THIS IS THE FIRST OF WHAT I HOPE to be an occasional series of articles in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs helping those of us who work in the alcohol and other drug fields to think about where we currently are and where we seem to be going. To accomplish those tasks, it is important that we understand more about where we come from and the accomplishments that made our work possible.
When I began my own career in substance use disorders as a medical student in the 1960s, alcohol and other drug issues were often relegated to second-class citizenship in the fields of health care delivery and research. At that time, the budget of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism was less than $6 million and careful research was relatively rare, although clinical and research advances were beginning to appear. The difference between what our field
was then and what it is now didn’t just happen but developed through the work and infl uences of many men and women, some of whom I hope to highlight through this series of editorials.
When one recognizes how many people have
influenced our efforts over the years, it is a challenge to try to decide on where to start. Although there are many people I hope to learn more about and whose accomplishments I plan to share with you in the future, from my standpoint, Griffith Edwards is as fine a first subject as any for this first commentary. > > > > Read More
