The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network — Challenges and opportunities.

This article is based on a symposium presented at the 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, June 2001. It provides an overview of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and describes its associated challenges (the difficulty of translating research into practice, fiscal and policy considerations, e.g.) and opportunities for further applied treatment research. The CTN is an ambitious undertaking, requiring a long-term commitment from investigators, CTPs, and NIDA. As complex as the partnership is, all signs to date are positive that the goals of the CTN can be achieved.