Controlled Substances Act

Controlled Substances
Long title	An Act to amend the Public Health Service Act and other laws to provide increased research into, and prevention of, drug abuse and drug dependence; to provide for treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers and drug dependent persons; and to strengthen existing law enforcement authority in the field of drug abuse.
Acronyms (colloquial)	CSA
Enacted by	the 91st United States Congress
Effective	May 1, 1971
Citations
Public law	91-513
Statutes at Large	84 Stat. 1236 a.k.a. 84 Stat. 1242
Codification
Titles amended	21 U.S.C.: Food and Drugs
U.S.C. sections created	21 U.S.C. ch. 13 § 801 et seq.
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House as H.R. 18583 by Harley O. Staggers (D–WV) on September 10, 1970; Committee consideration by Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee; Passed the House on September 24, 1970 (341–6); Passed the Senate on October 7, 1970 (54–0); Reported by the joint conference committee on October 13, 1970; agreed to by the House on October 14, 1970 (passed) and by the Senate on October 14, 1970 (passed); Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 27, 1970;
Major amendments
	Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Prevention Act of 2000
United States Supreme Court cases
	United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 532 U.S. 483 (2001); Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005); Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 (2006); Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204 (2014); McFadden v. United States, No. 14-378, 576 U.S. ___ (2015); Ruan v. United States, No. 20-1410, 597 U.S. ___ (2022);

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United States Congress as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon.^[1] The Act also served as the national implementing legislation for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The legislation created five schedules (classifications), with varying qualifications for a substance to be included in each. Two federal agencies, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), determine which substances are added to or removed from the various schedules, although the statute passed by Congress created the initial listing. Congress has sometimes scheduled other substances through legislation such as the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Prevention Act of 2000, which placed gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in Schedule I and sodium oxybate (the isolated sodium salt in GHB) in Schedule III when used under an FDA New Drug Application (NDA) or Investigational New Drug (IND).^[2]^[3] Classification decisions are required to be made on criteria including potential for abuse (an undefined term),^[4] currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and international treaties.

^ Pub. L. 91–513, 84 Stat. 1236, enacted October 27, 1970, codified at 21 U.S.C. § 801 et. seq.
^ "2000 - Addition of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid to Schedule I". US Department of Justice via the Federal Register. March 13, 2000. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
^ "William J. Clinton: Statement on Signing the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000". February 18, 2000.
^ "[D]rug abuse may refer to any type of drug or chemical without regard to its pharmacologic actions. It is an eclectic concept having only one uniform connotation: societal disapproval. ... The Commission believes that the term drug abuse must be deleted from official pronouncements and public policy dialogue. The term has no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrary codeword for that drug use which is presently considered wrong." – Second Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse; Drug Use In America: Problem In Perspective (March 1973), p.13

[1] Pub. L. 91–513, 84 Stat. 1236, enacted October 27, 1970, codified at 21 U.S.C. § 801 et. seq.

[2] "2000 - Addition of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid to Schedule I". US Department of Justice via the Federal Register. March 13, 2000. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2018.

[3] "William J. Clinton: Statement on Signing the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000". February 18, 2000.

[Drug_Abuse_1973_p.13-4] "[D]rug abuse may refer to any type of drug or chemical without regard to its pharmacologic actions. It is an eclectic concept having only one uniform connotation: societal disapproval. ... The Commission believes that the term drug abuse must be deleted from official pronouncements and public policy dialogue. The term has no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrary codeword for that drug use which is presently considered wrong." – Second Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse; Drug Use In America: Problem In Perspective (March 1973), p.13

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Major United States federal drug control laws
1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
Regulates labeling of products containing certain drugs including cocaine and heroin
1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act
Regulates opiates and cocaine
1937 Marihuana Tax Act
Required taxation of marijuana
1919 Volstead Act
Implemented 18th Amendment establishing alcohol prohibition in the United States
1933 Blaine Act
Alcohol prohibition repealed via 21st Amendment Repeal of Prohibition in the United States
1942 Opium Poppy Control Act
Regulated the growth of the opium poppy and prohibited private cultivation in most states.
1961 Convention on Narcotics
Treaty to control marijuana
1970 Controlled Substances Act
Scheduling list for drugs
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