A federal judge has ruled that the federal law enforcement’s warrantless searches of a state’s prescription drug database violate the Fourth Amendment, Reuters reports. The Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was set up in 2009 to help pharmacists and doctors track certain prescription drugs covered by the Controlled Substances Act. The state requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant prior to access, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency had argued federal law allowed it access to the data under an “administrative subpoena.” U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty said, “It is more than reasonable for patients to believe that law enforcement agencies will not have unfettered access to their records.”
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