The Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA) is a national organization of more than 300 medical and allied faculty, which was founded in 1976 for the promotion of education and research in the field of substance abuse. The organization was derived from an informal coalition of U.S. Federal Career Teachers in alcoholism and drug abuse; these career teachers, one on the faculty of each of fifty-five medical schools, were funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to promote enhanced teaching at their respective medical campuses. The Career Teachers Program, established in 1972, was regarded as a highly successful vehicle forhighlighting an issue of considerable importance in the medical curriculum. As the program wound down (it came...