National Institute on Drug Abuse
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction."
History
NIDA's roots can be traced back to 1935, when a research facility (named the Addiction Research CenterAddiction Research Center
The Addiction Research Center is an unprecedented center of addiction research that was founded in 1948. It was originally based in Lexington, Kentucky, housed on the rural campus of a prison-hospital called Narco, and run jointly with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It became part of the National...
in 1948) was established in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
as part of a USPHS hospital. The Drug Abuse Warning Network
Drug Abuse Warning Network
The Drug Abuse Warning Network is a public health surveillance system in the United States that monitors drug-related visits to hospital emergency departments and drug-related deaths investigated by medical examiners and coroners .-Organization:...
(DAWN) and National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) were created in 1972. In 1974 NIDA was established as part of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and given authority over the DAWN and NHSDA programs. The Monitoring the Future Survey, which surveys high school seniors, was initiated in 1975; in 1991, it was expanded to include 8th and 10th graders.
In October 1992, NIDA became part of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
. At that time, responsibility for the DAWN and NHSDA programs were transferred to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to...
(SAMHSA). NIDA is organized into divisions and offices, each of which is involved with programs of drug abuse research. Nora Volkow
Nora Volkow
Nora Volkow is director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse . She is the great-granddaughter of Russian revolutionary leader and Head of the Fourth International, Leon Trotsky. Her father was the son of Leon Trotsky’s elder daughter.Born in Mexico City, Volkow and her three sisters grew up...
, MD, is the current director of NIDA.
According to NIH:
The physical/psychological addiction dichotomy is reflected in the Controlled Substances Act
Controlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...
's criteria for drug scheduling. Placement in Schedule III, for instance, requires a finding that "abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence." The view espoused by former NIDA director Alan I. Leshner
Alan I. Leshner
Alan Leshner is a scientist, educator and public servant from the United States.-Education:Leshner received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Franklin and Marshall College in 1965. He earned an M.S. in physiological psychology from Rutgers University in 1967, and a Ph.D...
, which places more emphasis on the "compulsive, uncontrollable" aspect of addictive drug use than on physical withdrawal symptoms, explains NIDA's differing treatment of morphine and cannabis. Morphine is physically addictive, and users of heroin and other opiate-derived drugs become physically and psychologically dependent on the high from the opiates, which drives them to seek the drug and perform acts they might not normally engage in (like exchanging drugs for sex acts or sharing needles with another user) . In contrast, marijuana is not physically addictive, though some users do become psychologically dependent on the drug. Jon Gettman
Jon Gettman
Jon B. Gettman is a marijuana reform activist, a leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, and a former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He has a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University and is a longtime...
and other supporters of removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act have questioned the legality of basing scheduling decisions on such considerations rather than on physical addiction and physical harm; Gettman stated, "If the federal government wants to keep marijuana in schedule 1, or if they believe that placing marijuana in schedule 2 is a viable policy, then we're going to cross-examine under oath and penalty of perjury every HHS official and scientist who claims that marijuana use is as dangerous as the use of cocaine or heroin." NIDA's viewpoint is supported by the fact that the CSA lists not only physical addictiveness but also "history and current pattern of abuse" and "scope, duration, and significance of abuse" among the factors to be considered in drug scheduling. Indeed, cannabis' retention in Schedule I has been partly due to findings in these areas by FDA, SAMHSA, and NIDA. The January 17, 2001 document Basis for the Recommendation for Maintaining Marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act specifically cites SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, NIDA's Monitoring the Future survey, SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network, and NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group data.
NIDA has supported many treatments for drug addiction. NIDA-supported studies led to the use of nicotine patch
Nicotine patch
A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used as an aid in nicotine replacement therapy , a process for smoking cessation. The first published study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans was authored by Jed E....
es and gums for nicotine addiction treatment. NIDA scientists also developed LAAM
Lââm
Lââm is a French female singer of Tunisian descent. She has sold more than 500,000 albums and more than 2 million singles.-Biography:...
, which is used for heroin addiction treatment. Other treatments that were the subject of NIDA research include naltrexone
Naltrexone
Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence and opioid dependence. It is marketed in generic form as its hydrochloride salt, naltrexone hydrochloride, and marketed under the trade names Revia and Depade...
and buprenorphine
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid that is used...
. NIDA states, "By conservative estimates, every $1 spent on drug addiction saves society $4 to $7 in criminal justice and health care costs", which points to the need for spending funds on effective prevention and treatment programs based on evidence, rather than criminal sanctions that do not impact drug use.
NIDA has also conducted research into diseases associated with drug use, such as AIDS and Hepatitis. NIDA views drug treatment as a means of modifying risky behavior such as unprotected sex and sharing needles. NIDA has also funded studies dealing with harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
. A NIDA-supported study on pregnant drug users noted, "professionals in research and treatment must learn to settle for less because insisting on total abstinence may exacerbate the problem." Interestingly, this study was conducted by Marsha Rosenbaum of the Lindesmith Center
Lindesmith Center
The Lindesmith Center was an Open Society Institute project which has conducted research related to drug reform. It was founded in 1994 by Ethan Nadelmann with financial support from George Soros...
