PURPOSE: The objective of this report is to provide updated guidance in developing an appropriate analytical scope of testing for novel psychoactive substances (NPS) in the United States (and around the world) based on current trends and intelligence. This report is based on information available in Q3 2025 and early Q4 2025 and is subject to change along with the drug market.
SUMMARY: The NPS landscape is changing rapidly, requiring laboratories to constantly remain abreast of new and emerging drugs locally, nationally, and internationally. To meet individualized needs, laboratories amend existing methods or develop new ones for detection and confirmation of NPS. This can be challenging for scientists as information about NPS detections can be regionalized and/or out-of-date, making it difficult to determine which drugs should be prioritized at a given time. CFSRE’s NPS Discovery and the SOFT NPS Committee have established the below recommendations for NPS scope based on information from extensive collaborations, partnerships, and initiatives which yield national and international perspectives. Suggested cut-off concentrations or reporting limits (in ng/mL) are listed for each NPS. These values are categorized (i.e., <1, 1-10, and >10 ng/mL) and determined based on currently available quantitative data and/or comparison to structurally similar NPS within the given sub-class.
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