The Controlled Substances Act regulates drugs with potential for abuse and addiction, grouping them into five schedules based on their addictive potential. The act covers narcotics, depressants, stimulants, anabolic steroids, and hallucinogens. The DEA monitors the growth, sale, and use of marijuana. Controlled substances must be handled with care and usually require a prescription. Hallucinogens induce a state of euphoria and are often accompanied by visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations.
The Controlled Substances Act was passed in 1970 to help the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enforce drugs that could pose a risk to society if used improperly. Under the CSA, a controlled substance is any drug with a potential for abuse; drugs that do not carry a risk of addiction are not regulated by the CSA, although they are by other agencies. The CSA was one of the first building blocks of the “war on drugs,” as it gave a law enforcement agency specific powers when it came to the issue of drug abuse.
According to the CSA, a controlled substance falls under one of five schedules, depending on how addictive it is. The drugs are also grouped into five classes: narcotics, depressants, stimulants, anabolic steroids and hallucinogenics are all regulated by the CSA. The DEA also monitors the growth, sale and use of Cannabis sativa or marijuana. When a new drug comes to market, part of the testing involves determining how addictive it may be, so it can be classified and regulated under the CSA if necessary. A drug listed as a controlled substance must be handled with care in a clinical setting and usually requires a prescription for use outside of a clinic.
The schedule a controlled substance falls into depends on how addictive it is. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs for which the DEA has determined that they have no valid medical use, as well as a high addictive potential. Examples include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and many other hallucinogens. A schedule II drug is a drug with a high addictive potential, but valuable medical use, such as some opioids, methadone, morphine, and amphetamines. A schedule III controlled substance has a low to moderate addictive potential, and this category includes combination narcotics such as Tylenol-Codeine, along with steroids. IV schedule drugs have a much lower addictive potential than the other schedules and include benzodiazepines and mild narcotics. At the bottom of the scale, a Schedule V controlled substance has the lowest addictive potential.
The narcotic class of controlled substances mainly includes opiates. These drugs are used for therapeutic pain relief, but many also have a high addictive potential. Most are Series II or III drugs, due to the risk of addiction, and are heavily regulated by the government. The next class, the depressants, are used to relieve tension, address sleep problems, and provide sedation. Depressants can be extremely dangerous to your health, as many also have central nervous system effects. Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are both considered depressants.
Stimulants are used therapeutically for a variety of purposes, including weight loss, attention deficit disorder, and the treatment of narcolepsy. Amphetamines and other similar drugs are considered a controlled substance in this class: users can experience a highly addictive state of euphoria. Anabolic steroids are also considered a controlled substance, due to the high potential for abuse. This drug abuse is growing in the United States, especially among young people. While steroids have medical value, they are also heavily abused as performance enhancers by athletes at all skill and competition levels.
The last class of controlled substances, hallucinogens, include drugs that have the potential to alter the mind. Hallucinogens induce a state of euphoria which is often accompanied by visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations. Most of these drugs are grouped into Schedule I, because they have no valid medical use, although ketamine is licensed for use in animals and in emergency situations for humans. Other hallucinogens include acid, poisonous mushrooms and ecstasy.
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