The Controlled Substances Act: schedules I–V and the Analogue Act
Explains how U.S. federal law classifies drugs into five schedules, what decides a drug's schedule, why Schedule I is different from the rest, and how the Federal Analogue Act handles designer drugs.
Where this fitsConnects to 3 · Unlocks 1
- Connects to
- The course lens: biopsychosocial, and no 'chemical imbalance' — The CSA is the history piece from the course's first lecture.
- Safety: therapeutic index, dosing across species, allergy and polypharmacy — Schedules are supposed to reflect abuse potential and safety.
- Substance use disorder: dependence is not addiction — Abuse and dependence potential are scheduling criteria.
- Unlocks
- The War on Drugs, decriminalization and legalization — Schedules are the legal backbone of the War on Drugs.
Orient
Drugs that are considered controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) are divided into five schedules, based on whether they have a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, their relative abuse potential, and likelihood of addiction (…in theory). In reality, drug scheduling is a political issue.
Course terms
Your professor's wording, word for word from the slides. Learn the term and this definition — the explanation underneath is only there to help it make sense.
- Controlled substance schedules
“Drugs that are considered controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) are divided into five schedules”Slides 07, p. 26
Placed by accepted medical use, relative abuse potential and likelihood of addiction (…in theory).
- Schedule I
“No currently accepted medical use in the United States”Slides 07, p. 27
Also a lack of accepted safety under medical supervision and a high potential for abuse: heroin, LSD, marijuana (cannabis), peyote, MDMA.
- Schedule II
“Substances have a high potential for abuse, which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.”Slides 07, p. 27
Opiates (methadone, oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine, codeine) and stimulants (amphetamine/Adderall, methamphetamine, methylphenidate/Ritalin).
- Schedule IV
“Substances have a low potential for abuse relative to substances in Schedule III.”Slides 07, p. 28
Benzodiazepines: alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam, diazepam (Valium), lorazepam.
- Federal Analogue Act
“New drugs with similar chemical structure to already scheduled drugs are automatically scheduled the same way”Slides 07, p. 30
Passed in 1986 for “designer drugs”; the problem is that drugs get scheduled before any research is done.
From your course: Course slides 07, pp. 25–31 · Midterm study guide: Clinical Trials and Policy · Course slides 01 (history)
Tip: the ← and → keys move through the lesson.
Full lesson: History and reasoning about drug effects