Feds Suing to Access Utah Prescription Database; State Should Refuse to Comply
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency wants to access a Utah database of confidential prescription records. But the feds have a problem. The state requires a warrant before law enforcement agencies can access the Utah Controlled Substance Database. The DEA doesn’t have one. Not to be deterred, the drug police have sued the state in federal court to gain access to the records.
No matter what the courts say, Utah should simply refuse to comply.
According to the ACLU, Utah created the UCSD in 1995. It tracks prescriptions of certain drugs dispensed by pharmacies to help physicians prevent drug overdoses and to assist doctors in spotting signs of drug abuse.
Unsurprisingly, once the database was in place, police abused it.
In 2014 it was discovered that one Utah detective had searched the prescription drug records of at least 480 full-time employees of Utah’s largest fire agency without judicial oversight, and improperly charged at least two employees with crimes they didn’t commit. In response, Utah’s legislature in March 2015 amended the law that regulates access to the UCSD, requiring law enforcement officers to obtain a probable cause warrant from a court before they can gain access to the database.
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