In 1970, the New York Legislature created a special commission to evaluate the State's drug-control laws and their effectiveness in combating the illegal distribution and use of dangerous yet legal prescription drugs.

Justice Stevens wrote that the opinion of the Court held that State legislation is not unconstitutional merely because it is not found to be necessary.

Rejecting the District Court's analysis of Lochner v. New York,[3] Justice Stevens held that it is within the State's police power to enact legislation that attempts to deal with crime, such as the drug distribution problem in this case.

Looking at the evidence before the court, Justice Stevens found that the increased risk of public disclosure was minimal compared to existing law and that patients’ decisions to receive these drugs would be largely unaffected by having to provide identifying information.

Finally, while acknowledging legitimate privacy concerns arising from government storage of citizens' personal information, Justice Stevens limited the holding to the specific facts in this case.

While Justice Brennan agrees with the majority that the disclosure of patient information required by physicians pursuant to the New York statute to a limited number of public health officials has been historically prevalent and one not traditionally viewed as an invasion of privacy, he still expresses his concern with regards to the manner in which the statute mandates the information be stored-in a central computer.

Nonetheless, Brennan points out that the New York statute had, based on the facts of the case before him, sufficiently protected the privacy interests of those patients in their information.

Justice Stewart points out that the Court noted in Katz v. United States that the Constitution does not provide individuals with any right to privacy.

Brennan's concurrence was prescient in some regards as increasingly advanced computer technology continues to develop while generating growing concerns about how private information is collected, particularly pertaining to health and medical records.