BACKGROUND: Fentanyl is a pressing concern in the current drug supply. Social media data can provide access to near real-time understanding of drug trends that may complement official mortality data.
DESIGN: The total number of fentanyl-related posts and the total number of posts for eight drug subreddit categories (alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, multi-drug, opioids, over the counter, sedatives, stimulants) were collected from 2013 to 2021 using the Pushshift Reddit dataset. The proportion of fentanyl-related posts as a fragment of total subreddit posts was examined. Linear regressions described the rate of change in post volume over time.
RESULTS: Overall, fentanyl-related content increased across drug-related subreddits from 2013 to 2021 (1292% increase, linear trend p = 0.001). Opioid subreddits (30.62 per 1000 posts, linear trend p = 0.001) had the most fentanyl-related content during the examined time period. Multi-drug (5.95 per 1000; p = 0.01), sedative (3.23 per 1000, p = 0.01), and stimulant (1.60 per 1000, p = 0.01) subreddits also had substantial increases in fentanyl-related content. The greatest increases occurred in the multi-drug (1067% 2013:2021) and stimulant (1862% 2014:2021) subreddits.
CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-related posts on Reddit trended upward, with the fastest rate of change for multi-substance and stimulant subreddits. Beyond opioids, harm reduction and public health messaging should ensure inclusion of individuals who use other drugs.
Trends in fentanyl content on Reddit substance use forums, 2013-2021
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38 (15), 3283-3287. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08256-7. PMCID: PMC10255938.