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“All Scientific Hands on Deck” to End the Opioid Crisis

May 31, 2017
In 2015, two million people had a prescription opioid use disorder and 591,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder; prescription drug misuse alone cost the nation $78.5 billion in healthcare, law enforcement, and lost productivity. But while the scope of the crisis is staggering, it is not hopeless. By Nora Volkow (Director, NIDA) and Francis Collins (Director, NIH) Read More.

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Recent Posts

Image of bottles of alcohol with a figure in the background holding a drink

Saving a “Lost Generation”: The Need to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Midlife

January 2016
By Dr. Nora Volkow (NIDA) and Dr. George Koob (NIAAA)- We have long expcted to see increasing substance use in middle and later life with the aging of baby boomers—a demographic that traditionally had a more relaxed attitude to substance use. A recent study funded by the National Institute on Aging reveals the unexpected enormity of the problem and its disastrous consequences for a generation of Americans. Read More.

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Photo of Bill Williams and his son William Head Williams

Listening to the Dead

January 2016
Guest blog by Bill Williams - a reminder of the devastating and incomprehensible experiences faced by families who are fighting the disease of addiction. Read More.

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Monitoring the Future Logo

Encouraging News from Monitoring the Future

December 2015
Revealing the results of the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of drug use and attitudes among American middle- and high-school students is an annual mid-December ritual at NIDA. This year the results were mostly positive, giving us cause for encouragement. Read More.

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Jacob Waletzky Memorial Award

A Personal Story of Despair and Hope, and the Origin of the Jacob P. Waletzky Award

December 2015
A guest blog by Jeremy Waletzky, MD. Every year since 2003, NIDA has honored a young career scientist with the Society for Neuroscience Jacob P. Waletzky Memorial Award for Innovative Research in Drug Addiction and Alcoholism. This award would not be possible without the generosity of the Waletzky Family, who in memory of their son, wanted to recognize research contributions in the area of drug addiction or alcoholism, and the nervous system. Read More.

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Nalaxone team, see caption

NARCAN Nasal Spray: Life-Saving Science at NIDA

November 2015
The FDA announced its approval of the NARCAN Nasal Spray, an intranasal naloxone formula that can immediately restore normal breathing in a person overdosing on prescription opioids or heroin and thus save their life. Read More.

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Illustration of low nicotine cigarette packages

New Study Shows Benefits of Reducing Nicotine in Cigarettes

November 2015
Can the addictiveness of cigarettes be minimized by reducing their nicotine content? This idea was first proposed as a public health measure two decades ago, but when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) argued the case before the Supreme Court in 2000, they were not granted the authority. Read More.

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Photo of a group of teenagers

Grant Awards Mark the Launch of Landmark Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

September 2015
The teen years are the period of highest risk for substance use and for the development of other behavioral disorders, and they are also a period when the brain is changing dramatically. A study of this scope will yield an unprecedented amount of detailed information. Read More.

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Image of a bee on a flower

Addiction Science Can Help Us Understand the Bee Crisis

September 2015
Recent research now suggests that bees may be preferentially drawn to foods laced with pesticides as a result of reward mechanisms. It is a fascinating lesson in how knowledge gleaned from one area of science—in this case addiction science—can inform our understanding of a global ecological crisis. Read More.

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Chemical structure of Cannabidiol over marijuana leaf background

Researching Marijuana for Therapeutic Purposes: The Potential Promise of Cannabidiol (CBD)

July 2015
Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to testify before the Senate on cannabidiol, or CBD—one of the main active ingredients in the marijuana plant, and a compound around which there is a growing amount of interest from the public as well as the scientific and medical communities. Read More.

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IAS 2015 Conference

The Importance of Integrating HIV and Addiction Treatment

July 2015
Great progress has been made in reducing the number of new HIV infections and transforming the disease into a manageable and livable condition, but we still have some way to go to achieve an AIDS-free world. Injection drug use is still creating new, local epidemics, and the ways substance use disorders and HIV are intertwined often receive insufficient attention. Read More.

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About This Blog

Dr. Nora Volkow

Here I highlight important work being done at NIDA and other news related to the science of drug abuse and addiction.
—Dr. Nora Volkow, Director

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Dr. Nora Volkow: Video Highlights

NIDA Director, Dr. Nora D. Volkow Videos

  • National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA): Quality Talks, October 2016
    Treating Addiction Within the Health Care System
    Watch video (18:51)
  • APA TV, May 2016
    APA TV chats with Dr. Nora Volkow, the Director of NIDA to hear about her lecture on drug abuse and the opioid epidemic.
    Watch video (3:20)
  • Kentucky Educational Television, May 2016
    One to One with Bill Goodman: Dr. Nora Volkow
    Watch video (27:41)
  • TEDMED, January 2015
    Why do our brains get addicted?
    Watch video (16:23)
  • The World Science Festival, May 2013
    Meet Pioneer in Science, Dr. Nora Volkow
    Watch video (5:44)
  • Rockburn Presents, November 2012
    Dr. Nora Volkow
    Watch video (29:32)
  • Brookhaven National Laboratory WBNL Video, October 2012
    Chemistry celebration: FDG: Contribution to Our Understanding of Addiction
    Watch video (43:05)
  • CBS 60 Minutes, April 2012
    Hooked: Why Bad Habits Are Hard to Break 
    Watch video (13:31)
  • Science Times, June 2011
    Dr. Nora Volkow
    Watch video (8:19)