Classification of controlled substances into schedules is based on which factor?

• A. Abuse
• B. Medical use
• C. Cost
• D. Availability

Answer: (A)

Abuse potential is the main factor in classifying controlled substances into schedules. The scheduling system is designed to limit drugs that have a high risk of misuse while considering whether they have legitimate medical uses and how safe they are when used as intended. Cost or availability don’t determine how a drug is scheduled; those factors aren’t related to the regulatory assessment of safety and abuse risk.

In practice, a substance with a high potential for abuse but no accepted medical use is placed in the most restrictive category, while those with accepted medical uses but significant misuse risks fall into higher schedules. Substances with lower abuse potential or safer profiles appear in lower schedules. So the emphasis on abuse potential explains why this factor is used to determine scheduling; medical use is considered only in the context of how it interacts with abuse risk.