Controlled Substances Act
From Drug Rehab Wiki
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, was enacted into law by congress in 1970. The CSA is a federal law that regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, and distribution of narcotics. Upon its inception, the CSA consolidated many earlier laws that previously monitored narcotics and also expanded the federal power for controlling drugs. The Controlled Substances Act created five schedules of drugs, with each schedule ranking substances based upon the potential of abuse against their medical usefulness.
A Schedule I Controlled Substance is deemed to have a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use, and no level of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. Drugs in this category include heroin, marijuana, peyote, and LSD. Schedule II drugs also have a high potential for abuse but are acceptable in certain medical treatments. However, substances in this ranking can lead to severe psychological or physical abuse. Examples include cocaine, morphine, amphetamines, and opiates. Drugs found under the Schedule III Controlled Substance classification have a lower potential for misuse than those found in I and II and has a currently accepted medical use in treatment. Abuse of the drug may lead to moderate or low physical dependence. Examples include codeine, anabolic steroids, and ketamine. Schedule IV and V substances have a low potential for abuse, do not generally created dependences, and are acceptable for medical use.
The Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services are responsible for determining what drugs may need to be added, deleted, or changed within their respective schedule.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can also petition to make changes to the five schedules, as can any interested party including a medical organization, drug manufacturer, or state or local government agency. The DEA is also responsible for enforcing the Controlled Substances Act.
The CSA has been amended several times since 1970 as new drugs, such as Ecstasy, became popular. Another more significant change occurred in the 1980s when mandatory minimum sentencing for drug abusers took effect. This required judges to observe sentencing guidelines for offenders.
See also Schedule II Controlled Substance, Schedule III Controlled Substance, Schedule IV Controlled Substance
