There are two federal agencies that determine which substances are placed on or removed from these schedules.  They are the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration.  Other substances have been added to the list by congressional legislation such as gamma hydroxybutrate, or GHB, also known as the date rape drug.

In 1969 then President Richard Nixon and his Attorney General John Mitchell sought to combat the growing drug problem in The United States by combining all existing drug laws into one statute and expand the power of the federal government to police these laws more effectively.  The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse was established.  Its initial recommendation to Congress was to decriminalize marijuana usage in small amounts saying in essence that the potential harm of smoking small amounts of marijuana is not great enough to warrant the federal government to intrude upon the behavior of private citizens.

If a drug is to be added, deleted or to be moved from one schedule to another then the Drug Enforcement Administration, The Department of Health and Human Services or any other interested party may petition for its inclusion, deletion or change in status.  Sometimes this may come from the drug manufacturers, state and local law enforcement, a medical or public interest group, government agency or even a private citizen.  Once a petition is received by the Drug Enforcement Agency then they begin their own investigation into the substance to determine the status.

To Be Continued