Controlled Substance Act

For many years, drugs have been the center of crime and the criminal justice system in the United States. Due to this widespread epidemic, President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971 with a campaign that promoted the prohibition of illicit substances and implemented policies to discourage the overall production, distribution, and consumption. The War on Drugs and the U.S. drug policy has experienced the most significant and complex challenges between criminal law and the values of today’s society. With implemented drug polices becoming much harsher over the years in order to reduce the overall misuse and abuse of drugs and a expanded federal budget, it has sparked a nation wide debate whether or not they have created more harm than good. When looking at the negative consequences of these policies not only has billions of dollars gone to waste, but the United States has also seen public health issues, mass incarceration, and violent drug related crime within the black market in which feeds our global demands and economy. With this failed approach for drug prohibition, there continues to be an increase in the overall production of illicit substances, high rate of violence, and an unfavorable impact to our nation.

Less restrictive drug laws would lower the population of prisons. Courts deal with a high amount cases due to drugs. According to Goldberg (2012), the criminal justice system is becoming ineffective because of the high amounts of drug cases which, is overburdening the system. This means that there are too many cases that are being processed through the system, which creates an issue of overcrowding in prisons. The mandatory minimum laws create a burden for the system because all of the cases have to be processes creating an ineffective system. According to Nutt, King, and Nichols (2013), there are extreme legal consequences for drug possession. Less restrictive laws would help alleviate the burden on the system. By having less restrictive laws the amount of cases would drop greatly and then the system would be more effective than it is right now.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, drug use became a major concern for most Americans. As the War on Drugs and “Just Say No” campaign were being thrust into the spotlight by the government and media, the public became more aware of the scope of drug use and abuse in this country. The federal and states’ governments quickly responded by creating and implementing more harsh and punitive punishments for drug offenses. Most of these laws have either remained unchanged or become stricter in the years since then.

On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the “Public Enemy Number One” among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later.

Within the last 50 years, drug legalization has been a very hotly debated topic in the United States society. It almost seems that every "street drug" was once legal, but banned soon after its introduction in society. Illegal substances that one sees today were once synthesized and created by chemist such as LSD, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine, and etc., and at some point used for medical reasons, however during many circumstances were deemed illegal by the government due to detrimental effects after prolonged usage. William Bennett's "Drugs: Should Their Sale and Use Be Legalized" targets the general American public into understanding the societal importance of upholding the nations

In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was put into place by the Congress of the United States Government. This Act, Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, is the federal U.S. drug policy which regulates the possession, use, manufacturing and importation of certain controlled substances. The substances controlled under this act fall under various classifications. These classifications are known as schedules. The legislation created 5 schedules with different qualifications for a substance to be included in each. Schedule I includes some of the drugs that are viewed as seriously threatening while schedule V includes drugs that are viewed as not as threatening. A Schedule I drug must fall under one of

Prior to the passage of this legislation, many people convicted with possession of drugs were given significantly long sentences under state laws; often this included individuals receiving life sentences for what is now known as simple possess (Courtwright, 2004). In this regard the Controlled substance act could be viewed as a liberalization of drugs policy by breaking up all drugs into schedules with differencing penalties. This does not mean that the legislation is not without

Since the late 19th century, the federal and states governments of the United States have enacted laws and policies to deter the use and distribution of illegal drugs. These laws and policies have not only deemed what drugs are legal and illegal, but have also established penalties for the possession and distribution of these substances and established federal agencies to control drug use and administer drug law enforcement. This essay will not only examine the landmark drug laws and policies established by the federal and state governments, but also the enforcement of drug laws.

This is why The Analog Act of1986 containing the Controlled Substance List I & II is

“In the 1960s, as drugs became symbols of youthful rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent, the government halted scientific research to evaluate their medical safety and efficacy” (Drugpolicy). Therefore political action was taken to reduce the drug presence that swept the nation. President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” This created a new policies such as no-knock warrants as well as mandatory sentencing. Nixon also increased the size and the amount of federal drug agencies nationwide. Mandatory sentencing where judges would have less discretion and therefore guides were made. This concept is often times called, “the one shoe fits all” which shows how everyone will get punished with the same amount of years creating a concise sentence. According to Drugpolicy.org, Nixon placed marijuana as a Schedule One drug, which made it one of the most restrictive drugs due to this category. Other drugs that are considered class ones are, LSD, Heroin, and

The history of drug use dates back for thousands of years with diverse purposes throughout humanity. According to Levinthal (2012), the drug-taking behavior gained federal awareness in the early 1900s, due to the lack of drug control regulations. Moreover, Levinthal (2012) mentions four major drug control laws which were established, including: (1) The Harrison Narcotic Act 1914, (2) The Marijuana Tax Act 1937, (3) The Boggs Act 1951, and (4) The Controlled Substance Act 1970. The drug control laws formed help regulate importation, manufacture, selling, or distribution of drugs within the United States (Levinthal, 2012).

The effectiveness of criminal justice regulations on all controlled substance has been effective so far. Although, there are still some lapses engaged in this situation, but so far it’s something to be considered and continue to work on. Since 1984 when Congress passed crime legislation (Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984; Title II of P.L. 98-473)53 (Clear, Cole & Reisig 2013), that among other things, enhanced penalties for CSA violations and amended the CSA to establish general criminal forfeiture provisions for certain felony drug violations. Even though numbers of prisoners keep increasing, but drug abused fellows and companies, and individuals involved have been completely reduced to a barest minimum level.

Canada 's drug regulations are covered by the Food and Drug Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. In relation to controlled and restricted drug products the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act establishes eight schedules of drugs and new penalties for the possession, trafficking, exportation and production of controlled substances as defined by the Governor-in-Council. Drug policy of Canada has traditionally favoured punishment of the smallest of offenders, but this convention was partially broken in 1996 with the passing of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.[1]

While laws prohibiting the use of drugs, in one form or another, can be traced back to the 1870s, it was not until 1968, when Richard M. Nixon was elected President, that our current drug war was conceived. In 1970 Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act.(2) With an

One thing that must be made obvious is that the government makes money regardless of the results that they produce. A good majority of the criminal justice system is paid with this budgeted drug money. There has been a historical increase in judges, lawyers, police officers and the creation of entire government organizations that directly make money as a result of the prohibition. It is not only law enforcement side that would like to see prohibition remain intact; it is also the drug dealers that would like the policies to remain as they are. (Harvey) Prohibition causes the handling of drugs to become a risky business and, therefore, drives the prices up astronomically allowing for a business that has a profit in the thousands of percent with no tax. Ricky Ross, the most infamous crack-cocaine dealer in Los Angeles, while being interviewed in jail told the interviewer, “I became addicted to the money and also the power too I believe” (Booth). These people will have the opportunity to make extraordinary amounts of money so long as current prohibition stays intact. There is clearly something wrong if both the government and drug dealers would both like to see prohibition perpetuated.