, an organization that has been critical of federal drug policies.
In the 1990s, NIDA funded research by John W. Huffman
John W. Huffman
John William Huffman is a professor emeritus of organic chemistry at Clemson University who first synthesised many novel cannabinoids, including JWH-007, JWH-015, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-030, JWH-051, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-133, JWH-147, JWH-171, JWH-182, JWH-203, JWH-210, JWH-250, JWH-307,...
that was focused on making a drug to target endocannabinoid receptors in the body; this resulted in the discovery of a variety of substances that are now being sold as Spice
Spice (drug)
Synthetic cannabis is a psychoactive herbal and chemical product which, when consumed, mimics the effects of cannabis. It is best known by the brand names K2 and Spice, both of which have largely become genericized trademarks used to refer to any synthetic cannabis product...
, K2, etc.
In 2006, NIDA received an annual budget of $1.01 billion. The U.S. government says NIDA funds more than 85 percent of the world's research about the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction.
Publications
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, behavioral science, health services, and AIDS. NIDA-supported studies are also published in other journals. NIDA publishes educational materials as well which aim to provide pertinent facts to teenagers who will be making drug use decisions and to parents. This literature has sometimes been used by legalization advocates to advance their points, an example being NIDA's admittal that "many young people who use marijuana do not go on to use other drugs."
Controversial research
Drug abuse, in addition to being an area of scientific research, is also a major subject of public policy debate. Accordingly, elected officials have sometimes attempted to shape the debate by introducing legislation in reference to NIDA research. In 2004, Congressman Mark SouderMark Souder
Mark Edward Souder is an American Republican politician who was a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1995 to 2010.During the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked as a congressional aide to Dan Coats and committee staff director. He was elected to his congressional seat in 1994...
introduced the Safe and Effective Drug Act
Safe and Effective Drug Act
The Safe and Effective Drug Act was a bill introduced by Mark Souder on 2004-12-06. It called for the National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct a "meta-analysis of the available scientific data regarding the safety and health risks of smoking marijuana and the clinically-proven effectiveness of...
, calling for a "meta-analysis of existing medical marijuana data." It was criticized for being limited to smoked cannabis (rather than vaporizers and other methods of ingestion) and not requiring any new research. In some cases, NIDA has held its ground when its more moderate stances were questioned by legislators favoring a hard-line approach. On April 27, 2004, Souder sent NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni a letter criticizing needle exchange programs for causing increases in infection rates. The Harm Reduction Coalition responded with its concerns, and NIDA Director Nora Volkow wrote a letter stating:
DAWN, or the Drug Abuse Warning Network, is a program to collect statistics on the frequency of emergency room mentions of use of different types of drugs. This information is widely cited by drug policy officials, who have sometimes confused drug-related episodes—emergency room visits induced by drugs—with drug mentions. The Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
Department of Justice claimed, "In Wisconsin, marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
overdose visits in emergency rooms equal to heroin or morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
[sic], twice as common as Valium." Common Sense for Drug Policy called this as a distortion, noting, "The federal DAWN report itself notes that reports of marijuana do not mean people are going to the hospital for a marijuana overdose, it only means that people going to the hospital for a drug overdose mention marijuana as a drug they use."
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health is an annual study of American drug use patterns. According to NIDA, "The data collection method is in–person interviews conducted with a sample of individuals at their place of residence. ACASI provides a highly private and confidential means of responding to questions to increase the level of honest reporting of illicit drug use and other sensitive behavior." Sixty-eight thousand people were interviewed in 2003, with a weighted response rate for interviewing of 73 percent. Like DAWN, the Survey often draws criticism because of how the data is used by drug policy officials. Rob Kampia
Rob Kampia
Rob Kampia is co-founder and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest 501 nonprofit organization in the U.S. that is solely dedicated to ending cannabis prohibition.-Formative years:...
of Marijuana Policy Project
Marijuana Policy Project
The Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff...
stated in a September 5, 2002 press release,
NIDA literature and National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
(NIMH) research frequently contradict each other. For instance, in the 1980s and 1990s, NIMH researchers found that dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
plays only a marginal role in marijuana's psychoactive effects. Years later, however, NIDA educational materials continued to warn of the danger of dopamine-related marijuana addiction. NIDA appears to be backing off of these dopamine claims, adding disclaimers to its teaching packets that the interaction of THC
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol , also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , Δ1-THC , or dronabinol, is the main chemical psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated in 1964. In pure form, it is a glassy solid when cold, and becomes viscous and sticky if warmed...
with the reward system is not fully understood.
The NIDA also funded the research of John W. Huffman
John W. Huffman
John William Huffman is a professor emeritus of organic chemistry at Clemson University who first synthesised many novel cannabinoids, including JWH-007, JWH-015, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-030, JWH-051, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-133, JWH-147, JWH-171, JWH-182, JWH-203, JWH-210, JWH-250, JWH-307,...
who first synthetized many novel cannabinoids. This compounds are now being sold all around the world as pure compounds or mixed with herbals known as spices. The fact that NIDA has allowed and paid for the synthesis of these new cannabinoids without recommending human consumption research is a topic of concern, especially since some of these JWH substances were recently put into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act via emergency legislation.
