About CASA
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse At Columbia University
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University is the only nation-wide organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat abuse of all substances – alcohol, nicotine as well as illegal, prescription and performance enhancing drugs – in all sectors of society.
Founded in 1992 by Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., the nonprofit organization aims to inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives, as well as, remove the stigma of substance abuse and replace shame and despair with hope.
CASA has assembled an interdisciplinary staff of more than 50 professionals with post-graduate and doctorate degrees, experience and expertise in various fields including substance abuse and addiction, communications, criminology, education, epidemiology, government, law, journalism, psychology, public administration, health and policy, social work, sociology and statistics.
