India launches nationwide drug survey to map indigenous and emerging substance use

The Union government has begun a comprehensive National Drug Use Survey to assess substance use and related disorders across India, officials said. The 2025-26 exercise will run through 2026 and aims to survey almost 20 lakh individuals to provide district- and State-level estimates for policy planning.

National Drug Use Survey India

Conducted by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the survey returns nearly a decade after the previous round in 2017–18. That earlier study covered about five lakh people and found alcohol to be the most commonly used substance, followed by cannabis and opioids.

This round will expand both the scale and scope of enquiry. A household survey component will cover 400 districts, including men and women aged 10 to 75 years, sampling some 4.4 lakh households and an estimated 17.6 lakh individuals. A respondent-driven sampling arm will draw roughly 2.1 lakh participants from drug-dependent populations across about 350 districts, bringing the total sample to roughly 19.7 lakh.

For the first time, the survey will seek to document locally grown and prepared substances that are used with social sanction in certain communities. Officials pointed to traditional alcoholic beverages, opium and forms of cannabis that are woven into rituals and local customs. Researchers will examine whether such historically accepted use carries the same risks of addiction and harm as more contemporary patterns of substance use.

The survey will also attempt detailed analyses among specific populations that were not adequately covered in 2019, including prison inmates, school pupils and students in colleges and higher education institutions. These subgroup analyses are intended to produce targeted evidence for interventions in settings that may have distinct risk profiles.

Innovative methodologies will be piloted alongside conventional household interviewing. The NDUS will test the feasibility of wastewater analysis to estimate community-level drug use and monitor emerging trends in new and rarer psychoactive substances. Officials emphasised that drug use patterns are dynamic and that rapid changes in availability, markets and behaviour — especially after the COVID-19 period — require up-to-date data.

The survey’s findings, scheduled for publication in 2027, are expected to inform national and State policy, guide prevention and treatment efforts and evaluate the impact of initiatives such as the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, which drew on the 2019 findings. By combining broad population estimates with focused studies of high-risk groups and experimental surveillance techniques, the exercise aims to provide actionable evidence to reduce drug demand and substance-related harm.

Officials said the results will enable more precise resource allocation and support the design of interventions that reflect local patterns of use. With a large and representative sample, the NDUS is positioned to be the most detailed assessment of substance use in India to date.

Key Takeaways:

• The National Drug Use Survey India will cover about 19.7 lakh people across households and high-risk groups to map substance use patterns.
• The 2025-26 survey will document indigenous forms of substance use and study their socio-economic and health effects.
• Methods include household surveys, respondent-driven sampling and pilot wastewater testing to assess community-level drug use.
• Findings, due in 2027, will inform national and State policies and assess interventions such as Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.