CHAPTER § 2.04 Listed Chemicals

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 2.04 Listed Chemicals

[1] Applicable Laws

Distinct from the regulatory regime for controlled substances, "listed-chemical" requirements derive from a series of laws, including the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988,⁷⁹ the Domestic Chemical Diversion Control Act of 1993,⁸⁰ the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996,⁸¹ the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000,⁸² and the Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005.⁸³ The statutory provisions have been generally incorporated into the codified Controlled Substances Act.

[2] Federal Regulatory Agencies

As is the case with controlled substances, regulatory authority for listed chemicals is vested primarily in the Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General has delegated this authority to the Administrator of DEA.⁸⁴

[3] Definition of "Listed Chemical"

DEA regulates approximately forty "listed chemicals." The designation applies to specific chemicals that, in addition to legitimate uses, have been used in, and are important to, the unlawful manufacture of controlled substances.⁸⁵

Initially, the chemical-control program focused on controlling shipments of certain chemicals (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, potassium permangate, and sulfuric acid) from the U.S. to South America for use in the illicit manufacture of cocaine. More recent activities have focused on other chemicals (e.g., ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine) that are essential to the illicit production of methamphetamine.

Listed chemicals are divided into two categories:

• List I Chemicals—Generally includes "precursors" that DEA has determined require a greater level of control than other listed chemicals. Examples include anthranilic acid, ergotamine, iodine, piperidine, and drug products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.
• List II Chemicals—Generally includes reagents and solvents. Examples include acetone, hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid, and toluene.

Categories of listed chemicals may encompass multiple chemical forms (e.g., "anthranilic acid and its salts and esters"), and each category is assigned a DEA Chemical Code Number.⁸⁶ Chemicals in mixtures may, or may not, be regulated depending on factors such as the level or concentration, or a practical inability to separate components.⁸⁷

Finally, certain requirements under the listed-chemical regulatory regime apply to tableting and encapsulating machines that could be used for illicit controlled substance...