Description

In 1970, Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. Enforced by the Food and Drug Administration, the Act established the five schedules, or categories, of controlled substances and the drugs under each schedule. In 1973, the Department of Justice created the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to coadminister the Controlled Substances Act with the Food and Drug Administration. In 1986, the DEA was given sole authority to schedule controlled substances and was also tasked with regulating individuals and organizations that manufacture, transfer, or dispense scheduled drugs. The Office of Diversion Control within the DEA is responsible for ensuring that scheduled drugs are not used for nonmedical purposes (Abrams, Pennington, & Lammon, 2007; Garrison & Mitty, 2010).