NIDA Quick Screen
Four quick questions. Private. Free. Instant guidance.
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Educational and entertainment use only. Not medical or psychological advice. Screening is not a diagnosis. Only a licensed clinician can diagnose. Results stay on your device and you can save a link to your result.
About the NIDA Quick Screen
- Public domain tool from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. You may reproduce the items.
- It asks about past year heavy drinking, tobacco, prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and illegal drugs. Responses are Never, Once or twice, Monthly, Weekly, Daily or almost daily.
- If any drug item is positive, proceed to the NIDA-Modified ASSIST for full screening. If alcohol is positive, treat as at-risk drinking and provide brief advice or additional screening. If tobacco is positive, advise to quit.
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NIDA Quick Screen – FAQ
What does the NIDA Quick Screen check?
Past year heavy drinking days, any tobacco use, prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and illegal drugs.
How do you interpret a positive answer?
Any non-Never on prescription nonmedical use or illegal drugs means a positive prescreen and should be followed by the NIDA-Modified ASSIST. Any non-Never on alcohol is an at-risk heavy drinking day. Any non-Never on tobacco warrants brief advice to quit.
Is this a diagnosis?
No. It is a fast prescreen. Consider a full assessment and talk with a licensed clinician if you get any positive result.
Do you store my answers?
No. Answers stay in your browser using localStorage. The share link encodes your result in the URL hash on your device, so there is no burden on our servers.
What if I want a deeper check after a positive screen?
Use the NIDA-Modified ASSIST. We link it below. Alcohol positives can add the AUDIT or AUDIT-C. Tobacco positives can use quit supports.
References and credits
- NIDA. Screening for Drug Use in General Medical Settings – Quick Reference Guide. Public domain, includes the NIDA Quick Screen items and guidance. PDF
- NIDA. NIDA-Modified ASSIST resources and scoring. Overview
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Site
- Tele-MANAS India 14416. Site
- Samaritans UK and Ireland 116 123. UK · IE
- Lifeline Australia 13 11 14. Site
- New Zealand 1737. Site
- SOS Singapore 1767, CareText 9151 1767. Site
NIDA Quick Screen is a public domain resource provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. No NIH endorsement is implied.