Drug Policy

Hazy Drug Classification Criteria Invite Dubious Bureaucratic Judgments

A GAO report notes that the Controlled Substances Act does not define "potential for abuse" or "accepted medical use."

Jacob Sullum | 9.30.2026 12:01 AM

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Half a century ago, Congress approved the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 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 (GAO) 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 CSA is supposedly reserved for drugs that have "a high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use," and "no accepted safety for use under medical supervision." Those drugs, which include heroin, LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA, are prohibited except for government-approved research purposes.

Schedule II drugs, which include cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, also are deemed to have "a high potential for abuse." But their medical use is "accepted," and they are legally available by prescription.

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