Linwood A. Starks, D.V.M.
Outcome
DEA revoked Linwood A. Starks's DEA Certificate of Registration No. FS5936919 effective April 21, 2025, because he lacked authority to practice as a veterinarian in Texas, rendering him ineligible to maintain DEA controlled substance registration in the state.
Details
Linwood A. Starks, D.V.M. — DEA Revocation for Loss of Texas Veterinary License (2024–2025)
Outcome: DEA revoked Linwood A. Starks's DEA Certificate of Registration No. FS5936919 effective April 21, 2025, after finding that Starks lacked authority to practice as a veterinarian in Texas and therefore was ineligible to maintain DEA registration to handle controlled substances in the state.
Linwood A. Starks, D.V.M. held DEA Certificate of Registration No. FS5936919, registered in Texas. The DEA initiated an Order to Show Cause proceeding based on the determination that Starks had lost authority to practice as a veterinarian in Texas.
Under the Controlled Substances Act and DEA regulations, a DEA registrant must maintain the state authority required to practice their profession and handle controlled substances in the state in which their DEA registration is issued. An individual must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled substance in Texas. Because Starks lacked the required state-level authority to practice as a veterinarian in Texas, he was ineligible to maintain a DEA registration in the state.
The Agency ordered revocation of Starks's DEA registration and denied any pending applications to renew or modify the registration, as well as any other pending applications for additional DEA registration in Texas. The Decision and Order was published in the Federal Register on March 20, 2025, effective April 21, 2025.
Primary Source: Linwood A. Starks, D.V.M.; Decision and Order (Fed. Reg. Mar. 20, 2025)
How Crucible Prevents This
A veterinarian who loses the authority to practice in the state where he is DEA-registered becomes immediately ineligible to handle controlled substances. Crucible's license status monitoring, which tracks state veterinary board actions in real time, would have detected the loss of Texas practice authority and automatically suspended controlled substance access before the DEA was required to act.
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