Thoughts Inspired by Zili Sloboda's “The State of Support for Research on the Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Drug Use and Drug Use Disorders in the USA”

Abstract

In the same speech in which he warned of the militaryindustrial complex, 1 Dwight Eisenhower also warned against letting the federal government, through the power of the purse, control the direction of scientific research: In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present—and is gravely to be regarded.