Controlled Substances Act At 50: A Blueprint for Reform

4 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2020 Last revised: 14 Jul 2020

See all articles by Leo Beletsky

Leo Beletsky

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences; Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, UCSD School of Medicine

Date Written: February 25, 2020

Abstract

The year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the Controlled Substances Act. By bringing together various strands of federal regulation under one organizing framework, this legislation vastly expanded the federal government’s role in drug policy. It also served as a foundation for an extensive progeny of federal, state, and local legal instruments to further its regulatory scheme. Vigorous critiques of the CSA’s structure and function are as old as the Act itself. Over time, historians have presented compelling evidence casting this statute as an instrument of the culture wars, including racist and xenophobic drug panics. In the name of public safety, the CSA has ushered in unprecedented governmental surveillance and intrusion, while eroding individual rights. Contrary to its stated rationale, in the years since CSA enactment, the supply of controlled substances on the American and global illicit markets has only increased, while prices have dropped. The legacy of the current Act renders it un-American, given its extensive collateral harms.

This Blueprint proposes a revisioning of the CSA as a flagship drug policy statute, based on America's foundational principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Keywords: Controlled Substances Act, Drug Policy

Suggested Citation

Beletsky, Leo, Controlled Substances Act At 50: A Blueprint for Reform (February 25, 2020). Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 370-2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3544384 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3544384

Leo Beletsky (Contact Author)

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-373-5540 (Phone)

Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, UCSD School of Medicine ( email )

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MC 0507
La Jolla, CA 92093
United States

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