to identify individuals with a SUD (“In the last year, have you ever drunk or used drugs more than you meant to?” and “Have you felt you wanted or needed to cut down on your drinking or drug use in the last year?”). Brown et al. (2001) found that having at least one positive response to the two-item screener detected a current SUD with nearly 80% sensitivity and specificity in primary care settings, suggesting the feasibility of integrating the two dependence-related questions into a clinical interview. However, the two-item screen has not been continuously tested to further establish its utility. While the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST: 10-, 20-, 28-item) has been used for assessing or screening severity (low, medium, high) of drug use problems (Skinner, 1982; Yudko et al., 2007), its length has impeded widespread adoption in clinical practice. To be adopted for routine use, a short and simplified tool that is sensitive to drug use problems and useful for clinical decision-making, such as identifying those with a clinical diagnosis, is needed. Substance dependence symptoms are robust manifestations of compulsive drug use and less prone to measurement biases than abuse symptoms (Babor and Caetano, 2008; Koob and Le Moal,
