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Home » News & Events » Nora's Blog

Nora's Blog

Featured Post

Prevention Point

Addressing the Socioeconomic Complexities of Addiction—Lessons from the Kensington Neighborhood in Philadelphia

October 29, 2019
This September, I was invited by Thomas Farley, the Health Commissioner of Philadelphia, to see firsthand how that city is responding to the opioid crisis. We toured Prevention Point, a private non-profit organization providing harm reduction services to Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Read More.

3 Comments

Recent Posts

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.

0 Comments
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.

4 Comments
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.

0 Comments
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.

0 Comments
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.

4 Comments
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.

2 Comments
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.

8 Comments
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.

1 Comment
NIDA Org Chart

Seeking Input from the Community on NIDA’s Scientific Reorganization

June 2015
NIDA’s Advisory Council periodically reviews the various programs and Divisions within the Institute to ensure they best reflect NIDA’s capacities and mission. At our May 2015 Council meeting, an Advisory Council workgroup presented a series of recommendations related to the scientific areas currently led by the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DCNBR). Read More.

13 Comments
Scans of healthy brain versus methamphetaine user showing reduced dopamine levels in the striatum

Addiction Is a Disease of Free Will

June 2015
When I was five or six years old, my grandfather—my mother’s father—died of what I was always told was complications of heart disease. It was not until much later that I learned the real reason for his death. Read More.

26 Comments

Pages

Dr. Nora Volkow: Remarks and Video Highlights

APA 2015 meeting

  • Marijuana as a Cure for Opioid Use? Nation's Top Drug Scientist Says She's Skeptical, March 2019
    Watch video (8:01)
  • Meet the Woman Leading the Nation's War on Addiction, October 2018
    Watch video (29:15)
  • Aspen Ideas Festival 2018: Shining Light on Less Visible Prescription Drug Epidemics, June 2018
    Watch video (51:34)
  • Dr. Nora Volkow on Addiction: A Disease of Free Will, May 2015
    Watch video (21:11)
  • TEDMED, January 2015
    Why do our brains get addicted?
    Watch video (16:23)
  • The World Science Festival, April 2014
    The Moth: The Brain's Addiction - Nora Volkow
    Watch video (17:01)
  • CBS 60 Minutes, April 2012
    Hooked: Why Bad Habits Are Hard to Break 
    Watch video (13:31)

About This Blog

Dr. Nora Volkow

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

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