21 U.S.C. § 856 — Maintaining drug-involved premises

(a) Except when this subchapter allows it, two things are illegal. First, it is illegal to knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, even temporarily. This is illegal if the purpose is to manufacture, distribute, or use a controlled substance. Second, it is illegal to manage or control a place. This applies whether a person acts as an owner, lessee, agent, employee, occupant, or mortgagee. It is illegal for that person to knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, profit from, or make the place available, with or without payment. This is illegal if the purpose is unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance. (b) A person who breaks these rules faces up to 20 years in prison. That person can also face a fine of up to $500,000, or both punishments together. If the violator is not an individual — for example, a company — the fine can be up to $2,000,000. (c) A violation of this section counts as a crime against property. This applies for purposes of a separate restitution law. (d) A person who breaks these rules can also face a civil penalty. This penalty is either $250,000 or twice the money made from the violation, whichever is greater. Sometimes a court sets the penalty based on the money made, and there is more than one defendant. In that case, the court can divide the penalty among them. Each defendant still remains fully responsible for the whole civil penalty. (e) A person who breaks these rules can also face court orders. A court can declare the violation illegal, or order it to stop, under a separate section of this title.

The source credit indicates that this section was not part of the original enactment of Public Law 91–513, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, but was added later as Section 416 of Title II of that Act by Public Law 99–570, Title I, § 1841(a), on October 27, 1986. The record shows subsequent amendment activity in 2000, through Public Law 106–310, and in 2003, through Public Law 108–21, each modifying specific subsections rather than the section's core structure. Historical context: Public Law 91–513 is generally understood to be the foundational federal statute establishing the modern framework for regulating controlled substances, including the scheduling system still in use today. The 1986 addition of this particular section occurred amid a period of heightened congressional attention to drug enforcement, commonly associated with legislation such as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, of which Public Law 99–570 was a part. That broader legislative effort is often described as responding to concerns about drug trafficking and associated criminal activity during that era. Beyond this general context, the record does not establish the specific legislative rationale for targeting premises used to facilitate drug manufacturing or distribution, nor does it document the particular concerns that prompted the 2000 and 2003 amendments. Any more specific account of congressional intent would be speculative and is not supported by the materials provided here.