Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse

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The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) was established in 1992 by Joseph A. Califano, Jr. The stated, official goals of the organization, now called the National Center on Substance Abuse at Columbia University, are

To inform Americans of the costs, both economic and social, of substance abuse and its negative impact.
To identify effective prevention, treatment, and law enforcement practices.
To promote individual and institution actions to combat substance abuse and addiction.
To eliminate the stigma of substance abuse.

CASA was established with more than $2 million from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, more than $5 million from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Rockefeller Foundation, and an initial $8 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which shortly thereafter later gave over $13 million more. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation continues to provide the “primary core funding.“ In its first ten years, CASA raised over $150 million. Its total assets are now over $71,000,000 and it owns over $40,000,000 in stocks, bonds and other investments.

The organization has about 75 employees who work in three divisions (1) Health and Treatment, (2) Policy Research and Analysis, and (3) Program Demonstration. It has produced over 55 reports on subject of its interest. The group has been criticized[1] for releasing its reports without peer-review.