Created in 1973 to consolidate federal drug enforcement into one agency. It registers every doctor and pharmacy that handles controlled substances, sets annual production quotas for opioids, and stations agents in some 69 countries.
Open the interactive page for DEA →Created byReorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973 (87 Stat. 1091), eff. July 1, 1973, § 4: "There is established in the Department of Justice an agency which shall be known as the Drug Enforcement Administration"
Head appointedReorg. Plan No. 2 of 1973, § 5(a): Administrator "appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate" (Deputy Administrator also PAS, § 5(b)). No fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will
Funded underCommerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; diversion control program is fee-funded — registration fees set to recover full program cost, deposited in the Diversion Control Fee Account, 21 U.S.C. § 886a (Pub. L. 102-395, § 111(b), 1992)
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on the Judiciary (Controlled Substances Act scheduling shared with House Committee on Energy and Commerce) · Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Inspector generalDOJ OIG (PAS IG under IG Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403(a)); AG sensitive-matter limits, 5 U.S.C. § 413(a)
Judicial reviewdirect court-of-appeals review of final CSA orders (scheduling, registration denial/revocation): petition within 30 days to the D.C. Circuit or circuit of principal place of business, findings conclusive if supported by substantial evidence, 21 U.S.C. § 877; registrant due-process hearings under 21 U.S.C. § 824
Petition DEA to reschedule or deschedule a substance; comment on scheduling rules at regulations.gov; vote for Congress, which writes the drug laws DEA enforces.