Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the leading federal agency for drug use research, is seeking public input on its draft Strategic Plan for 2027 to 2031. The plan aims to update current strategies and prioritize scientific initiatives to meet evolving public health needs and address new opportunities in substance use and addiction research.
NIDA encourages a broad range of stakeholders—including researchers, healthcare providers, individuals with lived experience, and organizations—to provide feedback on proposed Priority Areas and Cross-Cutting Themes. Organizations may submit consolidated responses on behalf of their members.
The Cross-Cutting Themes are designed to advance whole-person health across the lifespan, promote healthy and drug-free living, understand differences in substance use disorder (SUD) onset and outcomes, explore relationships between substance use, HIV, and other co-morbidities, advance polysubstance use research, and apply innovative data science to prevention and treatment strategies.
Among the scientific priorities, Priority Area 1 focuses on basic research to understand drug effects and the biological mechanisms of addiction and recovery, including pathways connected to early-life experiences and real-world drug use. Priority Area 2 aims to improve interventions from prevention to recovery support for substance use disorders.
This public consultation is intended to refine NIDA's strategic objectives to better address emerging challenges in substance use and addiction, enhancing the impact of its scientific portfolio on individual and public health.