Locations of Federal and Selected State and Local Drug Analysis Laboratories
The U.S. is facing a public health crisis with the rapidly changing and increasingly complex landscape of emerging street drugs. Drug identification is a race against time as new trends in street drugs can emerge within the span of a year or less. The ability to rapidly identify new street drugs could save lives.
Six federal agencies (with a combined total of 45 labs) identify street drugs through analysis of seized drugs, drug residues, or drug toxicology.
In 2024, 131 state and local entities contributed to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Forensic Laboratory Information System, according to information sent to us by DEA. This database is a repository for drug chemistry analysis results from participating laboratories around the country.
The map below shows the number of state and local labs per state that participated in the National Forensic Laboratory Information System in 2024 as well as the locations of federal facilities.
How to Interact with This Map
Hover over a dot to see the name and location of the federal facility. Hover over a state to see the number of state and local labs that contributed to the 2024 National Forensic Laboratory Information System. You can also toggle off either the federal facility points or the state and local facility shading by unclicking the boxes in the upper right corner of the map.
Legend:
CBP: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration
FDA: Food and Drug Administration
Other: National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program, U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Laboratory (USACIL), Special Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service National Forensic Laboratory
State labs and systems: Labs affiliated with state agencies. These can be one individual lab or a state system comprised of multiple regional labs.
Local labs: Labs affiliated with city or county agencies.
Source:
GAO summary of information from agency documents and officials. | GAO-26-107763
Figure notes:
This map shows the number of state and local labs that participated in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Forensic Laboratory Information System in 2024. State and local labs that did not participate in this system in 2024 are not represented on this map.
For more information, read our report, GAO-26-107763.