Why Don’t We Talk About Drugs? 2

Why don’t we talk about drugs?

Drugs are categorized into 5 different schedules ranging from a high potential of abuse to a low potential of abuse. This scheduling system creates problems because, while it was designed to characterize a drug’s harm, ultimately many drug’s placement within the schedule are subjective and not based on science.

Some drugs that are classified as having a low potential for abuse in S4 have been proven to be highly addictive and should be in S2, such as Xanax and Valium. Certain drugs that are highly addictive and damaging to the body, such as Nicotine and Alcohol, are not even in the scheduling system but should be in S2 or 3.

Some psychoactive drugs, such as opioids and stimulants, are permitted to treat medical conditions. Other psychoactive drugs, such as MDMA and psychedelics, are controlled in a stricter fashion, preventing them from being used therapeutically. This is largely due to the fact that drugs, like opioids, were used medically before the War on Drugs and drug scheduling.

There is very little research done on schedule I drugs because the DEA must approve the research studies and it is very expensive to obtain samples of these drugs. Drugs such as MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD were placed under schedule I since they were presumed to have no medical benefits. However, numerous research studies have shown these drugs may have significant uses in medicine. There is no agreed policy for moving drugs out of Schedule I, even after medical uses have been proven.