Controlled Substances Import and Export Act

As part of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created five Schedules (classifications) of controlled substances, with varying qualifications for a substance to be included in each. The Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSI&EA) came into effect in 1971 with the purpose of regulating the importation and exportation of controlled substances based upon the Schedule classifications of the CSA. Approved drugs and substances classified under Schedules I, II, III, IV, and V can be imported and exported in and out of the United States when persons have registered with the DEA. The CSI&EA additionally requires the appropriate permit, notification, or declaration, as specified in the DEA regulations, depending on the schedule of the controlled substance.

This type of regulation is necessary in order to ensure that international shipments of controlled substances are used for medical, scientific, or other legitimate needs of the country to which they are shipped. The CSI&EA regulations also attempt to prevent the unlawful distribution of dangerous drugs through drug traffickers or other illicit drug channels. Additionally, the requirements stated in this act fulfill U.S. obligations to meet international treaties regulations to which the United States is a party.

Under the CSI&EA, it is unlawful for any controlled substance in Schedules I or II and narcotics in Schedules III, IV, or V to be imported except when the attorney general or the DEA have (1) deemed it necessary to provide medical, scientific, or other legitimate purposes, and (2) when the controlled substances in Schedule I or II or any narcotic drug in Schedule III, IV, or V have been found by the attorney general to be necessary during an emergency in which domestic supplies of a substance are found to be inadequate, in any case in which the attorney general finds that competition among domestic manufacturers of a controlled substance is inadequate and could be adequate with importation, and last, if the attorney general allows limited quantities of a controlled substance exclusively for research, scientific, or analytical uses.

Non-narcotic controlled substances in Schedule III, IV, or V may be imported for medical, scientific, or other legitimate uses and when proper permit requirements, all necessary notifications, and declarations procedures have been met. Additional amounts of coca leaves may also be imported as long as derivatives that may be used to produce [Page 167]cocaine are destroyed under the supervision of an authorized representative of the attorney general.

Exportation of any narcotic controlled substance in Schedule I, II, III, or IV is considered unlawful unless the controlled substance is being exported to a country that is party to the same international treaties regulation as the United States. The narcotic drug must be consigned to a holder with the appropriate permits and licenses having been obtained from the importing country. Narcotic controlled substances as specified previously may be exported if the attorney general provides the permit to export, and additionally finds that the narcotic being exported is exclusively for medical or scientific uses and that there is an actual need for the narcotic drug for medical and scientific use in the country of import.

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