Journal profile · SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Substance Abuse
ISSN 0889-7077 · eISSN 1547-0164 · Routledge · UNITED STATES · Founded 1980
Substance Abuse: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.35; subscription journal; APC about USD 4,400; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
The latest issue on the journal's website is from 2022 (Volume 43, Issue 1): the journal may have stopped publishing or moved platform in the last two years. Check its website before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Substance Abuse is published by Routledge and is in Zone 3 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, Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk, together about 50.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published by SAGE Publishing from 2023. Copyright © AMERSA, Inc. Substance Abuse journal is a peer-reviewed journal that serves as the official publication of AMERSA. Substance Abuse journal offers wide-ranging coverage for healthcare professionals, addiction specialists and others engaged in research, education, clinical care, and service delivery and evaluation. It features articles on a variety of topics, including: Interdisciplinary addiction research, education, and treatment Clinical trial, epidemiology, health services, and translation addiction research Implementation science related to addiction Innovations and subsequent outcomes in addiction education Addiction policy and opinion International addiction topics Clinical care regarding addictions Substance Abuse journal accepts original research, brief reports, review articles, case studies, letters to the editor, commentaries, and editorials. Publication office: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 530 Walnut Street, Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Sorry, there are currently no metrics available for this journal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine26.4%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine18.2%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine5.9%
- Prenatal Substance Exposure EffectsMedicine4.8%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions3.9%
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions3.8%
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicine3.6%
- Smoking Behavior and CessationMedicine3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPsycINFOCINAHLPublisher website
Other: Academic Search Alumni Edition, Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Premier, CAB International Abstracts, Educational Research Abstracts, SOC Index, Social Work Abstracts, Studies on Women & Gender 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
- 2.35LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.28LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39LetPub ·
- h-index
- 79OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 934OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,812 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 40 | 21 | 283 |
| 2022 | 88 | 47 | 972 |
| 2021 | 138 | 72 | 2,172 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,400 / GBP 3,226 | — | — |
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
Overview Open journals Open Select Dove Medical Press F1000Research
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
- Routledge
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 1980
- ISSN
- 0889-7077
- Electronic ISSN
- 1547-0164
- Society / sponsor
- AMERSA
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 43, Issue 1 (2022)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Substance Abuse
What CAS zone is Substance Abuse in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Substance Abuse is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Substance Abuse. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Substance Abuse?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.35; CiteScore 5.9, h-index 79.
How long does peer review take at Substance Abuse?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
Which databases index Substance Abuse?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Substance Abuse is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Substance Abuse open access, and what is the APC?
Substance Abuse is a subscription journal. APC about USD 4,400.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .