Editing Controlled Substances Act (section)

==Regulation of precursors==

The Controlled Substances Act also provides for federal regulation of precursors used to manufacture some of the controlled substances. The [[DEA list of chemicals]] is actually modified when the [[United States Attorney General]] determines that illegal manufacturing processes have changed.

In addition to the CSA, due to [[pseudoephedrine]] (PSE) and [[ephedrine]] being widely used in the manufacture of [[methamphetamine]], the U.S. Congress passed the [[Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act]] which places restrictions on the sale of any medicine containing pseudoephedrine. That bill was then superseded by the [[Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005]], which was passed as an amendment to the [[Patriot Act]] renewal and included wider and more comprehensive restrictions on the sale of PSE-containing products. This law requires<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy/info_federallaw.pdf |title=Federal Pseudoephedrine Law |work=doh.state.fl.us |publisher=Florida Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance |date=October 5, 2006 |access-date=October 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730012637/http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy/info_federallaw.pdf |archive-date=July 30, 2012}}</ref> customer signature of a "log-book" and presentation of valid photo ID in order to purchase PSE-containing products from all retailers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/meth/cma2005.htm |title=General Information Regarding the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act 2005 |publisher=Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion Control |access-date=October 20, 2012 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016220303/http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/meth/cma2005.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Additionally, the law restricts an individual to the retail purchase of no more than three packages or 3.6 grams of such product per day per purchase – and no more than 9 grams in a single month. A violation of this statute constitutes a misdemeanor. Retailers now commonly require PSE-containing products to be sold behind the pharmacy or service counter. This affects many preparations which were previously available over-the-counter without restriction, such as [[Actifed]] and its generic equivalents.