21 U.S.C. § 856
Section 856 · Maintaining drug-involved premises
This is § 416 of the Controlled Substances Act
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 999 court decisions — leading case United States v. Schuh (2002)
Most recently applied in United States v. Day (May 2025)
Applied most in the Tenth Circuit Circuit (86 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 21 U.S.C. § 841 · 21 U.S.C. § 846 · 18 U.S.C. § 924
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Except as authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful to—
(1) knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily, for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance;
(2) manage or control any place, whether permanently or temporarily, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee, occupant, or mortgagee, and knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, profit from, or make available for use, with or without compensation, the place for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance.
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years or a fine of not more than $500,000, or both, or a fine of $2,000,000 for a person other than an individual.
A violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be considered an offense against property for purposes of section 3663A(c)(1)(A)(ii) of title 18.
(1) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than the greater of—
(A) $250,000; or
(B) 2 times the gross receipts, either known or estimated, that were derived from each violation that is attributable to the person.
(2) If a civil penalty is calculated under paragraph (1)(B), and there is more than 1 defendant, the court may apportion the penalty between multiple violators, but each violator shall be jointly and severally liable for the civil penalty under this subsection.
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to declaratory and injunctive remedies as set forth in section 843(f) of this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2003—Pub. L. 108–21, §608(b)(2), substituted “Maintaining drug-involved premises” for “Establishment of manufacturing operations” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 108–21, §608(b)(1)(A), substituted “open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily,” for “open or maintain any place”.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 108–21, §608(b)(1)(B), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “manage or control any building, room, or enclosure, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee, or mortgagee, and knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, or make available for use, with or without compensation, the building, room, or enclosure for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance.”
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 108–21, §608(c), added subsecs. (d) and (e).
2000—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106–310 added subsec. (c).