A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to fix a technical error in the definitions.

118th Congress Introduced by Chris Coons and 1 co-sponsor

A technical fix to reformat and renumber definitions in the Controlled Substances Act to prevent misinterpretation, with no changes to law or penalties.

Presented to President.

Summary — S. 223: Technical amendment to definitions in the Controlled Substances Act

Status: Presented to President; enacted as Public Law No. 118‑189 (signed 2024‑12‑23)

Short summary
- S. 223 makes a narrowly targeted, technical correction to the definition section of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802). It does not change substantive law, penalties, or policy; it corrects paragraph numbering and formatting so statutory definitions and cross‑references read and operate as intended.

Purpose and intent
- Fix a technical/formatting error in the definitions section of the Controlled Substances Act to remove ambiguity caused by mis‑numbered and mis‑indented paragraphs. This ensures statutory text, internal cross‑references, and statutory interpretation function correctly.

Key provisions
- Amend 21 U.S.C. § 802 (Section 102 of the CSA) to do the following:
1. Redesignate paragraph (58) as paragraph (59).
2. Redesignate the second paragraph currently designated as paragraph (57) (the paragraph relating to the definition of “serious drug felony”) as paragraph (58).
3. Move paragraphs (57), (58) (as redesignated), and (59) (as redesignated) two ems to the left (a typographical/indentation adjustment).
- The enrolled/committee language repeats the same three corrective actions; no substantive additions or removals of defined terms are included.

Who is affected
- Primarily legal practitioners, courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and federal agencies that rely on the statutory definitions in 21 U.S.C. § 802. The correction reduces risk of misinterpretation or citation errors when applying definitions such as “serious drug felony.”
- No direct change to criminal liability, sentencing, or programmatic operation—this is a clarifying technical fix.

Procedural/timeline notes
- Sponsor(s): Sen. Mike Lee (primary), with cosponsors including Josh Hawley, Ted Budd, Roger Wicker, Chuck Grassley, and Chris Coons.
- Related/companion measures: H.R. 589 and H.R. 455.
- Key actions: Introduced and passed in the Senate (actions recorded 2023–2025 in the legislative history), passed the House under suspension of the rules on 2024‑12‑16, presented to and signed by the President on 2024‑12‑23, becoming Public Law No. 118‑189.
- Effective date: Upon enactment (date of signing into law).

Practical impact
- The bill clarifies statutory text to prevent drafting/citation errors and litigation over ambiguous paragraph references. It does not change substantive legal standards, penalties, or rights under the Controlled Substances Act.