Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was enacted in response to the rising concerns about drug abuse in the 1960s in the United States. This legislation aimed to address the issues of drug abuse through a dual approach involving both treatment and law enforcement. Title I of the act focused on funding for substance abuse treatment, research, and prevention programs. Title II, known as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), introduced a classification system that categorizes drugs into five schedules based on their medical usefulness and potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are considered to have no accepted medical purpose and a high potential for abuse, making them illegal to possess or distribute. The act also established the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which later evolved into the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Furthermore, the law links the severity of penalties for drug offenses to the scheduling of the drugs involved, with stricter penalties for violations related to Schedule I and II substances. The act has played a significant role in shaping drug policy and enforcement in the United States.
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
The Law: Federal legislation encompassing a major reformulation of drug law and policy
Date: Signed into law on October 27, 1970
Significance: This legislation provides the legal foundation of the federal government’s fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances.
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was enacted at a time when the federal government was grappling with the escalating drug abuse of the 1960s. The legislation addressed two aspects of the drug abuse problem: treatment and law enforcement. Title I of the act provided funding for substance abuse treatment, research, and prevention initiatives. The act’s impact on the criminal justice system came through Title II, more commonly known as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA provides a framework for categorizing drugs into one of five categories, or “schedules,” reflecting a drug’s degree of medical usefulness and potential for abuse and dependence. Drugs categorized into Schedule I were deemed by the federal government to have no medical usefulness and a high potential for abuse and dependence. Consequently, they cannot be prescribed by a medical professional and are illegal to possess, manufacture, or distribute. There have been several attempts to downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug, the latest being denied by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2011.
Drugs in Schedules II through V are deemed to have medical purposes and progressively fewer risks for abuse and dependence. Penalties for drug law violations are linked with a drug’s scheduling. Thus, violations involving Schedule I and Schedule II drugs carry more severe penalties than do violations involving drugs in the other schedules. Among other initiatives, the CSA established a drug enforcement agency called the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which later became the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Bibliography
Gray, James. Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do about It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2001. Print.
Maccoun, Robert J. Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times, and Places. New York: Cambridge UP, 2001. Print.
Marion, Nancy E., and Joshua B. Hill. Legalizing Marijuana: a Shift in Policies across America. Durham: Carolina Academic, 2016. Print.
Musto, David F. The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.