COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

(a) The director shall cooperate with federal and state agencies in discharging the director's responsibilities concerning traffic in controlled substances and in suppressing the abuse of controlled substances. The director may: (1) arrange for the exchange of information among government officials concerning the use and abuse of controlled substances; (2) cooperate in and coordinate training programs concerning controlled substances law enforcement at local and state levels; (3) cooperate with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and state agencies by establishing a centralized unit to accept, catalog, file, and collect statistics, including records on drug-dependent persons and other controlled substance law offenders in this state and, except as provided by Section 481.068, make the information available for federal, state, and local law enforcement purposes; and (4) conduct programs of eradication aimed at destroying wild or illegal growth of plant species from which controlled substances may be extracted. (b) In the exercise of regulatory functions under this chapter, the director may rely on results, information, and evidence relating to the regulatory functions of this chapter received from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration or a state agency.