(1) The board and the department shall cooperate with federal and other state agencies in discharging the board's and the department's responsibilities concerning controlled substances and in controlling the abuse of controlled substances. To this end, the department may:

(a) Arrange for the exchange of information among governmental officials concerning the use and abuse of controlled substances;

(b) Coordinate and cooperate in training programs concerning controlled substance law enforcement at local and state levels;

(c) Cooperate with the drug enforcement administration by establishing a centralized unit to accept, catalog, file, and collect statistics, including records of persons with substance use disorders and other controlled substance law offenders within this state, and make the information available for federal, state, and local law enforcement purposes, but may not furnish the name or identity of a patient or research subject whose identity could not be obtained pursuant to subsection (3) of this section; and

(d) Conduct programs of eradication aimed at destroying wild or illicit growth of plant species from which controlled substances may be extracted.

(2) Results, information, and evidence received from the drug enforcement administration relating to the regulatory functions of this article, including results of inspections conducted by it, may be relied and acted upon by the board or department in the exercise of the regulatory functions under this article.

(3) A practitioner engaged in medical practice or research is not required or compelled to furnish the name or identity of a patient or research subject to the board or department, nor may the practitioner be compelled in any state or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings to furnish the name or identity of an individual that the practitioner is obligated to keep confidential.