Controlled Substances Act is faulty barometer that allows arbitrary criminalization
A GAO report suggests the 50-year-old Controlled Substances Act lacks clear definitions for medical use and abuse potential, leading to inconsistent regulatory and criminal justice outcomes.
Half a century ago, Congress approved the Controlled Substances Act, which established a system for classifying drugs based on their "medical use" and "potential for abuse." But as a recent report from the Government Accountability Office notes, the statute does not clearly define either criterion, opening the door to debatable and changeable regulatory judgments with far-reaching criminal justice implications.Schedule I of the act is supposedly reserved for drugs that have "a high potential…
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