National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) and its national network of Affiliates is the oldest advocacy organization in America dedicated to fighting the Nation’s #1 health problem – alcoholism, drug addiction and the devastating consequences of alcohol and other drugs on individuals, families and communities. NCADD is built on a foundation of participation by members from the medical, scientific, political and social fields which provides a multi-pronged approach to the disease of alcohol and drug addiction.

Marty Mann, the first female to achieve sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), organized the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism (NCEA) in 1944, which later became the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA) in 1950, and then NCADD in 1990 to address concern with other drugs. The organization was established to serve a dual purpose: first to have a proactive national education and advocacy program attacking the stigma and misunderstanding about alcoholism, treatment and recovery; second, to operate service centers in communities across the country staffed by professionals helping individuals and families with alcohol problems. Those service centers have grown into the NCADD Affiliate Network. No other addiction organization has a national advocacy and community-based service approach and millions have been helped by NCADD in its over 70-year existence.

Accomplishments

Defined ‘alcoholism’ as a disease and successfully worked for its adoption by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Formed the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
Created the first workplace-based employee assistance program, the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA).
Established Alcohol Awareness Month.
Successfully advocated for insurance coverage for alcoholism and addiction treatment equal to other illnesses.

External Links

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Official Website (https://ncadd.org)
List of NCADD Affiliates (http://ncadd.org/about-ncadd/our-affiliates)

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