Why Does NIDA Study Addiction in Teens?

October 11, 2022/Norma Norris

The actor Brandon Thomas Lee recently sat down with NIDA’s Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, for a virtual conversation about addiction, recovery, mental health, and how COVID-19 affects it all.

One of Brandon’s questions was, “NIDA does a lot of research focused on teenage/young adult drug use in particular—why is that?” Watch Dr. Volkow’s answer:

The teen brain is like a computer program that’s still being coded. Because it’s developing, it’s more vulnerable than the adult brain to changes caused by drug use. 

Want to know more and be empowered with information to make informed decisions about drugs and drug use? Check out our page on Drugs and the Brain. And watch Brandon Thomas Lee’s full interview with Dr. Volkow.

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Norma Norris

Norma Norris is the Executive Director of the nonprofit CANDLE, Inc.. EIN 71-0962470. Mrs. Norris has been a civic leader all her adult life. She and her husband Charles raised their three sons in Butler, PA. In an effort to preserve the integrity of her community, when heroin first appeared in early 2000, Norma created the parent/child drug prevention program called Reality Tour that is now replicated in the U.S. Her talents have progressed as well as her influence in the prevention field.