Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration ; - DEA -
State level	Federal authority
position	Civil Justice Authority (Law Enforcement Authority)
Supervisory authority	Ministry of Justice
founding	July 1, 1973
Headquarters	Arlington , Virginia , United States;
Authority management	Uttam Dhillon (acting)
Servants	≈ 5000
Web presence	www.justice.gov/dea

The Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ; German " drug enforcement agency " ) is the United States Department of Justice assumed law enforcement agency with headquarters in Arlington , Virginia .

Your job is to make the illegal manufacture of drugs and drug trafficking in the United States to stop. It is pursuing the implementation of a US law from 1970, the Controlled Substances Act . The assessments of the DEA and the US Department of Health are regularly discussed controversially.

assignment

DEA agents during an exercise

DEA brand

tasks

The US Congress has divided banned substances into five classes that are being prosecuted by the DEA. The classification is based on various factors such as: B. the potential for abuse of a substance perceived by the DEA, as well as the assessment of the US Department of Health, whether the substance concerned can have serious medical use. The penalties for possession of prohibited drugs are based on the classification of a substance.

organization

The agency maintains 221 domestic offices in 21 domestic divisions:

Atlanta Division
Chicago Division
Caribbean Division
Dallas Division
Denver Division
Detroit Division
El Paso Division
Houston Division
Los Angeles Division
Miami Division
New England Division
New Jersey Division
New Orleans Division
New York Division
Philadelphia Division
Phoenix Division
San Diego Division
San Francisco Division
Seattle Division
St. Louis Division
Washington, DC Division

Abroad it has 92 foreign offices in 70 countries; organizationally in regions (Africa, Europe, North and Central America, Andes, Far East, Southern Cone (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay), Caribbean and Middle East) and in species (DEA Presence, Country Office, Resident Office, Regional Office).

Legal basis

In addition, drug trafficking is also subject to the RICO Act , a federal law aimed at combating organized crime , criminal groups and gangs . The law enables federal prosecutors to prosecute and, if necessary, bring legal action if a person is suspected of belonging to a criminal organization. This can be the case if the accused has committed two of a total of 35 defined crimes with the same goal or result within ten years. This also includes the drug trafficking pursued by the DEA.

Classification

The DEA divides substances it controls into several classes:

Class I drugs: high potential for abuse, no proven medical benefit, including: PCP , GHB , MDA , MDMA / Ecstasy , heroin , LSD , mescaline , marijuana .
Class II drugs: high potential for abuse, partially proven medical benefit, high likelihood of psychological or physical dependence . These drugs require a prescription and the sales are carefully controlled and monitored by the DEA, including: cocaine , methylphenidate , pethidine , opium , morphine , amphetamine , methamphetamine
Class III drugs: less potential for abuse than class I and II substances, recognized medical uses, and a moderate to low likelihood of psychological or physical dependence. These drugs require a prescription, sales are less strictly monitored than class II substances, including: steroids , hypnotics , codeine , synthetic Δ ⁹ -THC , ketamine
Class IV drugs: less potential for abuse than class III substances, recognized medical uses, and a lower risk of dependence than class III. Sales are monitored similarly to Class III, including: Diazepam
Class V drugs: less potential for abuse than class IV drugs, low risk of psychological or physical dependence. Most of them are available over the counter, including cough medicines, that contain small amounts of codeine .