Congressional Affairs 2020

This is Archived Content. This content is available for historical purposes only. It may not reflect the current state of science or language from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). View current information on nida.nih.gov.

January 2020

Hearings, Briefings, Meetings

September 9 – Representative David Trone and other members of the Freshman Working Group on Addiction toured Dr.  Nora Volkow’s laboratory at the NIH Clinical Center.

October 11, 2019 – Dr. Volkow briefed Consumer Policy Subcommittee staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on kratom.

October 23, 2019 – Dr. Volkow participated in a Senate Caucus on Narcotics Control Hearing titled "Marijuana and America’s Health: Questions and Issues for Policy Makers."

December 12, 2019 – Dr. Volkow briefed the House Freshman Working Group on Addiction on methamphetamine use and NIDA research to address it.

Wednesday, December 18 – Dr. Volkow conducted a telebriefing on the FY 2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey results for Congressional staff. She was joined by MTF Principal Investigator Dr. Richard Miech.

January 15, 2019 – Dr. Volkow testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee at a hearing titled "Cannabis Policies for the New Decade."

Legislation of Interest

  • A number of bills relevant to marijuana research have been introduced in Congress.
  • The Senate passed the "Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act," which would extend the temporary placement of fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) until May 6, 2021 and require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the class control of fentanyl-related substances, including the processes to obtain or modify a registration under the CSA to conduct research with these substances.

May 2020

Hearings, Briefings, Meetings

March 4, 2020 – Dr. Volkow joined Dr. Collins and other NIH IC Directors to testify before the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee on the FY 2021 NIH budget.

April 1, 2020 – Dr. Volkow briefed Representative David Trone on the challenges to conducting research with marijuana and other Schedule I drugs.

September 2020

Hearings, Briefings, Meetings

August 3, 2020 - Dr. Volkow briefed U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions  (HELP) Committee staff on stimulant use disorder treatments.