Medical marijuana monopoly
NIDA has a government granted monopoly on the production of medical marijuana for research purposes. In the past, the institute has refused to supply marijuana to researchers who had obtained all other necessary federal permits. Medical marijuana researchers and activists claim that NIDA, which is not supposed to be a regulatory organization, does not have the authority to effectively regulate who does and doesn't get to do research with medical marijuana. Jag Davies of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic StudiesMultidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is a membership-based 501 non-profit research and educational organization working to develop psychedelics and marijuana into legal prescription drugs...
(MAPS) writes in MAPS Bulletin:
NIDA administers a contract with the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
to grow the nation's only legal cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
crop for medical and research purposes, including the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program
Compassionate Investigational New Drug program
The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, or Compassionate IND, is a United States Federal Government-ran Investigational New Drug program that allows a limited number of patients to use medical marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi. It is administered by the National...
. A Fast Company magazine article pointed out, "Based on the photographic evidence, NIDA's concoction of seeds, stems, and leaves more closely resembles dried cat brier than cannabis".
An article in Mother Jones magazine describes their crop as "brown, stems-and-seeds-laden, low-potency pot—what's known on the streets as "schwag""aka "Bobby Brown" United States federal law currently registers cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Medical marijuana
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
researchers typically prefer to use high-potency marijuana, but NIDA's National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse has been reluctant to provide cannabis with high THC levels, citing safety concerns:
Speaking before the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, Rob Kampia
Rob Kampia
Rob Kampia is co-founder and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest 501 nonprofit organization in the U.S. that is solely dedicated to ending cannabis prohibition.-Formative years:...
of the Marijuana Policy Project
Marijuana Policy Project
The Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff...
criticized NIDA for refusing to provide researcher Donald Abrams with marijuana for his studies, stating that "after nine months of delay, Dr. Leshner rejected Dr. Abrams' request for marijuana, on what we believe are political grounds that the FDA-approved protocol is inadequate."
In May 2006, the Boston Globe reported that:
Ricaurte's monkeys
NIDA has drawn criticismRetracted article on neurotoxicity of ecstasy
"Severe dopaminergic neurotoxicity in primates after a common recreational dose regimen of MDMA' ", was a paper by Dr. George Ricaurte which was published in the leading journal Science, and later retracted....
for continuing to provide funding to George Ricaurte, who in 2002 conducted a study that was widely touted as proving that MDMA caused dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
rgic neurotoxicity
Neurotoxicity
Neurotoxicity occurs when the exposure to natural or artificial toxic substances, which are called neurotoxins, alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause damage to nervous tissue. This can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons, key cells that transmit and process...
in monkeys. His paper "Severe Dopaminergic Neurotoxicity in Primates After a Common Recreational Dose Regimen of MDMA ('Ecstasy')" in Science was later retracted after it became clear that the monkeys had in fact been injected not with MDMA, but with extremely high doses of methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. A FOIA
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
request was subsequently filed by MAPS
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is a membership-based 501 non-profit research and educational organization working to develop psychedelics and marijuana into legal prescription drugs...
to find out more about the research and NIDA's involvement in it.
Effectiveness of anti-marijuana ad campaigns
In February 2005, Westat, a research company hired by NIDA and funded by The White House Office of National Drug Control PolicyOffice of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988...
, reported on its five-year study of the government ad campaigns aimed at dissuading teens from using marijuana, campaigns that cost more than $1 billion between 1998 and 2004. The study found that the ads did not work: "greater exposure to the campaign was associated with weaker anti-drug norms and increases in the perceptions that others use marijuana." NIDA leaders and the White House drug office did not release the Westat report for a year and a half. NIDA dated Westat's report as "delivered" in June 2006. In fact, it was delivered in February 2005, according to the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
, the federal watchdog agency charged with reviewing the study.
External links
- Official NIDA Site
- NIH Almanac, NIDA Timelines and organizational structure
- The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), NIDA, 7 February 2003.
- Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, International Narcotics Control Board.
- Breen, Bill: Pipe Dream?: Rick Doblin has a prescription for fixing NIDA's ailing medical-marijuana program: establish an alternative, Issue 79, Feb. 2004.
- Drug War Distortions, Common Sense for Drug Policy.
- Gettman, Jon: Dopamine and the Dependence Liability of Marijuana, July 11, 1997.
- Kampia, Rob: Testimony at the September 19 Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, 19 September 1995.
- MPP Responds to Release of 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Marijuana Policy Project, 5 September 2002.
- Grim, Ryan: Federal Agency Cleans Up Its Own Wikipedia Entry
- Feds Mess with Wikipedia Entry, Again Blog entry about efforts by NIH staff to remove criticism of NIDA from this page