Controlled substances are associated with many adverse effects, including abuse and misuse, addiction, tolerance, physical dependence, overdose, and death. According to statistics, to prove how detrimental they are, close to 841,000 individuals have succumbed to overdose issues since 1999. That is why authorities such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) do all they can to enforce regulations and laws concerning controlled substances. One of the ways they do that is by mandating the use of DEA-approved safes.
What are DEA Approved Safes?
DEA-approved safes are designed following strict guidelines that enable them to hold controlled substances and prevent their misuse. To do that, they need special features like group 1R dial combination locks, which are also used to provide a high degree of protection to highly sensitive components like fire safes. Note that the dial locks must be UL listed, meaning they can withstand attacks from a skilled manipulator for a considerable amount of time.
What are DEA Approved Safes Designed to Do?
You can store the following types of controlled substances in a DEA approved safe:
1. Schedule 1
Schedule 1 controlled substances are drugs not used medically in the US. The reason is, professionals consider them unsafe even under medical supervision, and they are highly likely to be abused. And substance abuse comes with several severe consequences, including physical and psychological dependence. The most common schedule 1 controlled substances available today include peyote, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and methaqualone.
2. Schedule 2
Like the drugs and chemicals in the schedule 1 category, schedule 2 controlled substances have high misuse potential, and when it happens, psychological and physical dependency is inevitable. That is why experts consider them dangerous. Some of the chemicals, drugs, or substances that fall in this category include Adderall, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, Ritalin, Dexedrine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and meperidine.
3. Schedule 3
Any drug, chemical, or substance with moderate potential for abuse and psychological and physical dependency can be considered a schedule 3 substance. That means, although these controlled substances are often abused, you can't compare their likelihood of causing addiction to those of schedule 1 and schedule 2 substances. That is one of the reasons they are used in the medical sector. Some common examples of schedule 3 narcotics and non-narcotics include buprenorphine, anabolic steroids, benzphetamine, ketamine, and phendimetrazine.
4. Schedule 4
Some drugs, substances, or chemicals have a much lower abuse potential than schedule 1, schedule 2, and Schedule 3 controlled substances. These include midazolam, alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, triazolam, and carisoprodol, and are known as schedule 4 controlled substances. Since they are less likely to lead to abuse and dependency, these substances are widely accepted and used in the medical industry.
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