There are established five schedules of controlled substances to be known as Schedules I, II, III, IV and V.

1. A. The board shall place a substance in Schedule I if it finds that the substance:

   1. (1) has a high potential for abuse; and
   2. (2) has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or lacks accepted safety for use in treatment under medical supervision.

2. B. The board shall place a substance in Schedule II if it finds that:

   1. (1) the substance has a high potential for abuse;
   2. (2) the substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions; and
   3. (3) the abuse of the substance may lead to severe psychic or physical dependence.

3. C. The board shall place a substance in Schedule III if it finds that:

   1. (1) the substance has a potential for abuse less than the substances listed in Schedules I and II;
   2. (2) the substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and
   3. (3) abuse of the substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.

4. D. The board shall place a substance in Schedule IV if it finds that:

   1. (1) the substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the substances in Schedule III;
   2. (2) the substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and
   3. (3) abuse of the substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the substance in Schedule III.

5. E. The board shall place a substance in Schedule V if it finds that:

   1. (1) the substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and
   2. (2) abuse of the substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the substances in Schedule IV.

History: 1953 Comp., § 54-11-5, enacted by Laws 1972, ch. 84, § 5.

ANNOTATIONS

Board's scheduling of drugs not unconstitutional delegation of authority. — To allow the board of pharmacy to schedule drugs, resulting in the attachment of differing criminal penalties for the possession of scheduled drugs, is not an unconstitutional delegation of authority under N.M. Const., art. III, § 1. Montoya v. O'Toole, 1980-NMSC-045, 94 N.M. 303, 610 P.2d 190.

Cocaine may be classified as narcotic. — The legislature can rationally classify cocaine, a nonnarcotic central nervous system stimulant, as a narcotic for penalty and regulatory purposes because of the similarity between cocaine and narcotic drugs in terms of cocaine's potential for societal harm. Chouinard v. State, 1980-NMCA-168, 96 N.M. 783, 635 P.2d 986, rev'd on other grounds, 1981-NMSC-096, 96 N.M. 658, 634 P.2d 680, cert. denied, 456 U.S. 930, 102 S. Ct. 1980, 72 L. Ed. 2d 447 (1982).