21 Usc 952

§ 952

TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS

Health and Welfare, section 239a of former Title 46,
Shipping, and section 787 of former Title 49, Transportation, repealing sections 171 to 174, 176 to 185, 188 to
188n, 191 to 193, 197, 198, 199, and 501 to 517 of this title,
sections 1401 to 1407, and 3616 of Title 18, sections 4701
to 4707, 4711 to 4716, 4721 to 4726, 4731 to 4736, 4741 to 4746,
4751 to 4757, 4761, 4762, 4771 to 4776, 7237, 7238, and 7491 of
Title 26, sections 529a and 529g of former Title 31, section 1421m of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, and enacting provisions set out as notes under
this section and sections 171 and 957 of this title] may
be cited as the ‘Controlled Substances Import and Export Act’.’’
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Pub. L. 91–513, title III, § 1105(d), Oct. 27, 1970, 84 Stat.
1296, provided: ‘‘Any orders, rules and regulations
which have been promulgated under any law affected
by this title [see Short Title note above] and which are
in effect on the day preceding enactment of this title
[Oct. 27, 1970] shall continue in effect until modified,
superseded, or repealed.’’

§ 952. Importation of controlled substances
(a) Controlled substances in schedule I or II and
narcotic drugs in schedule III, IV, or V; exceptions
It shall be unlawful to import into the customs territory of the United States from any
place outside thereof (but within the United
States), or to import into the United States
from any place outside thereof, any controlled
substance in schedule I or II of subchapter I, or
any narcotic drug in schedule III, IV, or V of
subchapter I, or ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or
phenylpropanolamine, except that—
(1) such amounts of crude opium, poppy
straw, concentrate of poppy straw, and coca
leaves, and of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and
phenylpropanolamine, as the Attorney General finds to be necessary to provide for medical, scientific, or other legitimate purposes,
and
(2) such amounts of any controlled substance
in schedule I or II or any narcotic drug in
schedule III, IV, or V that the Attorney General finds to be necessary to provide for the
medical, scientific, or other legitimate needs
of the United States—
(A) during an emergency in which domestic supplies of such substance or drug are
found by the Attorney General to be inadequate,
(B) in any case in which the Attorney General finds that competition among domestic
manufacturers of the controlled substance is
inadequate and will not be rendered adequate by the registration of additional manufacturers under section 823 of this title, or
(C) in any case in which the Attorney General finds that such controlled substance is
in limited quantities exclusively for scientific, analytical, or research uses,
may be so imported under such regulations as
the Attorney General shall prescribe. No crude
opium may be so imported for the purpose of
manufacturing heroin or smoking opium.
(b) Nonnarcotic controlled substances in schedule III, IV, or V
It shall be unlawful to import into the customs territory of the United States from any

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place outside thereof (but within the United
States), or to import into the United States
from any place outside thereof, any nonnarcotic controlled substance in schedule III,
IV, or V, unless such nonnarcotic controlled substance—
(1) is imported for medical, scientific, or
other legitimate uses, and
(2) is imported pursuant to such notification,
or declaration, or in the case of any nonnarcotic controlled substance in schedule III,
such import permit, notification, or declaration, as the Attorney General may by regulation prescribe, except that if a nonnarcotic
controlled substance in schedule IV or V is
also listed in schedule I or II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances it shall be
imported pursuant to such import permit requirements, prescribed by regulation of the
Attorney General, as are required by the Convention.
(c) Coca leaves
In addition to the amount of coca leaves authorized to be imported into the United States
under subsection (a), the Attorney General may
permit the importation of additional amounts of
coca leaves. All cocaine and ecgonine (and all
salts, derivatives, and preparations from which
cocaine or ecgonine may be synthesized or
made) contained in such additional amounts of
coca leaves imported under this subsection shall
be destroyed under the supervision of an authorized representative of the Attorney General.
(d) Application for increased importation of
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine
(1) With respect to a registrant under section
958 of this title who is authorized under subsection (a)(1) to import ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, at any time
during the year the registrant may apply for an
increase in the amount of such chemical that
the registrant is authorized to import, and the
Attorney General may approve the application
if the Attorney General determines that the approval is necessary to provide for medical, scientific, or other legitimate purposes regarding
the chemical.
(2) With respect to the application under paragraph (1):
(A) Not later than 60 days after receiving the
application, the Attorney General shall approve or deny the application.
(B) In approving the application, the Attorney General shall specify the period of time
for which the approval is in effect, or shall
provide that the approval is effective until the
registrant involved is notified in writing by
the Attorney General that the approval is terminated.
(C) If the Attorney General does not approve
or deny the application before the expiration
of the 60-day period under subparagraph (A),
the application is deemed to be approved, and
such approval remains in effect until the Attorney General notifies the registrant in writing that the approval is terminated.
(e) Reference to ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or
phenylpropanolamine
Each reference in this section to ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine in-

