An Evaluative Analysis of the Controlled Substances Act

Abstract

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) has defined U.S. drug policy for more than 50 years, determining what substances are outlawed, restricted, and egregiously punished with sentences up to life in prison. Yet, the recent motions by Congress proposing federally decriminalize the use of marijuana, a Schedule 1 substance, has brought a crucial question to light: what is the true purpose and effectual impact of drug legislation? How do the intentions of our legislators to safeguard the nation from drug-related crime and chaos correlate with the environmental changes and inequitable outcomes that are not always reflected in law? According to the present data provided federally and independently by journals alike, the ripple that the CSA and its branching drug policies have caused in spheres of civil justice and healthcare is proven to be expansive (Lampe, 2021). The reputational stain placed against substances associated with high health risks (I.e., Schedule 1 and 2 drugs) is arguably reversible but has also been an immediate barrier to access in cases where the substance’s physiological and mental benefits could be useful for stabilizing one’s wellbeing instead of endangering it (Strohman, 2020). The disproportionate enforcement of drug arrests in communities of color and low-income areas threatens both racial and class equity within the United States, due to the unjust targeting for criminalization without solutions or resources for the vulnerable (Taifa, 2021). Nonetheless, the benefits contribute to upholding an acceptable level of public safety, producing responsible standards for medicinal classification, and involving the interests of large pharmaceutical companies and their accompanying research (Lampe, 2021). As spotlighted in the following explorations of congressional efforts and scholastic studies, the complexities of life under recent drug policy cannot be understated, which opens many considerable avenues for necessary revisions.