In 1974 NIDA was established as part of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and given authority over the DAWN and NHSDA programs.

At that time, responsibility for the DAWN and NHSDA programs were transferred to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

It is best defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive, often uncontrollable drug craving, seeking, and use, even in the face of negative health and social consequences.

The January 17, 2001 document Basis for the Recommendation for Maintaining Marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act specifically cites SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, NIDA's Monitoring the Future survey, SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network, and NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group data.

A NIDA-supported study on pregnant drug users noted, "professionals in research and treatment must learn to settle for less because insisting on total abstinence may exacerbate the problem."

In the 1990s, NIDA funded research by John W. Huffman that was focused on making a drug to target endocannabinoid receptors in the body; this resulted in the discovery of a variety of substances that are now being sold as Spice, K2, etc.

Its scope covers drug abuse research in the areas of treatment and prevention, epidemiology, neuroscience, behavioral science, health services, and AIDS.

[17] NIDA publishes educational materials as well which aim to provide pertinent facts to teenagers who will be making drug use decisions and to parents.

In 2004, Congressman Mark Souder introduced the Safe and Effective Drug Act, calling for a "meta-analysis of existing medical marijuana data."

On April 27, 2004, Souder sent NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni a letter criticizing needle exchange programs for causing increases in infection rates.

NEPs/SEPs increase the availability of sterile syringes and other injection equipment, and for exchange participants, this decreases the fraction of needles in circulation that are contaminated.

In addition to decreasing HIV infected needles in circulation through the physical exchange of syringes, most NEPs/SEPs are part of a comprehensive HIV prevention effort that may include education on risk reduction, and referral to drug addiction treatment, job or other social services, and these interventions may be responsible for a significant part of the overall effectiveness of NEPs/SEPs.

ACASI provides a highly private and confidential means of responding to questions to increase the level of honest reporting of illicit drug use and other sensitive behavior."

Rob Kampia of Marijuana Policy Project stated in a September 5, 2002 press release,[24] The government reaches that exact same conclusion regardless of whether drug use is going up, down, or staying the same.

[26] NIDA appears to be backing off of these dopamine claims, adding disclaimers to its teaching packets that the interaction of THC with the reward system is not fully understood.

MAPS has also been trying without success for almost four years to purchase 10 grams of marijuana from NIDA for research into the constituents of the vapor from marijuana vaporizers, a non-smoking drug delivery method that has already been used in one FDA-approved human study.NIDA administers a contract with the University of Mississippi to grow the nation's only legal cannabis crop for medical and research purposes,[30] including the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program.

A Fast Company article pointed out, "Based on the photographic evidence, NIDA's concoction of seeds, stems, and leaves more closely resembles dried cat brier than cannabis".

Thus, while NIDA research has provided a large body of literature related to the clinical pharmacology of cannabis, research is still needed to establish the safety of new dosage forms and new formulations.Speaking before the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project criticized NIDA for refusing to provide researcher Donald Abrams with marijuana for his studies, stating that "after nine months of delay, Leshner rejected Abrams' request for marijuana, on what we believe are political grounds that the FDA-approved protocol is inadequate.

The institute's director, Nora Volkow, has stressed that it's "not NIDA's mission to study the medicinal use of marijuana or to advocate for the establishment of facilities to support this research."

Since NIDA's stated mission "is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction,"[35] federally supported marijuana research will logically tilt toward the potential harms, not benefits, of cannabis.NIDA has drawn criticism for continuing to provide funding to George Ricaurte, who in 2002 conducted a study that was widely touted as proving that MDMA (ecstasy) caused dopaminergic neurotoxicity in monkeys.

"We don't set policy; we don't create laws," says Beverly Jackson, the agency's spokesperson.In February 2005, Westat, a research company hired by NIDA and funded by The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, reported on its five-year study of the government ad campaigns aimed at dissuading teens from using marijuana, campaigns that cost more than $1 billion between 1998 and 2004.

The study found that the ads did not work: "greater exposure to the campaign was associated with weaker anti-drug norms and increases in the perceptions that others use marijuana."

[41] On the 26 October 2011, the OIG published its results from an audit of a contract between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Charles River Laboratories, Inc., which read in part:[42] Our review found that during fiscal years 2007 through 2009, NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) did not comply with the time and amount requirements specified in appropriations statutes in administering contract HHSN271-2007-00009C (the Contract) with Charles River Laboratories, Inc. NIDA violated both the bona fide needs rule and the Antideficiency Act by obligating funds in advance of an appropriation.

We recommended that NIDA: In written comments on our draft report, NIH concurred with the findings and agreed that the Contract is severable and should have been funded with the appropriation that was current when the services were performed.