(a) Except as provided in subsection (c)—
(1) every registrant under this chapter shall, on the effective date of this section, or as soon thereafter as such registrant first engages in the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances, and every second year thereafter, make a complete and accurate record of all stocks thereof on hand, except that the regulations prescribed under this section shall permit each such biennial inventory (following the initial inventory required by this paragraph) to be prepared on such registrant's regular general physical inventory date (if any) which is nearest to and does not vary by more than six months from the biennial date that would otherwise apply;
(2) on the effective date of each regulation of the Commissioner controlling a substance that immediately prior to such date was not a controlled substance, each registrant under this chapter manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing such substance shall make a complete and accurate record of all stocks thereof on hand; and
(3) on and after the effective date of this section, every registrant under this chapter manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance or substances shall maintain, on a current basis, a complete and accurate record of each such substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, or otherwise disposed of by him, except that this paragraph shall not require the maintenance of a perpetual inventory.
(b) Every inventory or other record required under this section (1) shall be in accordance with, and contain such relevant information as may be required by, regulation of the Commissioner, (2) shall (A) be maintained separately from all other records of the registrant, or (B) alternatively, in the case of nonnarcotic controlled substances, be in such form that information required by the Commissioner is readily retrievable from the ordinary business records of the registrant, and (3) shall be kept and be available, for at least two years, for inspection and copying by officers or employees of the Government of the Virgin Islands authorized by the Commissioner.
(c) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply—
(1)
(A) with respect to narcotic controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V, to the prescribing or administering of such substances by a practitioner in the lawful course of his professional practice; or
(B) with respect to nonnarcotic controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V, to any practitioner who dispenses to his patients, unless the practitioner is regularly engaged in charging his patients, either separately or together with charges for other professional services for substances so dispensed;
(2)
(A) to the use of controlled substances, at establishments registered under this chapter which keep records with respect to such substances, in research conducted in conformity with an exemption granted under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
(B) to the use of controlled substances, at establishments registered under this chapter which keep records with respect to such substances, in preclinical research or in teaching; or
(3) to the extent of any exemption granted to any person, with respect to all or part of such provisions, by the Commissioner by or pursuant to regulation on the basis of a finding that the application of such provisions (or part thereof) to such person is not necessary for carrying out the purpose of this chapter.
(d) Every manufacturer registered under section 598 shall, at such time or times and in such form as the Commissioner may require, make periodic reports to the Commissioner of every sale, delivery, or other disposal by him of any controlled substance, and each distributor shall make such reports with respect to narcotic controlled substances, identifying by the registration number assigned under this chapter the person or establishment (unless exempt from registration under section 597(d) to whom such sale, delivery, or other disposal was made).