Psychotropic Substances Act (United States) Explained

Shorttitle:Psychotropic Substances Act
Longtitle:An Act to amend the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and other laws to meet obligations under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances relating to regulatory controls on the manufacture, distribution, importation, and exportation of psychotropic substances, and for other purposes.
Colloquialacronym:PSA
Nickname:Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978
Enacted By:95th
Effective Date:November 10, 1978
Public Law Url:http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-92/pdf/STATUTE-92-Pg3768.pdf
Cite Public Law:95-633
Title Amended:21 U.S.C.: Food and Drugs
Sections Amended: § 801 et seq.
Leghisturl:http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:SN02399:@@@R
Introducedin:Senate
Introducedby:John Culver (DIA)
Introduceddate:January 20, 1978
Committees:Senate Judiciary
Passedbody1:Senate
Passeddate1:July 27, 1978
Passedvote1:passed
Passedbody2:House
Passeddate2:September 18, 1978
Passedvote2:passed, in lieu of
Agreedbody3:Senate
Agreeddate3:October 7, 1978
Agreedvote3:agreed
Agreedbody4:House
Agreeddate4:October 13, 1978
Agreedvote4:agreed
Signedpresident:Jimmy Carter
Signeddate:November 10, 1978

The Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978 amended the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and Controlled Substances Act to ensure compliance with the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. notes, "It is the intent of the Congress that the amendments made by this Act, together with existing law, will enable the United States to meet all of its obligations under the Convention and that no further legislation will be necessary for that purpose." The Psychotropic Substances Act created mechanisms by which the U.S. Government would add substances to the Schedules of controlled substances as required by the Convention. It also established a framework for exercising the U.S.'s rights to influence drug scheduling at the international level. The Secretary of Health and Human Services was given the power to make scheduling recommendations that would be binding on the U.S. representative in discussions and negotiations related to drug scheduling proposals before the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

The Act viewed the regulations of Schedules IV and V of the Controlled Substances Act as being adequate to fulfill the minimum treaty obligations in the event of a disagreement between the U.S. and the U.N. on drug scheduling.

The S. 2399 legislation was passed by the 95th U.S. Congressional session and enacted into law by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter on November 10, 1978.[1]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jimmy Carter: "Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978 Statement on Signing S. 2399 Into Law.," November 10, 1978 . Peters, Gerhard . Woolley, John T . The American Presidency Project . University of California - Santa Barbara.