KRS 72.026: Testing for presence of controlled substances in post -mortem examination --

When required -- Reporting of drug overdose -- Administrative regulations.

(1) In cases requiring a post -mortem examination under KRS 72.025, the coroner or

medical examiner shall take a biological sample and have it tested for the presence

of any controlled substances which were in the body at the time of death and which

at the scene may have contributed to the cause of death.

(2) If a coroner or medical examiner determines tha t a drug overdose is the cause of

death of a person, he or she shall provide notice of the death to:

(a) The state registrar of vital statistics and the Department of Kentucky State

Police. The notice shall include any information relating to the drug that

resulted in the overdose. The state registrar of vital statistics shall not enter the

information on the deceased person's death certificate unless the information

is already on the death certificate;

(b) The licensing board for the individual who prescri bed or dispensed the

medication, if known. The notice shall include any information relating to the

drug that resulted in the overdose, including the individual authorized by law

to prescribe or dispense drugs who dispensed or prescribed the drug to the

decedent; and

(c) For coroners only, the Commonwealth's attorney and a local law enforcement

agency in the circuit where the death occurred, if the death resulted from the

use of a Schedule I controlled substance. The notice shall include all

information as to the types and concentrations of Schedule I drugs detected.

This subsection shall not apply to reporting the name of a pharmacist who

dispensed a drug based on a prescription.

(3) The state registrar of vital statistics shall report, within five (5) bus iness days of the

receipt of a certified death certificate or amended death certificate, to the Division

of Kentucky State Medical Examiners Office, any death which has resulted from the

use of drugs or a drug overdose.

(4) The Justice and Public Safety Ca binet in consultation with the Kentucky State

Medical Examiners Office shall promulgate administrative regulations necessary to

administer this section.