Methamphetamine and cocaine remain the top-identified substances in 2025 NFLIS reports, but xylazine, medetomidine, and dozens of first-time entries mark a fast-moving edge underneath them.
Total reports fell from 1,181,750 to 1,126,178 (-55,572, -4.7%) across the two years since 2022. Cocaine rose 14.4%→17.3% (+2.96 points, +21%; 169,972→195,317), still #2. Fentanyl fell 13.8%→11.7% (-2.07 points, -15%; 163,201→132,210), #3→#4; fluorofentanyl fell 1.9%→0.60% (-1.28 points, -68%; 22,242→6,708), #6→#16; 4-ANPP fell 1.6%→0.71% (-0.87 points, -55%; 18,713→8,031), #7→#12. Heroin fell 3.5%→2.4% (-1.07 points, -31%; 41,227→27,286), its lowest since 2007. Xylazine rose 0.77%→1.6% (+0.84 points, +109%; 9,125→18,138), #12→#6, its highest since 2019. MDMA rose 0.28%→0.64% (+0.36 points, +129%; 3,265→7,161). Medetomidine (#10, 8,980) and BTMPS (#11, 8,138) entered the top 25 for the first time since 2007; dimethylsulfone (#18, 6,051) did too. Ketamine (#17, 6,567) and MDMB-4en-PINACA (#21, 4,726) returned to the top 25; delta-8-THC entered at #19 (5,665), up from #37 in 2021. Dipentylone, PCP, LSD, clonazolam, acetyl fentanyl, and bromazolam left the top 25 entirely.
Fifty-six substances were reported to NFLIS for the first time, the largest groups being fentanyl-related compounds, other narcotic analgesics (the nitazenes among them) and synthetic cathinones, with five benzodiazepines, six cannabinoids and a cluster of precursors and reagents. Nitazenes include N-Pyrrolidino Isotonitazene, N,N-Dimethylamino Etonitazene, and Protodesnitazene; fentanyl analogs include meta-methylfentanyl, ortho-methylfentanyl, and meta-fluorobutyryl fentanyl. 7-Hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, the kratom alkaloids the DEA moved to schedule this year, appear among the first-time reports. New benzodiazepines include ethylbromazolam and cinazepam; new cannabinoids include CUMYL-PINACA and delta-8-THCV.
BTMPS, a rubber and plastics antioxidant, ranks #11 (8,138), and dimethylsulfone (MSM, a dietary supplement) ranks #18 (6,051) — neither a controlled drug. 4-ANPP, a fentanyl precursor, still holds #12. Ketamine's 0.58% share is its highest since 2007; heroin's 2.4% is its lowest since 2007 — both records set within this single table.
Reviewed: every number checked against the NFLIS tables by scripts/lib/seizure-check.mjs (82/82) and read in full; two outside-the-data claims corrected by hand (dimethylsulfone is MSM, not a solvent; kratom alkaloids were not the first such reports). NOT yet human-reviewed ·
