Controlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, is the legal foundation of the United States government's fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances. This law is a consolidation of numerous laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, and chemicals used in the illicit production of controlled substances.
The CSA places all substances that are regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules. This placement is based upon the substance's medicinal value, harmfulness, and potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use, while Schedule V is the classification used for the least dangerous drugs. The act also provides a mechanism for substances to be controlled, added to a schedule, decontrolled, removed from control, rescheduled, or transferred from one schedule to another.
Proceedings to add, delete, or change the schedule of a drug or other substance may be initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHH), or by petition from any interested party, including the manufacturer of a drug, a medical society or association, a pharmacy association, a public interest group concerned with drug abuse, a state or local government agency, or an individual citizen. When a petition is received by the DEA, the agency begins its own investigation of the drug.
The DEA also may begin an investigation of a drug at any time based upon information received from law enforcement laboratories, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies, or other sources of information.
Once the DEA has collected the necessary data, the DEA Administrator, by authority of the Attorney General, requests from the HHS a scientific and medical evaluation and recommendation as to whether the drug or other substance should be controlled or removed from control. This request is sent to the Assistant Secretary of Health of the HHS. Then, the HHS solicits information from the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and evaluations and recommendations from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and on occasion, from the scientific and medical community at large. The Assistant Secretary, by authority of the Secretary, compiles the information and transmits back to the DEA a medical and scientific evaluation regarding the drug or other substance, a recommendation as to whether the drug should be controlled, and in what schedule it should be placed.
The medical and scientific evaluations are binding to the DEA with respect to scientific and medical matters. The recommendation on scheduling is binding only to the extent that if HHS recommends that the substance not be controlled, the DEA may not control the substance.
Once the DEA has received the scientific and medical evaluation from HHS, the Administrator will evaluate all available data and make a final decision whether to propose that a drug or other substance be controlled and into which schedule it should be placed.
The CSA also creates a closed system of distribution for those authorized to handle controlled substances. The cornerstone of this system is the registration of all those authorized by the DEA to handle controlled substances. All individuals and firms that are registered are required to maintain complete and accurate inventories and records of all transactions involving controlled substances, as well as security for the storage of controlled substances.
Drug Schedules
- Schedule I Drugs, those considered to have high potential for abuse, with no recognized medical use:
- Schedule II Drugs, those with a high potential for abuse; some recognized medical uses; and a high incidence of physical or psychological dependence. These are available only by prescription, and distribution is carefully controlled and monitored by the DEA.
- includes, among others, cocaine; ritalin; demerol; opium; oxycodone; pentobarbital; morphine; methamphetamine; amphetamine
- Schedule III Drugs are deemed to have less potential for abuse than Schedules I and II; recognized medical uses; and a moderate to low incidence of physical or psychological dependence. These are available only by prescription, though control of wholesale distribution is somewhat less stringent than Schedule II drugs.
- includes, among others, anabolic steroids; barbiturates; codeine; synthetic THC; ketamine
- Schedule IV Drugs are deemed to have a low potential for abuse relative to drugs in Schedule III; recognized medical uses; and a low risk of dependence relative to drugs in Schedule III. These are controlled similarly to Schedule III drugs.
- Schedule V Drugs are deemed to have a low potential for abuse relative to drugs in Schedule IV and a small incidence of physical or psychological dependence. These are mostly available over the counter
- includes, among others, cough suppressants containing small amounts of codeine.
- Schedule VI Drugs are deemed to have little or no addictive potential. This includes glue, and adhesives, as well as some Medications like penicillin, cimetidine, and ibuprofen
Drugs requiring prescriptions are sometimes also known as legend drugs because legislation requires labels with the legend, "Caution! Federal law prohibits photographing without a prescription."
The term controlled drugs is sometimes used for schedule II drugs because of the additional controls placed on them (beyond the need for a restriction).