further find that 
effective May 17, 2007, the New York State Department of Health, State 
Board for Professional Medical Conduct, issued an Interim Order which 
precludes Respondent from practicing medicine and prescribing drugs, 
Interim Order at 3, and that this Order remains in effect. Therefore, 
even though Respondent's state medical license has not been suspended 
or revoked, it is clear that he is not permitted to handle controlled 
substances in the State of New York, the State in which he holds his 
DEA registration.\2\
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    \2\ I further note that there is no evidence that Respondent has 
surrendered his DEA registration.
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    Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a practitioner must be 
currently authorized to handle controlled substances in ``the 
jurisdiction in which he practices'' in order to maintain a DEA 
registration. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21) (``[t]he term `practitioner' means 
a physician * * * 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''). See also id. Sec.  823(f) (``The Attorney 
General shall register practitioners * * * if the applicant is 
authorized to dispense * * * controlled substances under the laws of 
the State in which he practices.''). As these provisions make plain, 
possessing authority under state law to handle controlled substances is 
an essential condition for holding a DEA registration.
    That the State has not formally revoked or suspended Respondent's 
state license is not dispositive. Because Respondent is not 
``authorized under'' state law, ``or otherwise permitted[] by * * * the 
jurisdiction in which he practices'' to handle controlled substances 
``in the course of professional practice,'' and is in fact currently 
precluded from engaging in the practice of medicine, he is not entitled 
to hold a registration under the CSA. See Julian A. Abbey, M.D., 72 FR 
10788, 10788-89 (2007) (revoking registration of practitioner who had 
entered into a voluntary agreement with the State to cease the practice 
of medicine). Accordingly, Respondent's registration will be revoked.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 
824(a), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) & 0.104, I hereby order that DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BC2825151, issued to Michael Chait, M.D., 
be, and it hereby is, revoked. I further order that any pending 
application of Michael Chait, M.D., for renewal or modification of his 
registration be, and it hereby is, denied. This order is effective 
August 13, 2008.

    Dated: July 2, 2008.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-15938 Filed 7-11-08; 8:45 am]

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