Which schedule includes medical mixtures using small amounts of opium or codeine?

• A. Schedule II
• B. Schedule V
• C. Schedule I
• D. Schedule III

Answer: (B)

The key idea is how the schedules balance medical use with potential for abuse. When opium or codeine is present only in small amounts in a medicinal preparation, the product still has a legitimate medical purpose (for example, as a cough suppressant or antidiarrheal) and carries a relatively low risk of being misused compared with stronger opioid products. That combination of accepted medical use and low abuse potential places such mixtures in the lowest-opioid schedule, the one that covers preparations with limited narcotic content. This scheduling makes these products available for medical use but tightly controls their distribution.

In contrast, drugs in the higher schedules have greater abuse potential or less accepted medical use, or both — for instance, substances with strong dependence risk or those lacking accepted medical purposes. So, the correct choice reflects that small-dose opium or codeine mixtures are categorized in the schedule designed for low-abuse-potential, medically useful opioid preparations.