SAMHSA Seeks Input on 2027 Drug Use Survey Tweaks
Published Date: 9/17/2026
Notice
Summary
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is planning the 2027 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which asks people 12 and older about drug use and health. They’re keeping the survey mostly the same but won’t include U.S. territories yet, and they’ll keep paying participants $30 for completing it. SAMHSA wants your feedback on how to make the survey better and easier for people to complete.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
$30 payment for full interview
If you complete the full 2027 NSDUH interview you will receive a $30 incentive. In-person respondents will receive $30 in cash; web respondents will get an electronic gift card by email or a physical gift card by mail, based on preference.
Survey includes people aged 12 and older
The 2027 NSDUH will survey the U.S. civilian, non‑institutionalized population aged 12 years or older across the 50 states and DC. This means children age 12–17 may be surveyed, which affects households with minors.
Includes some group‑quarter residents and military base civilians
The 2027 NSDUH will include residents of noninstitutional group quarters (for example, shelters, rooming houses, dormitories) and civilians residing on military bases. These groups will be represented in the national survey data.
Some populations excluded from 2027 survey
The 2027 NSDUH will exclude people without a fixed household address (for example, homeless people not in shelters) and residents of institutional group quarters such as jails and hospitals, so these populations will not be represented in 2027 NSDUH data.
Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands not included
Although pilots were run in Puerto Rico (2023–2025) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (2024), SAMHSA will not expand full‑scale NSDUH data collection to those territories for 2027. Residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be excluded from the 2027 NSDUH.
New medication and crisis‑line questions added
The 2027 NSDUH adds questions measuring past 12‑month use of GLP‑1 medications, SSRIs, SNRIs, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics, and adds a question about past 12‑month use of Crisis Line services. SAMHSA estimates these new items add about one minute of interview time for the average respondent.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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