Controlled Substances Act (CSA)
RegulatoryThe 1970 U.S. federal law that created the current drug scheduling system and placed LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA in Schedule I — the most restrictive category, reserved for substances deemed to have no accepted medical use.
Example: This is the exact law that ended the Army's own psychedelic testing program — see that history — and the one every current clinical trial has to work around via DEA and FDA exemptions.
What is the Controlled Substances Act?
The 1970 U.S. federal law that created the current drug scheduling system (Schedule I through V) and placed LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA in Schedule I — the most restrictive category, reserved for substances deemed to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
How do clinical trials study Schedule I drugs if they're illegal?
Through DEA and FDA exemptions — researchers can obtain a DEA Schedule I researcher registration and an FDA-authorized clinical trial to legally study these substances despite their scheduling.
Could psychedelics be rescheduled?
Not currently at the federal level — LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA all remain Schedule I. FDA approval of a specific product doesn't automatically reschedule the underlying compound: Spravato's 2019 approval, for instance, didn't change ketamine's existing, separate Schedule III status, since ketamine was never Schedule I to begin with.