Which agency decides which drugs are illegal?

• A. FDA
• B. NIH
• C. DEA
• D. CDC

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is who has the authority to place a drug into a controlled or illegal category. The Drug Enforcement Administration is the federal agency that determines which substances are illegal by scheduling them under the Controlled Substances Act. It weighs factors such as potential for abuse, medical usefulness, and safety, and it finalizes the schedules, often after consulting the FDA and other health agencies for medical and scientific input. The FDA, while it assesses and approves medicines for medical use and safety, does not decide which drugs are illegal. NIH is focused on biomedical research, and the CDC handles public health and disease control. So, the agency responsible for deciding illegal status and scheduling is the DEA.