Warrants for administrative inspections, contents, procedures

195.375. Warrants for administrative inspections, contents, procedures — controlled premises, defined. — 1. A judge, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, may issue warrants for controlled premises for the purpose of conducting administrative inspections authorized by this chapter, and seizures of property appropriate to the inspections. For purposes of the issuance of administrative inspection warrants, probable cause exists upon showing a valid public interest in the effective enforcement of this chapter and chapter 579 sufficient to justify administrative inspection of the area, premises, building or conveyance in the circumstances specified in the application for the warrant.

2. A warrant shall issue only upon an affidavit of a peace officer or an employee of the department of health and senior services having knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to before the judge and establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant. If the judge is satisfied that grounds for the application exist, he or she shall issue a warrant identifying the area, premises, building or conveyance to be inspected, the purpose of the inspection, and if appropriate, the type of property to be inspected, if any. The warrant shall:

(1) State the grounds for its issuance and the name of each person whose affidavit has been taken in support thereof;

(2) Be directed to a peace officer or to an employee of the department of health and senior services to execute it;

(3) Command the person to whom it is directed to inspect the area, premises, building or conveyance identified for the purpose specified and, if appropriate, direct the seizure of the property specified;

(4) Identify the item or types of property to be seized, if any;

(5) Direct that it be served during normal business hours and designate the judge to whom it shall be returned.

3. A warrant issued pursuant to this section shall be executed and returned within ten days of its date unless, upon a showing of a need for additional time, the court orders otherwise. If property is seized pursuant to a warrant, a copy shall be given to the person from whom or from whose premises the property is taken, together with a receipt for the property taken. The return of the warrant shall be made promptly, accompanied by a written inventory of any property taken. The inventory shall be made in the presence of the person executing the warrant and of the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken, if present, or in the presence of at least one credible person other than the person executing the warrant. A copy of the inventory shall be delivered to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken and to the applicant for the warrant.

4. The judge who has issued a warrant shall attach thereto a copy of the return and all papers returnable in connection therewith and file them with the clerk of the court which issued the warrant. The department of health and senior services may make administrative inspections of controlled premises in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) For purposes of this section only, "controlled premises" means:

(a) Places where persons registered or exempted from registration requirements under this chapter are required to keep records; and

(b) Places including factories, warehouses, establishments, and conveyances in which persons registered or exempted from registration requirements under this chapter are permitted to hold, manufacture, compound, process, sell, deliver, or otherwise dispose of any controlled substance;

(2) When authorized by an administrative inspection warrant issued pursuant to this section, an officer or employee designated by the department of health and senior services, upon presenting the warrant and appropriate credentials to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, may enter controlled premises for the purpose of conducting an administrative inspection;

(3) When authorized by an administrative inspection warrant, an officer or employee designated by the department of health and senior services may:

(a) Inspect and copy records required by this chapter and chapter 579 to be kept;

(b) Inspect, within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, controlled premises and all pertinent equipment, finished and unfinished material, containers and labeling found therein, and, except as provided in subdivision (5) of this subsection, all other things therein, including records, files, papers, processes, controls, and facilities bearing on violation of this chapter and chapter 579; and

(c) Inventory any stock of any controlled substance therein and obtain samples thereof;

(4) This section does not prevent entries and administrative inspections, including seizures of property, without a warrant:

(a) If the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the controlled premises consents;

(b) In situations presenting imminent danger to health or safety;

(c) In situations involving inspection of conveyances if there is reasonable cause to believe that the mobility of the conveyance makes it impracticable to obtain a warrant;

(d) In any other exceptional or emergency circumstance where time or opportunity to apply for a warrant is lacking; or

(e) In all other situations in which a warrant is not constitutionally required;

(5) An inspection authorized by this section shall not extend to financial data, sales data, other than shipment data, or pricing data unless the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the controlled premises consents in writing;

(6) The department of health and senior services may obtain computerized controlled substances dispensing information via printouts, disks, tapes or other state of the art means of electronic data transfer.

5. Prescriptions, orders, and records, required by this chapter and chapter 579, and stocks of controlled substances shall be open for inspection only to federal, state, county, and municipal officers, whose duty it is to enforce the laws of this state or of the United States relating to narcotic drugs. No officer having knowledge by virtue of his or her office of any such prescription, order, or record shall divulge such knowledge, except in connection with a prosecution or proceeding in court or before a licensing or registration board or officer, to which prosecution or proceeding the person to whom such prescriptions, orders, or records relate is a party.