State Prescription Records Manager Must Obey Federal Subpoena

New Hampshire’s prescription drug monitoring program manager must comply with a federal administrative subpoena for a specified individual’s records, the First Circuit said.

Michelle Ricco Jonas said that the subpoena issued to her in her official capacity was unenforceable and refused to turn the records over the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Ricco Jonas also said that the target of the investigation had a privacy interest in the records, so the government needed show probable cause to support the subpoena.

New Hampshire established the drug monitoring program to combat the misuse of prescription drugs. Anyone who prescribes a controlled substance must ...