About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (continued)

The results of these and other achievements through NIDA-funded research offer this country's best hope for solving the medical, social, and public health problems of drug abuse and addiction.

The need for greater knowledge of drug abuse continues to grow. Ever-changing drug-use patterns, the continuing transmission of HIV infection among drug abusers, and the need to develop new and effective treatment and prevention methods underscore the importance of research in finding new and better ways to alleviate the pain and devastation of addiction. NIDA's goals for the future include:

to design and develop new medications for opioid and cocaine addiction, especially for use during pregnancy, by building on the recent molecular discoveries that have uncovered the basis for addiction in the brain.
to develop techniques to detect subtle effects of drug exposure in children of drug-using parents to provide opportunities for early preventive or clinical intervention.
to broaden research on women and addiction to determine the biological and behavioral differences that need to be addressed in effective drug-abuse prevention and treatment.
to reduce the spread of HIV infection through improved drug-abuse interventions and better understanding of the interactions of drugs of abuse and the body's immune system.
to apply state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to the problems of drug-abuse prevention and treatment.
to design, develop, and test new behavioral therapies and promote their use for appropriate patient populations.
to study the treatment of special clinical problems presented by drug abusers with HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and other infections.
to understand the organization and financing of drug abuse treatment and its benefits to the larger health care system.
to identify the protective and resiliency factors that prevent drug use in those individuals with multiple risk factors so more effective prevention techniques can be developed.
to strengthen the research infrastructure, by providing additional opportunities for research training and career development for clinical researchers and improved mechanisms for training and mentoring of minority researchers.
to expand the use of scientific information to educate the public about the real nature of drug abuse and addiction and the hope and promise for more effective prevention and treatment.
to broaden the dissemination of research findings and improve drug-abuse prevention and treatment practice and policy.