Drug Schedules and Their Meanings

If you have ever recovered from an injury, needed help sleeping or had trouble focusing, your health care provider may have prescribed you medicine to help. Prescription medications can prevent, cure, treat and manage several conditions, but if they are not used exactly as prescribed, some of these medications can be addictive.

What Are Drug Schedules?

Prescription medications fall into one of five categories, or “schedules,” defined by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). One factor the DEA considers when determining the schedule of a drug is the drug’s abuse rate. The drug abuse rate refers to how often people use a medication without having a prescription for it, use a medication in a way that is not prescribed or use a medication to get “high.” When the schedule number is lower that means there is a higher potential for abuse for those taking it. Some prescription medications are also known as controlled substances and are usually prescribed for pain, depression, anxiety and sleep.

Schedule	Definition
Schedule I	Drugs, substances or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse
Schedule II	Drugs, substances or chemicals with high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence
Schedule III	Drugs, substances or chemicals with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence
Schedule IV	Drugs, substances or chemicals with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence
Schedule V	Drugs, substances or chemicals with lower potential for abuse than Schedule IV and consist of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics

Keep reading to see examples of commonly prescribed drugs within each category. If you are interested in a full list of controlled substances, visit the DEA’s website [deadiversion.usdoj.gov].

Schedule I Drugs

Schedule I drugs currently have no accepted medical use and are not prescribed by health care providers. Some examples that fall in this category include ecstasy, LSD and heroin.

Schedule II Drugs

Schedule II drugs are considered dangerous and include both illicit drugs (e.g. cocaine) and prescription medications.

Pain Relief
Drug Name	Brand Name
Fentanyl	Duragesic, Subsys
Hydrocodone	Lortab, Vicodin
Hydromorphone	Dilaudid
Meperidine	Demerol
Methadone	Dolophine, Methadose, Diskets
Morphine	MS-Contin, Oramorph, MSIR, Roxanol, Kadian
Oxycodone	OxyContin, Roxicodone, Percocet, Tylox

Stimulants for ADHD
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine	Adderall
Methylphenidate	Ritalin, Concerta

Schedule III Drugs

Pain Relief
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Codeine mixed with acetaminophen	Tylenol #3*
Butalbital	Fiornal

*Note: This is a different version of Tylenol from the ones available over the counter. Tylenol #3 is available by prescription only because it contains codeine.

Anabolic Steroids
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Testosterone	Androderm, AndroGel, Aveed, Depo-Testosterone

Addiction
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Buprenorphine	Suboxone

Schedule IV Drugs

Pain Relief
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Dextropropoxyphene	Darvocet

Insomnia and Anxiety
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Alprazolam	Xanax
Carisoprodol	Soma
Clonazepam	Klonopin, Clonopin
Diazepam	Valium, Diastat
Eszopiclone	Lunesta
Lorazepam	Ativan
Tramadol	Tramadol
Zolpidem	Ambien

Schedule V Drugs

Insomnia and Anxiety
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Pregabalin	Lyrica

Cough
Drug Name	Brand Name Examples
Codeine-Guafenesin	Robitussin A-C*

*Note: This is a different version of Robitussin from the ones available over the counter. Robitussin A-C is available by prescription only because it contains codeine.

How To Safely Use Medications

If you have been prescribed any medication, it is important to take it exactly as directed. If you have any questions or concerns about your medication, talk with your health care provider.

References

Drug Scheduling (dea.gov) [dea.gov]

Controlled Substances – Alpha Order (usdoj.gov) [deadiversion.usdoj.gov]

Drugs.com – Prescription Drug Information [drugs.com]