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. 2023 Nov;38(15):3283-3287.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08256-7. Epub 2023 Jun 9.

Trends in Fentanyl Content on Reddit Substance Use Forums, 2013-2021

Amanda M Bunting  1 , Noa Krawczyk  2 , Thomas Lippincott  3 , Yuanqi Gu  4 , Simran Arya  5 , Suhas Nagappala  6 , Meredith C Meacham  7
Affiliations

Trends in Fentanyl Content on Reddit Substance Use Forums, 2013-2021

Amanda M Bunting et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Drug supply; Fentanyl; Overdose; Reddit; Social media; Stimulants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author NK is involved in ongoing opioid litigation. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportion of Reddit posts mentioning fentanyl, by substance category.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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