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TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS

cludes each of the salts, optical isomers, and
salts of optical isomers of such chemical.
(Pub. L. 91–513, title III, § 1002, Oct. 27, 1970, 84
Stat. 1285; Pub. L. 95–633, title I, § 105, Nov. 10,
1978, 92 Stat. 3772; Pub. L. 98–473, title II,
§§ 519–521, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2075; Pub. L.
109–177, title VII, § 715, Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 264.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Schedules I, II, III, IV, and V, referred to in subsecs.
(a) and (b), are set out in section 812(c) of this title.
AMENDMENTS
2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–177, § 715(1)(A), inserted
‘‘or ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine,’’ after ‘‘schedule III, IV, or V of subchapter I,’’ in
introductory provisions.
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 109–177, § 715(1)(B), inserted
‘‘, and of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine,’’ after ‘‘coca leaves’’.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 109–177, § 715(2), added subsecs. (d) and (e).
1984—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–473, § 519, amended par.
(1) generally, inserting references to poppy straw and
concentrate of poppy straw.
Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 98–473, § 520, added subpar.
(C).
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98–473, § 521, substituted ‘‘is imported pursuant to such notification, or declaration, or
in the case of any nonnarcotic controlled substance in
schedule III, such import permit, notification, or declaration, as the Attorney General may by regulation
prescribe, except that if a nonnarcotic controlled substance in schedule IV or V is also listed in schedule I
or II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances it
shall be imported pursuant to such import permit requirements, prescribed by regulation of the Attorney
General, as are required by the Convention’’ for ‘‘is imported pursuant to such notification or declaration requirements as the Attorney General may by regulation
prescribe, except that if a nonnarcotic controlled substance in schedule III, IV, or V is also listed in schedule
I or II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances it
shall be imported pursuant to such import permit requirements, prescribed by regulation of the Attorney
General, as are required by the Convention’’.
1978—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 95–633 inserted provision
relating to exception for nonnarcotic controlled substances listed in schedule I or II of the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 95–633 effective on date the
Convention on Psychotropic Substances enters into
force in the United States [July 15, 1980], see section 112
of Pub. L. 95–633, set out as an Effective Date note
under section 801a of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective on first day of seventh calendar
month that begins after Oct. 26, 1970, see 1105(a) of Pub.
L. 91–513, set out as a under section 951 of this title.

§ 953. Exportation of controlled substances
(a) Narcotic drugs in schedule I, II, III, or IV
It shall be unlawful to export from the United
States any narcotic drug in schedule I, II, III, or
IV unless—
(1) it is exported to a country which is a
party to—
(A) the International Opium Convention of
1912 for the Suppression of the Abuses of
Opium, Morphine, Cocaine, and Derivative
Drugs, or to the International Opium Convention signed at Geneva on February 19,
1925; or

§ 953

(B) the Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of
Narcotic Drugs concluded at Geneva, July
13, 1931, as amended by the protocol signed
at Lake Success on December 11, 1946, and
the protocol bringing under international
control drugs outside the scope of the convention of July 13, 1931, for limiting the
manufacture and regulating the distribution
of narcotic drugs (as amended by the protocol signed at Lake Success on December 11,
1946), signed at Paris, November 19, 1948; or
(C) the Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs, 1961, signed at New York, March 30,
1961;
(2) such country has instituted and maintains, in conformity with the conventions to
which it is a party, a system for the control of
imports of narcotic drugs which the Attorney
General deems adequate;
(3) the narcotic drug is consigned to a holder
of such permits or licenses as may be required
under the laws of the country of import, and a
permit or license to import such drug has been
issued by the country of import;
(4) substantial evidence is furnished to the
Attorney General by the exporter that (A) the
narcotic drug is to be applied exclusively to
medical or scientific uses within the country
of import, and (B) there is an actual need for
the narcotic drug for medical or scientific uses
within such country; and
(5) a permit to export the narcotic drug in
each instance has been issued by the Attorney
General.
(b) Exception for exportation for special scientific purposes
Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Attorney
General may authorize any narcotic drug (including crude opium and coca leaves) in schedule I, II, III, or IV to be exported from the
United States to a country which is a party to
any of the international instruments mentioned
in subsection (a) if the particular drug is to be
applied to a special scientific purpose in the
country of destination and the authorities of
such country will permit the importation of the
particular drug for such purpose.
(c) Nonnarcotic controlled substances in schedule I or II
It shall be unlawful to export from the United
States any nonnarcotic controlled substance in
schedule I or II unless—
(1) it is exported to a country which has instituted and maintains a system which the Attorney General deems adequate for the control
of imports of such substances;
(2) the controlled substance is consigned to a
holder of such permits or licenses as may be
required under the laws of the country of import;
(3) substantial evidence is furnished to the
Attorney General that (A) the controlled substance is to be applied exclusively to medical,
scientific, or other legitimate uses within the
country to which exported, (B) it will not be
exported from such country, and (C) there is
an actual need for the controlled substance for
medical, scientific, or other legitimate uses
within the country; and