$5.85 Million Allotted for Addiction Research

Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated December 13, 2002

VA researchers in Tampa, Florida will receive $5.85 million to study the molecular causes of drug addiction. The money came to VA through the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and its Counter-drug Technology Assessment Center.

After purchasing the latest technological devices for genetic research and protein analysis, the researchers will study all 30,000 genes and their proteins to identify markers in the blood that indicate recent drug use. The final phase will identify genetic facts that dispose veterans and others to addiction and find ways to disrupt the biochemical reactions involved in addiction.