The Idaho State Police Forensic Services (ISPFS) released its Annual Toxicology Report for Fiscal Year 2025, offering a detailed analysis of alcohol, volatile substance, and drug testing trends across Idaho. The full report and its accompanying fact sheet are available online.
Key Highlightsof the repoort were:
- ISPFS received 3,419 toxicology cases in FY 2025—the highest number in the last ten years, representing a 12.25-percent increase (373 additional cases) over FY 2024.
- Blood toxicology submissions (1,611 samples) increased roughly 16 %, while urine toxicology submissions (120 samples) decreased about 10-percent from the previous year.
- In adult alcohol/volatiles (blood/urine/vitreous) cases (1,489 total), 82-percent of samples registered at or above the legal limit of 0.08-percent.
- Among adult DUI cases requiring both alcohol and toxicology testing, 90-percent of toxicology results found at least one drug present.
- For juvenile DUI-related alcohol/volatiles samples (121 total), 88-percent of the 90 juvenile DUI samples exceeded the under-21 legal limit of 0.02-percent.
The most commonly confirmed drugs in toxicology casework accounted for over 60-percent of the results in FY 2025:
- Cannabinoids
- Amphetamine/Methamphetamine
- Fentanyl/Norfentanyl
Drug combinations are becoming more prevalent. Samples with drugs from multiple categories now outnumber single-drug category samples in many adult blood toxicology submissions.
The steady rise in case submissions, particularly in blood toxicology, reflects the growing complexity of impaired driving and related investigations. Drug involvement remains high, with nine out of ten adult DUI toxicology cases showing at least one drug present. Juvenile cases also remain a concern, with the majority of underage samples testing above the legal alcohol limit.
These trends, paired with the prevalence of cannabinoids, methamphetamine or amphetamine, and fentanyl-related compounds, point to the need for a continued focus on impaired driving enforcement, education, and prevention efforts statewide.
The increased volume of casework and complexity of multi-drug testing places real pressure on Idaho’s forensic system, which plays a critical role in public safety and the criminal justice process. ISPFS continues to strategically assess how to meet the rapidly growing demand while maintaining the timeliness and integrity of forensic science. Planning includes working closely with public safety partners and state leaders to ensure resources keep pace with both case volume and complexity.
As Idaho’s statewide law enforcement agency, Idaho State Police (ISP) remains committed to using forensic science to support investigations, hold offenders accountable, and promote public safety.
“Based on the FY 2025 findings, ISP will continue working with partner agencies to increase training and awareness on multi-drug impairment, maintain support for blood-draw protocols in DUI investigations, and expand outreach and education for young drivers and their families,” Western Command Major Jens Pattis said. “The agency will also collaborate with legislators, traffic-safety stakeholders, and prosecutors to strengthen Idaho’s response to drug-impaired driving, including strategies to address poly-drug detection and case processing.”
The full toxicology report is available here.