Human abuse potential studies, in which "experienced recreational drug users" are exposed in controlled experimental situations to positive controls (known high abuse-potential drugs) as well as to a new drug under consideration, appear to be used quite a lot in HHS's recommendations for scheduling newly approved drugs.

Only it isn't immediately obvious to me that this methodology is valid in determing the "abuse liability" of a new drug--esp. drugs with different mechanisms of action from previous classes. I can't find much good literature summing up determinations of validity for this class of experiment and I'm left wondering if HHS is relying on a very suspect procedure.

Any input?