Journal profile · Multiple
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
ISSN 0279-1072 · eISSN 2159-9777 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.43; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 213 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 43% (journal website); 87 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes, Psychedelics and Drug Studies and Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, together about 38.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
An authoritative peer-reviewed periodical containing timely information of a multidisciplinary nature for clinicians and other professionals in the drug abuse field; Journal of Psychoactive Drugs consistently addresses complex issues such as the disease concept of addiction, drugs and mental health, use and abuse of hallucinogens, ethnographic drug research, drug dependence and the family and more! For over fifty years, the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs has been on the leading edge of developments in the study of substance use and abuse from a multidisciplinary perspective. It was the first journal established in the United States to focus on psychoactive drug abuse, and continues to introduce groundbreaking work in topics such as drug use and criminality, therapeutic communities, dual diagnosis, psychotherapy/counseling, medication-assisted treatment, and culturally relevant substance abuse treatment. The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs publishes research, case reports and other studies dealing with the experimental and policy issues of drug use as well as the treatment of drug abuse.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Caravella McCuistianPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine18%
- Psychedelics and Drug StudiesPsychology11.4%
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicine8.9%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine6.6%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine5.6%
- Forensic Toxicology and Drug AnalysisPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics5.5%
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience4.8%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbasePsycINFOPublisher website
Other: Index Medicus, Academic Search Complete, Addiction Abstracts, Biosis, ETOH—Alcohol & Alcohol Problems Science Database, Family Studies Abstracts, Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence/ DrugScope, Public Administration Abstracts, Urban Studies Abstracts
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.43LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.7Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.93LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.93Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 105OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,464OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.42OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.73%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 86LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 215,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,754 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 58 | 21 | 16 |
| 2025 | 87 | 32 | 208 |
| 2024 | 68 | 25 | 292 |
| 2023 | 84 | 28 | 609 |
| 2022 | 68 | 15 | 1,027 |
| 2021 | 74 | 23 | 889 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
213 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 167 days – 267 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 43 days (89 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 258 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (174 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 43%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 112 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 136 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 47 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal, part of Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program. Model summary
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverabili…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0279-1072
- Electronic ISSN
- 2159-9777
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 58, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
What CAS zone is Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Psychology, Clinical / Substance Abuse. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Psychoactive Drugs?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.43; CiteScore 4.9, h-index 105.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Psychoactive Drugs?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 213 days (interquartile range 167–267 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 43%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Medicine.
Which databases index Journal of Psychoactive Drugs?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Psychoactive Drugs open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .