NIDA's strategic plan identifies research objectives in the
areas of prevention, treatment, and information dissemination
that are likely to facilitate rapid reductions in drug abuse and
addiction and their health and social consequences. Now is a
time of extraordinary opportunity in drug abuse science. Thanks
to the exemplary research achievements of recent decades, we
have advanced from a rudimentary understanding of drug abuse and
addiction to a firm understanding of their essential behavioral
and physiological mechanisms. Twenty-five years ago, discussions
about the harmfulness of drugs often took the form of pointless
arguments as to whether this or that substance was "truly
addictive." Today, we know that exposure to every commonly
abused drug can produce significant harmful consequences, which
may include neurological damage, severe behavioral and social
problems, and increased risk for infectious diseases or cancer.
In the 1970s, debates about the nature of addiction revolved
around whether this was a