National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a prominent U.S. government organization established in September 1973, dedicated to research on substance abuse disorders and addiction. Initially focused on reducing the demand for drugs while law enforcement tackled supply issues, NIDA transitioned to a purely research-oriented role under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1992. Over the years, NIDA has conducted a vast array of studies, notably the NIDA Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study, which helped reshape perceptions of addiction from a moral failing to a chronic illness.
NIDA's mission is to identify the causes and consequences of drug use, develop prevention strategies, and enhance treatment methods for substance use disorders. It also prioritizes addressing health disparities and increasing public awareness about addiction. In 2024, NIDA launched initiatives tailored to support Native American communities, recognizing the unique challenges they face concerning substance use and mental health. Through its extensive research efforts, NIDA aims to improve treatment accessibility and outcomes, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of addiction and its broader societal impacts.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
DEFINITION: The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a US government organization focused on substance abuse disorders and addiction research.
DATE: Established in September 1973
Background
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) was established by the US Congress in late 1973 in an attempt to stem the tide of drug addiction in the United States. In its early days under its first medical director, Robert L. DuPont, NIDA focused on demand reduction (decreasing the desire for drugs) while law enforcement agencies focused on supply reduction (decreasing drug availability to potential addicts).
For eighteen years after its inception, NIDA was responsible both for overseeing research related to substance abuse and for delivery of service to patients. When NIDA became part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1992, its focus shifted entirely to research, with provision of services moving to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Since becoming an institute under the NIH, NIDA has been responsible for overseeing a huge number of research projects involving substance abuse and addiction. One of the best known of these studies is the NIDA Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study, which was a multicenter trial studying nearly five hundred persons being treated for cocaine addiction. As a result of this study and thousands of others done under the purview of NIDA, addiction has come to be thought of as a chronic illness rather than as the result of a lapse in moral judgment. This point of view is generally attributed to Nora Volkow, another NIDA director.
As with the Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study, NIDA often focuses on specifics of drug use and also specific communities. In 2024, NIDA launched a program aimed at better understanding and assisting Native American communities to address overdoses, substance use, and pain while also examining the mental health and wellness of these communities. The overdose rates of Native Americans rose 15 percent according to a NIDA study done between 2021 and 2022. In response, NIDA created the National Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness Program (N CREW) in order to assist Indigenous communities in implementing research prioritized by Native communities, aiding in this research by providing accessible and technical assistance and training, resources, and tools that are culturally grounded and meaningful for the communities.
Mission and Goals
Since 1992, the focus of NIDA has been predominantly drug abuse and addiction research and the dissemination of information to professionals in the field and to the public. In its 2022-2026 mission statement, the NIDA stated its goals are to identify the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction; develop strategies to prevent drug use; develop treatments for substance use disorders and help maintain recovery; and increase the impact of NIDA research and programs.
In prevention, NIDA’s aim is to keep people from becoming involved with drugs and to stop addiction. For treatment, research is aimed at developing better treatment modalities for addiction. NIDA ensures that this research is translated into treatment and that treatments will be more accessible to all persons in need. Through extensive research, NIDA hopes to learn more about the transmission of HIV in the drug-addicted population, about decreasing the spread of HIV among drug users, and about improving the means of treatment for those drug abusers who are affected by HIV.
Research in the area of cross-cutting priorities is aimed at investigating the impact of other health issues on drug use disorders. Other goals in this area include eliminating health disparities experienced by people who are known drug users, educating society about addiction, and encouraging people from many backgrounds to become involved in drug abuse research, prevention, and treatment. By fulfilling these strategic goals, NIDA will accomplish its basic mission of fostering research in the field of drug use, leading to a better understanding of addiction, translating research findings into practice in the prevention and treatment of addiction, and the transmission of this information to the public.
Bibliography
Condon, Timothy P. “Reflecting on Thirty Years of Research: A Look at How NIDA Has Advanced the Research, Prevention, and Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction.” Behavioral Healthcare 26 (2006): 14–16. Print.
Courtwright, David T. “The NIDA Brain Disease Paradigm: History, Resistance, and Spinoffs.” BioSocieties 5.1 (2010): 137–47. Print.
Crits-Christoph, Paul, et al. “The National Institute on Drug Abuse Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study: Rationale and Methods.” Archives of General Psychiatry 54 (1997): 721–26. Print.
Crits-Christoph, Paul, et al. “Psychosocial Treatments for Cocaine Dependence: National Institute on Drug Abuse Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study.” Archives of General Psychiatry 56 (1999): 493–502. Print.
DuPont, Robert L. “National Institute on Drug Abuse at Its First Thirty-Five Years.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 107.1 (2010): 80–81. Print.
Lamb, Sara, Merwyn R. Greenlick, and Dennis McCarty, eds. Bridging the Gap between Practice and Research: Forging Partnerships with Community-Based Drug and Alcohol Treatment. Washington, DC: Natl. Academy, 1998. Print.
"Mission." National Institute on Drug Abuse 3 Mar. 2022, www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-drug-abuse-nida. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
“NIH Launches Program to Advance Research Led by Native American Communities on Substance Use and Pain.” NIDA, 15 Aug. 2024, https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2024/08/nih-launches-program-to-advance-research-led-by-native-american-communities-on-substance-use-and-pain. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
Spencer, Merianne R., et al. “Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2002–2022.” National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 21 Mar. 2024, www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db491.htm#section‗3. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.