2026-22285·DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Conforming Amendment Regarding the Criminal Law Technical Amendments Act of 2002

Final RuleEffective

Published: Nov 2, 2026
Effective: Nov 2, 2026
Citation: 91 FR 68885
Docket: Docket No. DEA-1302
Agencies: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Drug Enforcement Administration

Final rule.

Summary

The Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a final rule that updates its regulations to match changes made to the Controlled Substances Act by the 2002 Criminal Law Technical Amendments Act. The 2002 law eliminated outdated, fixed fine amounts in three sections of the Controlled Substances Act and instead pointed to the general federal criminal‑penalties statutes in Title 18 of the U.S. Code. This rule simply aligns the DEA’s own rules with that statutory wording so that any fines for violations will now be determined under the broader Title 18 provisions rather than the old, specific amounts. The rule applies to anyone subject to the Controlled Substances Act—manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, health‑care providers, and other entities that handle regulated drugs. Because the amendment is purely technical, it does not change the underlying substance‑control requirements, only the method for calculating penalties. The rule was published in the Federal Register on November 2, 2026 (91 FR 68885) and became effective the same day. As a final rule, there is no open comment period; regulated parties should begin using the updated language immediately and ensure that any compliance or enforcement actions reference the fine provisions in Title 18 rather than the former fixed amounts.

AI-generated summary — verify against the Federal Register text.

Official abstract

The Criminal Law Technical Amendments Act of 2002 ("Technical Amendments Act") became law on November 2, 2002, as part of the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. The Technical Amendments Act amended sections 401(d), 402(c), and 403 of the Controlled Substances Act by replacing outmoded fine amounts with a reference to title 18 of the United States Code in each place that a specific fine amount had appeared. In this rulemaking, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is amending its regulations to conform them to the statutory amendments made to the Controlled Substances Act by the Technical Amendments Act.