The priority areas for drug abuse research are the neurobiology of addiction; treatment improvement, including medications development and behavioral and psychosocial treatment; HIV infection and AIDS; fetal and child development; risk and protective factors; prevention; health services; and women and minority populations. Major accomplishments of research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) include information about the addictive properties of marijuana, which have now been clearly shown; discovery of cocaine receptors in the brains of fetal rats; progress toward the development of a vaccine against cocaine addiction; and treatment research that shows which combinations of counseling and incentives are the most effective. In addition to profiling NIDA research priorities and highlights, this report also provides an overview of the nature and extent of drug abuse in the United States. This includes data on the prevalence of drug abuse in 1995, major forms of drug abuse, drug abuse among various populations, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, and implications for drug abuse research. A 43-item bibliography; a drug index; and a chart that shows the medical uses, route of administration, DEA schedule, and period of detection for commonly abused drugs