90 FR 79 pgs. 17454-17455 - Syed Warsi, M.D.; Decision and Order
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 79Pages: 17454 - 17455
Pages: 17454, 17455FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-07174 Filed 4-24-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Justice Department
Sub Agency: Drug Enforcement Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Syed Warsi, M.D.; Decision and Order
On August 25, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Syed Warsi, M.D., of North Aurora, Illinois (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), Appendix (RFAAX) A, at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. BW8048022, alleging that Registrant's registration should be revoked because Registrant is "currently without authority to prescribe, administer, dispense, or otherwise handle controlled substances in Illinois, the jurisdiction in which [he is] registered with DEA." Id. at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)). 1
Footnotes:
1 ?According to Agency records, Registrant's registration expired on May 31, 2023. The fact that a registrant allows his registration to expire during the pendency of an OSC does not impact the Agency's jurisdiction or prerogative under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to adjudicate the OSC to finality. Jeffrey D. Olsen, M.D., 84 FR 68474, 68476-79 (2019).
The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its RFAA dated October 12, 2023. 2
Footnotes:
2 ?Based on the Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator, the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on Registrant was adequate. RFAAX B, at 1. Further, based on the Government's assertions in its RFAA, the Agency finds that more than thirty days have passed since Registrant was served with the OSC and Registrant has neither requested a hearing nor submitted a corrective action plan and therefore has waived any such rights. RFAA, at 2; see also 21 CFR 1301.43 and 21 U.S.C. 824(c)(2).
Findings of Fact
On July 13, 2022, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended Registrant's Illinois medical license and Illinois controlled substance license. RFAAX C, at 4-5. According to Illinois's online records, of which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's Illinois medical license and Illinois controlled substance license both remain suspended. 3 Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation License Search, https://online-dfpr.micropact.com/lookup/licenselookup.aspx/ (last visited date of signature of this Order). Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not licensed to practice medicine nor to handle controlled substances in Illinois, the state in which he is registered with DEA. 4
Footnotes:
3 ?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).
4 ?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 nor to handle controlled substances in Illinois. Accordingly, Registrant may dispute the Agency's finding this fact 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 dea.addo.attorneys@dea.gov.
Discussion
[top] Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized to
Footnotes:
5 ?This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the 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 at 71371-72; Sheran Arden Yeats, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104, 51,105 (1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR at 27617.
Pursuant to the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, a "practitioner" means "a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise lawfully permitted by the United States or this State to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, administer or use in teaching or chemical analysis, a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research." 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 570/102(kk) (2024). Further, the Illinois Controlled Substances Act requires that "[e]very person who manufactures, distributes, or dispenses any controlled substances . . . must obtain a registration issued by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in accordance with its rules." Id. 570/302(a). The Illinois Controlled Substances Act also authorizes the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to discipline a practitioner holding an Illinois controlled substance license, stating that such license "may be denied, refused renewal, suspended, or revoked by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation." Id. 570/304(a).
Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant currently lacks authority to handle controlled substances in Illinois because both his Illinois medical license and his Illinois controlled substance license are suspended. As discussed above, an individual must be a licensed practitioner and must hold a valid controlled substance license to dispense a controlled substance in Illinois. Thus, because Registrant lacks authority to handle controlled substances in Illinois, 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. BW8048022 issued to Syed Warsi, 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 Syed Warsi, M.D., to renew or modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of Syed Warsi, M.D., for additional registration in Illinois. This Order is effective May 27, 2025.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on April 18, 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. 2025-07174 Filed 4-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P