There is a newer version of the Kentucky Revised Statutes
2009 Kentucky Revised Statutes
CHAPTER 218A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
218A.240 Controlled substances -- Duties and authority of state and local officers, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Kentucky Board of Pharmacy -- Civil proceedings -- Identification of trends.
Download pdfCivil proceedings -- Identification of trends. (1) All police officers and deputy sheriffs directly employed full-time by state, county, city, urban-county, or consolidated local governments, the Department of Kentucky
State Police, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, their officers and agents,
and of all city, county, and Commonwealth's attorneys, and the Attorney General,
within their respective jurisdictions, shall enforce all provisions of this chapter and
cooperate with all agencies charged with the enforcement of the laws of the United
States, of this state, and of all other states relating to controlled substances. (2) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter, the designated agents of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall have the full power and authority
of peace officers in this state, including the power of arrest and the authority to bear
arms, and shall have the power and authority to administer oaths; to enter upon
premises at all times for the purpose of making inspections; to seize evidence; to
interrogate all persons; to require the production of prescriptions, of books, papers,
documents, or other evidence; to employ special investigators; and to expend funds
for the purpose of obtaining evidence and to use data obtained under KRS
218A.202(7) in any administrative proceeding before the cabinet. (3) The Kentucky Board of Pharmacy, its agents and inspectors, shall have the same powers of inspection and enforcement as the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services. (4) Designated agents of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy are empowered to remove from the files of a pharmacy or the
custodian of records for that pharmacy any controlled substance prescription or
other controlled substance record upon tendering a receipt. The receipt shall be
sufficiently detailed to accurately identify the record. A receipt for the record shall
be a defense to a charge of failure to maintain the record. (5) Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, civil or criminal, any law enforcement authority may maintain, in its own name, an action to restrain or
enjoin any violation of this chapter or to forfeit any property subject to forfeiture
under KRS 218A.410, irrespective of whether the owner of the property has been
charged with or convicted of any offense under this chapter.
(a) Any civil action against any person brought pursuant to this section may be instituted in the Circuit Court in any county in which the person resides, in
which any property owned by the person and subject to forfeiture is found, or
in which the person has violated any provision of this chapter. (b) A final judgment rendered in favor of the Commonwealth in any criminal proceeding brought under this chapter shall estop the defendant from denying
the essential allegations of the criminal offense in any subsequent civil
proceeding brought pursuant to this section. (c) The prevailing party in any civil proceeding brought pursuant to this section shall recover his or her costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee. (d) Distribution of funds under this section shall be made in the same manner as in KRS 218A.420, except that if the Commonwealth's attorney has not
initiated the forfeiture action under this section, his or her percentage of the
funds shall go to the agency initiating the forfeiture action. (6) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall make or cause to be made examinations of samples secured under the provisions of this chapter to determine
whether any provision has been violated. (7) (a) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall use the data compiled in the electronic system created in KRS 218A.202 for investigations, research,
statistical analysis, and educational purposes and shall proactively identify
trends in controlled substance usage and other potential problem areas. Only
cabinet personnel who have undergone training for the electronic system and
who have been approved to use the system shall be authorized access to the
data and reports under this subsection. The cabinet shall notify a board
responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of each practitioner,
pharmacist, or other person who is authorized to prescribe, administer, or
dispense controlled substances, if a report or analysis conducted under this
subsection indicates that further investigation about inappropriate or unlawful
prescribing or dispensing may be necessary by the board. (b) The cabinet shall develop criteria, in collaboration with the Board of Medical Licensure and the Board of Pharmacy, to be used to generate trend reports
from the data obtained by the system. Meetings at which the criteria are
developed shall be meetings, as defined in KRS 61.805, that comply with the
open meetings laws, KRS 61.805 to 61.850. (c) The cabinet shall, on a quarterly basis, publish trend reports from the data obtained by the system. (d) Peace officers authorized to receive data under KRS 218A.202 may request trend reports not specifically published pursuant to paragraph (c) of this
subsection. A report under this paragraph may be based upon the criteria
developed under paragraph (b) of this subsection or upon any of the data
collected pursuant to KRS 218A.202(4), except that the report shall not
identify an individual prescriber, dispenser, or patient. (e) No trend report generated under this subsection shall identify an individual prescriber, dispenser, or patient. Effective: June 26, 2007
History: Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 253, effective June 26, 2007; and ch. 124, sec. 14, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 546,
effective June 20, 2005. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 68, sec. 2, effective July 13,
2004; and ch. 107, sec. 2, effective July 13, 2004. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts
ch. 301, sec. 26, effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 426, sec. 487, effective July 15,
1988. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 441, sec. 28, effective July 14, 2992. --
Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 74, Art. VI, sec. 107(3). -- Created 1972 Ky. Acts
ch. 226, sec. 26. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/26/2007). This section was amended by 2007 Ky. Acts chs. 85 and 124, which do not appear to be in conflict and have been
codified together.
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