General Overview
The DDRC has acquired all drug chemistry results for 17 states from the National Forensic Laboratory Information Systems (NFLIS) program, spanning the years 2010 to 2022. This dataset aggregates data by year, state, and substance. The following document outlines the acquired data and provides a comprehensive data dictionary to assist with data interpretation. This dataset is intended to support research and analysis efforts aimed at examining the drug and opioid crisis across the region.
The data provided is based on information available from NFLIS at the time of download. Please note that this data may be updated or corrected without notice as new information becomes available.
Information on the variables included in the dataset is available in the DDRC's NFLIS Data Dictionary. Additional details on the data dictionary's creation and the ETL process can be found on the respective Technical Assistance page.
Overview of the National Forensic Laboratory Information Systems (NFLIS) Program
The National Forensic Laboratory Information Systems (NFLIS) is a program managed by the Diversion Control Division within the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA). NFLIS was designed to collect and analyze drug chemistry and toxicology results from participating federal, state, and local forensic laboratories.
The NFLIS program began in 1997 with the collection of drug analysis data solely from local, state, and federal forensic laboratories. In 2019, it was expanded to include data from public and private toxicology laboratories, as well as medical examiner and coroner offices, enhancing its comprehensiveness. Today, the database features nearly all annual drug cases in the United States.
NFLIS’s Public Data Query System (DQS) is a publicly available platform that enables users to query NFLIS’s drug chemistry data (NFLIS-Drug) using various criteria, such as time (e.g., year, period), location (e.g., nationwide, state), and substance (e.g., categories, specific types). The system generates aggregates, providing a comprehensive overview based on the selected variables. Additionally, users can pivot the generated data, create visualizations within the platform, and export and save their queries for future reference.
Understanding NFLIS’s Substances
NFLIS publishes a document listing select substances from the NFLIS-Drug dataset. This document is not exhaustive, and new substances are added regularly. It includes information such as substance name, synonyms, chemical name, formula, category, and date added. More details are available on the NFLIS’s Substances page.
Acquiring NFLIS’s Data
The DDRC used the NFLIS Public DQS to extract NFLIS-Drug data from 2010 to 2022 for the 17 DDRC states. This extraction included data stratified by calendar year, state, and substance for all substances featured in NFLIS.
Technical Assistance
Detailed information on the export, transform, and loading (ETL) processes, can be found on the corresponding Technical Assistance page.
DDRC Data Dictionary for NFLIS data
The DDRC has created a data dictionary for the NFLIS using the documentation provided by NFLIS and the output generated from the query.
We recommend that users still review and reference documentation provided by NFLIS for the most detailed and up-to-date information.
Information on the variables included in the dataset is available in the DDRC's NFLIS Data Dictionary. Additional details on the data dictionary's creation and the ETL process can be found on the respective Technical Assistance page.