ABSTRACT
Overview and objectives Humankind has utilized dangerous and addictive medicines since prehistoric times, but with the increasing urbanization of the population and the changes in social structure that urbanization brings about, as well as the modern ability to synthesize new forms of drugs, the problems created by dangerous and addictive drugs became too much to be dealt with by families and communities alone. The government had made ”tful, stuttering efforts at piecemeal controls dealing with narrow topics, but had not addressed the major problems until the landmark Controlled Substance Act (CSA) was enacted in 1970. This act replaced more than 50 other minor pieces of legislation with a new concept and approach to regulation: limit and register those to be legally allowed to handle such substances. Anyone not registered is acting illegally, and those who are registered have narrowly de”ned rules of behavior to follow.
