Data · updated September 2026
Top 15 Substances in US Drug Cases, 2025
The 15 most frequently identified substances in American forensic laboratories last year, from the DEA’s NFLIS-Drug system — with plain-English context for every entry. Free to cite; please link back.
1,126,178total lab reports (2025)
666,357drug cases analyzed
323,404#1 methamphetamine reports
148,753fentanyl + analogue reports
How to read this listNFLIS counts laboratory identifications in actual drug cases — seizures, driving stops, overdose deaths. It measures what is in the supply and in front of law enforcement, not how many people use a drug. Cannabis ranks high because it is common in cases, not because it is dangerous.
The 2025 top 15
| # | Substance | 2025 reports | Share of all reports | Class | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Methamphetamine | 323,404 | 28.72% | Stimulant | The #1 most-identified drug in US drug cases for over a decade; dominates the West and Midwest. | Profile → |
| #2 | Cocaine | 195,317 | 17.34% | Stimulant | Powder and crack; about 1 in 4 cocaine exhibits now also contains fentanyl. | Profile → |
| #3 | Cannabinoids (unspecified) | 143,207 | 12.72% | Cannabinoid | Mostly marijuana — this count reflects how often cannabis appears in drug cases, not danger. | Profile → |
| #4 | Fentanyl | 132,210 | 11.74% | Synthetic opioid | The driver of the overdose crisis; found in ~1 in 8 meth and ~1 in 4 cocaine exhibits. | Profile → |
| #5 | Heroin | 27,286 | 2.42% | Opioid | Largely displaced by fentanyl, but still co-reported in thousands of exhibits. | Profile → |
| #6 | Xylazine (“tranq”) | 18,138 | 1.61% | Veterinary sedative | The wound-causing fentanyl adulterant; detected in every US state, DC and Puerto Rico by 2024. | Profile → |
| #7 | Fentanyl analogues (unspecified) | 16,543 | 1.47% | Synthetic opioid | Illicit fentanyl variants sold as heroin or pressed into fake pills — part of the fentanyl family. | Profile → |
| #8 | Delta-9-THC | 11,580 | 1.03% | Cannabinoid | The impairing form of THC — counted mostly in driving and impairment cases. | Profile → |
| #9 | Oxycodone | 10,128 | 0.90% | Opioid | The most-counterfeited prescription pill; most “oxy” bought on the street is fentanyl. | Profile → |
| #10 | Medetomidine | 8,980 | 0.80% | Veterinary sedative | The fastest-rising substance on the list: 247 reports in 2023 → 8,980 in 2025. | Profile → |
| #11 | BTMPS (Tinuvin 770) | 8,138 | 0.72% | Industrial chemical | An industrial plastic stabilizer with no antidote; first detected in the supply in June 2024. | Profile → |
| #12 | Buprenorphine | 7,632 | 0.68% | Opioid (treatment) | The leading opioid-addiction medication; also diverted and misused. | Profile → |
| #13 | Alprazolam | 7,015 | 0.62% | Benzodiazepine | The most-abused prescription benzo; fake “Xanax” bars usually contain fentanyl or research-chemical benzos. | Profile → |
| #14 | Hydrocodone | 6,956 | 0.62% | Opioid | Vicodin-type painkiller; commonly counterfeited with fentanyl. | Profile → |
| #15 | 4-ANPP | 6,792 | 0.60% | Fentanyl precursor | A chemical marker of illicit fentanyl production — its presence means clandestine synthesis. | Profile → |
What stands out in 2025
- Stimulants are half the map: methamphetamine + cocaine = 518,721 reports — 46% of everything counted. The stimulant supply is now more fentanyl-contaminated than the opioid supply in some regions.
- The fentanyl family is 155,515 reports (13.8%) once you add analogues and 4-ANPP — and every member of that family is one overdose away from being in a death case.
- Two veterinary sedatives and a plastic stabilizer sit in the top 15. Xylazine, medetomidine and BTMPS are not drugs of choice — they are adulterants, and naloxone does not reverse them.
- Prescription pills on this list are mostly fakes. Most “oxycodone”, “Xanax” and “hydrocodone” bought on the street is pressed fentanyl — which is why those three names appear in overdose data far out of proportion to their prescriptions.
- Context: US drug overdose deaths fell to an estimated 69,973 in 2025 (−14%), the third straight annual decline — but opioid-involved deaths still killed an estimated 44,564 people.
Methodology & sources
- DEA NFLIS-Drug — 2025 annual top-25 drug counts (nflis.deadiversion.usdoj.gov), retrieved September 2026.
- DEA 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment — fentanyl co-detection rates in cocaine/methamphetamine exhibits; xylazine geography.
- CDC NCHS (May 2026) — provisional 2025 overdose death estimates.
- Percentages are share of the 1,126,178 total 2025 NFLIS reports. “Fentanyl family” = fentanyl + unspecified analogues + 4-ANPP.
How to cite this pageplugreports.com — “Top 15 Substances in US Drug Cases, 2025”, updated September 2026. Primary source: DEA NFLIS-Drug 2025 annual data. URL: https://plugreports.com/data/top-substances-2025/
Related: Fentanyl Adulterant Tracker · Fentanyl in numbers · Full drug library