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Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act

The Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act of 1984 was one of several amendments to the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, established under the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. It was established in response to a growing national concern regarding the use and abuse of substances in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.

Enacted on October 12, 1984, the Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act of 1984 amended 18 sections of the original act. These amendments covered multiple areas, including the definition of the degree to which certain substances are considered medically useful and/or addictive, the dissemination of controlled substances, the role of the attorney general of the United States, the exportation of controlled substances, and penalties for substance-related offenses.

Background and Development

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 was meant to provide a legal foundation from which drug enforcement organizations, such as the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence and other related agencies, would operate and obtain legal power. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was established under President Nixon's Reorganization Plan Number Two of 1973 as part of his administration's plan to reorganize the various drug enforcement agencies into one comprehensive superagency. As such, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 became the legal foundation for the DEA.

The act was the first attempt in U.S. history to provide a single system under which substances would be controlled. One contribution made by this act was the description and definition of five schedules of substances according to their medical value and addictiveness. Substances can fall within the range of five schedules with substances found to be of no use medically and highly addictive placed in Schedule I (e.g., peyote, mescaline) and those found to be both of use medically and also very low in their addictiveness in Schedule V (e.g., 200 milligrams or less per 100 milliliters of codeine). The Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act of 1984, coupled with the Dangerous Drug Diversion Control Act of 1984 and other amendments made in subsequent years, worked to provide the DEA and the Attorney General with a comprehensive legal foundation necessary to control the manufacture, distribution, and use of controlled substances in the United States.

Specific Amendments

The Controlled Substances Penalties Amendments Act of 1984 amended 18 sections of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970: 802, 811, 812, 822, 823, 824, 827, 841, 843, 845, 873, 881, 952, 953, 957, 958, 960, and 962. Section 812, which defines the five schedules of drugs, was amended to include cocaine and its derivatives in Schedule II. Other amendments addressed the additional requirement that any individual wanting to dispense a controlled substance be registered with the attorney general (Section 822); the illegality of any involvement in the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance through the use of an invalid registration (Section 843); the ability of the U.S. government to take control of all property meant to be used in the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance (Section 881); and the legality of the importation of crude opium, poppy straw, and coca leaves (Section 952).

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