# Contributions of the International Narcotics Research Conference to Opioid Research Over the Past 50 years

## TL;DR

This paper reviews 50 years of the International Narcotics Research Conference's impact on opioid research, highlighting key discoveries and researchers.

## Contribution

The paper provides a historical overview of major opioid research advancements presented at the INRC over five decades.

## Key findings

- The INRC has served as a key platform for presenting novel findings on opiates and their mechanisms.
- Groundbreaking discoveries in opioid research were often first shared at INRC meetings.
- The conference has fostered global scientific collaboration in the field of opioid research.

## Abstract

The International Narcotics Research Conference (INRC), founded in 1969, has been a successful forum for research into the actions of opiates, with an annual conference since 1971. Every year, scientists from around the world have congregated to present the latest data on novel opiates, opiate receptors and endogenous ligands, mechanisms of analgesic activity and unwanted side effects, etc. All the important discoveries in the opiate field were discussed, often first, at the annual INRC meeting. With an apology to important events and participants not discussed, this review presents a short history of INRC with a discussion of groundbreaking discoveries in the opiate field and the researchers who presented from the first meeting up to the present.