Department of Justice March 1, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) provides the Attorney General with the authority to specify, by regulation, additional chemicals as ``List II'' chemicals if they are used in the manufacture of a controlled substance in violation of the CSA. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is proposing the addition of sodium permanganate as a List II chemical because of its direct substitutability for potassium permanganate (a List II chemical) in the illicit production of cocaine. As a List II chemical, handlers of sodium permanganate would be subject to CSA chemical regulatory controls including recordkeeping, reporting, and import/export requirements. DEA has determined that these controls are necessary to prevent the diversion of this chemical to cocaine laboratories. DEA is also proposing that a cumulative threshold of 55 kilograms and 500 kilograms be established (respectively) for domestic and international transactions. As such, all transactions which meet or exceed these quantities (in a calendar month) shall be considered regulated transactions, subject to recordkeeping, reporting and/or import/export notification requirements. Additionally DEA is proposing that sodium permanganate chemical mixtures having less than or equal to 15 percent sodium permanganate shall qualify for automatic exemption from CSA chemical regulatory controls pursuant to 21 CFR part 1310. All handlers of the List II chemical sodium permanganate would also be subject to the applicable civil and criminal penalty provisions found in 21 U.S.C. 841, 842, 843, 959 and 960.