New DEA report examines 2022 drug testing data

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently released its 2022 National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) Annual Drug Report, which compiles drug testing data collected in 2022.

The NFLIS collects drug results from drug cases across the country from federal, state and local forensic laboratories and compiles the data to report trends in illicit drug use and trafficking. “NFLIS-Drug contains information about the specific substance and drug detection characteristics, such as: B. Purity, quantity and drug combinations,” the report says. “This data is used to support drug planning decisions and inform drug policy and drug control initiatives at the national level and in local communities across the country.” NFLIS began publishing data on illicit drug reports in 2001.

Between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, the report analyzed test results from 648,738 drug cases sent to state or local testing laboratories across the U.S., primarily involving drugs seized by law enforcement. As of March 31, 2023, everything has been investigated and 1,181,750 drug reports have been reported.

Among the most commonly identified drugs nationwide, methamphetamine was the drug with the highest number of reports (341,049), followed by cocaine (169,972), fentanyl (163,201), cannabis/THC (146,631), and heroin (41,227). – together they accounted for 73% of all drug reports. Compared to reporting data from previous years, methamphetamine data decreased since 2021, cocaine data remained the same through 2022, fentanyl increased “significantly” from 2014, and through 2022, cannabis/THC decreased in 2022, as did heroin.

Nationally, the report explained increases in fluorofentanyl and alprazolam and decreases in oxycodone and buprenorphine, while psilocin/psilocybin declined between 2010 and 2016 and doubled between 2016 and 2022.

Regionally, psilocin/psilocybin reports increased in all regions except the western United States, where the DEA noted a drastic decrease in reports. Reports of cannabis/THC also decreased in the northeast, south and west of the country.

A large portion of the report analyzes major drug categories, such as narcotic analgesics, which do not include cannabis. However, it contains an overview of synthetic cannabinoids, of which there were 5,410 reports in 2022 – ultimately less than one percent of all drug reports. The most common were MDMB-en-PINACA (33%), ADB-BUTINACA (20%) and ADB-FUBIATA (4%). Synthetic cannabinoids have been reported primarily in the Northeast United States (42%), Midwest (37%), West (31%), and South (27%).

The report also included a detailed map of some of the country’s forensic laboratories and the regional shifts among the leading illicit drugs. For example, the highest percentages of methamphetamine were tested in Rapid City, South Dakota (74%), Fresno, California (65%), Los Angeles, California (63%), Lincoln, Nebraska (57%), and San Diego. California (51%). However, cocaine drug tests were found in Miami, Florida (45%), New York City (44%), McAllen, Texas (43%) and El Paso, Texas (38%). Heroin was more commonly tested in areas such as Salt Lake City, Utah (14%), San Francisco, California (13%), and Chicago, Illinois (11%), and fentanyl was most commonly found in Phoenix, Arizona (45%). , Santa Fe, New Mexico (34%), Seattle, Washington (32%) and Denver, Colorado (31%), among many others.

The above synthetic cannabinoid MDMB-en-PINACA was tested in only 4% of laboratories and reported in Birmingham, Alabama.

The report data reflects the harms of various drugs, but also shows that only illegal cannabis poses a threat. The widespread acceptance and legalization of cannabis is also reflected in other parts of the government, such as the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which reported in October 2022 that 6,577 people could potentially be pardoned after President Joe Biden approved pardons for people with simple convictions because of cannabis had announced.

This summer, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that there was a 61% decrease in federal cannabis inmates between 2013 and 2018. According to BJS director Alex Piquero, this was a significant decrease in the number of prisoners compared to those incarcerated for other substances. “Although the number of people serving time in federal prison for drug offenses has declined over that five-year period, they still made up a large share – nearly half – of the inmates [Federal Bureau of Prisons] “BOP custody in 2018,” Piquero said. “At the same time, we saw differences depending on the type of drug involved: more people were incarcerated for heroin and methamphetamines and fewer for marijuana and cocaine.”

Unfortunately, the illegal cannabis industry continues to thrive, although overall it only accounts for a small percentage of illegal drug trafficking and sales. Last August, a Canadian border agency reported that 2,000 pounds of illegal cannabis were exported. Just a month later, in June 2022, 400 pounds of cannabis were found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In June 2023, a driver unknowingly traveled across the US-Canada border with an additional 400 pounds of cannabis (allegedly following his GPS). In August, more than 2,000 pounds of cannabis were also discovered hidden in frozen waffles at the Canadian border.

Earlier this month, two tons of cannabis (or about 4,000 pounds) worth $10 million were discovered in a truck at the U.S.-Mexico border.