Does NSDUH produce data on both illicit and prescribed fentanyl use?

Starting with the 2022 NSDUH, questions were added to the emerging issues section of the questionnaire to assess the use of illegally made fentanyl (IMF). New measures were produced starting in 2022 that included the use of IMF. These new measures included the use and misuse of fentanyl (i.e., pharmaceutical fentanyl or IMF) and the use and misuse of opioids, including IMF. See sections 3.4.1 and 4.4 of the 2023 NSDUH Methodological Summary and Definitions for details on data collection and management for these measures, as well as a discussion of which summary measures of opioids include IMF and which do not.

Estimates of IMF use are available throughout the 2023 Detailed Tables. In particular, Tables 1.69 and 1.107 present estimates for any fentanyl use (i.e., any prescription fentanyl use or IMF use), fentanyl misuse (i.e., prescription fentanyl misuse or IMF use), and IMF use in the past year by demographic, geographic and socioeconomic characteristics. It should be noted that because people who used IMF may have been unaware that they used it, caution must be taken when interpreting estimates of IMF use; these estimates are most likely an underestimate of true IMF use.

In addition, NSDUH provides current and historical data on the use and misuse of prescription fentanyl. Data for 2020 and 2021 are not comparable to previous years or to each other.

Information on prescription fentanyl use and misuse can be found in the Data Analysis System (DAS) or in the following detailed tables:

*Due to the introduction of web response in 2020, these data are not comparable to previous years.
**Due to question changes related to fentanyl, as well as the introduction of mixed-mode data collection in 2021, these data are not comparable to previous years.