This week marks a special milestone for the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS): the publication of our 300th Weekly Briefing.

“After 300 issues, NDEWS continues to lead the way in a rapidly changing and constantly evolving drug landscape: With up to date and innovative surveillance, and a dedicated sentinel network, NDEWS turns ground-level knowledge into actionable signals,” said Matt Ellis, Chair of the NDEWS Scientific Advisory Group.

We are also proud to celebrate 9,000 NDEWS subscribers. This achievement reflects the collective interest, engagement, and collaboration of our NDEWS community. Your readership, contributions, and ongoing support help ensure that critical information reaches those who need it most.

As we recognize these milestones, we extend our sincere gratitude to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our subscribers, contributors, community partners, our Early Warning Network, and all who have supported NDEWS over the years. Together, we continue to strengthen our nation's capacity to identify emerging drug threats, share evidence-based insights, and support public health responses.

Moving forward we want to help readers utilize our material better so we have put together a statement for citing our material. We feel it is necessary because we are gaining momentum and helping to orchestrate partnerships across the globe and want to be sure that our material is being used accurately.  

NDEWS briefings, reports, and figures may be shared, reproduced, or excerpted, provided NDEWS is appropriately attributed, and a link to the original source material is included. NDEWS materials must not be sensationalized with language or imagery. Reference must be made to the most current version of the original NDEWS source material so as not to disseminate outdated or inaccurate information. NDEWS does not endorse or assume responsibility for third-party interpretation, commentary, or AI-generated content, including images, which use or reference NDEWS materials.

Thank you for being part of our journey. We look forward to continuing this work with you in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

As always, we welcome your input.

Click here for a PDF version of the report.

Click here to learn more about the NDEWS Sentinel Sites.

Click here for a PDF version of the report.
Click here for more information on NDEWS Informal Network Reports.

Click here for a PDF version of the report.
Click here for more information on NDEWS Informal Network Reports.

• Godvin M, Friedman JR, Molina CA, Koncsol AJ, Romero R, Juurlink DN, Shover CL. Estimating the daily milligrams of morphine equivalent of illicit fentanyl use in Los Angeles: Clinical and epidemiological implications, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Volume 285, 2026, 113224, ISSN 0376-8716, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113224.
• McMahan VM, Pope E, Luna Marti X, Liu AY, Coffin PO. Provider Perspectives on the Delivery of Long-Acting PrEP for HIV Prevention to Men Who Have Sex with Men and Who Use Methamphetamine.  AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2026 Aug 5:10872914261474992. Online ahead of print. PMID: 42552859. DOI: 10.1177/10872914261474992. 
• Suen LW, Chang YG, McMahan VM, Beliveau CM, Arenander J, Chiang A, Coffin PO. Stimulant Use After Loss of Access to Prescribed Opioids for Chronic Noncancer Pain. Am J Prev Med. 2026 May 28;71(4):108437. Online ahead of print. PMID: 42314278. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108437. 
• Parizher J, Panigrahi A, Geier M, Soran CS, Snyder HR, Knight KR, Coffin PO, Suen LW. Qualitative study of blister pack use during buprenorphine low dose initiation.  J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2026 Jul-Aug;66(4):103130. Epub 2026 May 5. PMID: 42097485. DOI: 10.1016/j.japh.2026.103130.
• Ballotari M, Truver MT, Hoyer JL, Goldberger BA, Chronister CW. Prevalence of p-fluorofentanyl and xylazine in postmortem fentanyl casework. J Anal Toxicol. 2026 Jun 4;50(6):bkag035. PMID: 42234862. DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkag035.
• Gomonit MM, Ballotari M, Truver MT, Brogan SC, Hoyer JL, Goldberger BA, Chronister CW. Postmortem case series of Δ8- and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in blood and urine. Int J Legal Med. 2026 Jul 15. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42448950. DOI: 10.1007/s00414-026-03876-0.
• Counts CJ, Spadaro AV, Lakamana S, Sarker A, Wightman R, Love J, Calello D, Perrone J. Self-Reported Tianeptine Experiences on Reddit: Natural Language Processing-Assisted Qualitative Study. JMIR Infodemiology. 2026 Jul 7;6:e86683. PMID: 42412511; PMCID: PMC13340079. DOI: 10.2196/86683.

Are you committed to advancing the science of substance use and public health? The University of Florida’s NIDA-funded T32 Training Program offers predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars an exceptional opportunity to launch impactful research careers focused on NDEWS!

What We Offer:
- Interdisciplinary training at the intersection of addiction science, epidemiology, and surveillance
- Mentorship from leading UF faculty in epidemiology, public health, psychology, medicine, and more
- Hands-on research with landmark and important NIH-funded projects and access to rich data
- Career development support, including grant writing, publishing, and professional networking
- A collaborative, inclusive research community committed to reducing the burden of substance use

Eligibility:
- US citizens or permanent residents
- Interested in a PhD in Epidemiology, or early-stage postdoctoral fellows
- Demonstrated interest in substance use, addiction, or public health research

Location: Gainesville, Florida — a dynamic hub for scientific innovation with high quality of life and low cost of living.

The NDEWS Weekly Briefing curates emerging data and findings from across the Early Warning Network, which includes three core components: our Scientific Advisory Group (SAG), comprised of national experts and federal partners; our Sentinel Site Directors (SSDs), who lead local surveillance in key geographic regions; and our Community-Based Health Experts, who provide on-the-ground insights from populations most impacted by drug trends. Together, these contributors generate timely, multidisciplinary and impactful information, ranging from peer-reviewed research findings to local surveillance data. These contributions inform public health and research communities.

Share your research, news, and events through our submission form.

Share information on drug trends in your community through our get involved form.
Share your comments on our newsletter through our feedback form.

For more information on NDEWS' efforts, visit our website.

Follow NDEWS on Twitter/X: @NDEWSnews

If you miss or want to learn more about NDEWS Original Content, you can find our archived content on the NDEWS website:

     • NDEWS Special Reports using substance-related EMS data
     • NDEWS Rapid Street Reporting (RSR) survey data reports
     • NDEWS Web Monitoring Team Reddit Alerts
     • NDEWS Sentinel Site Reports
     • Previous issues of the NDEWS Weekly Briefings

The Weekly Briefing is a newsletter published each week by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center, which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (U01DA051126) to the University of Florida (MPI: Cottler (contact), Co-Is: Goldberger, Nixon, Striley), NYU Langone Health (MPI: Palamar), and Florida Atlantic University (Co-I: Barenholtz). 

NDEWS briefings, reports, and figures may be shared, reproduced, or excerpted, provided NDEWS is appropriately attributed, and a link to the original source material is included. NDEWS materials must not be sensationalized with language or imagery. Reference must be made to the most current version of the original NDEWS source material so as not to disseminate outdated or inaccurate information. NDEWS does not endorse or assume responsibility for third-party interpretation, commentary, or AI-generated content, including images, which use or reference NDEWS materials.