Nixon Signs Controlled Substances Act, Places Marijuana in Schedule I

President Nixon signed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act on October 27, 1970, creating the modern federal drug scheduling system with five tiers. Marijuana was temporarily placed in Schedule I — reserved for substances with no accepted medical use and high abuse potential — pending the report of Nixon's own Shafer Commission. When the Shafer Commission recommended decriminalization in 1972, Nixon rejected its findings and kept marijuana in Schedule I, a classification that would persist for over 50 years.