Khalil A. Khavari

The Relationship between the Degree of Professed Religious Belief and Use of Drugs

A systematic examination of data from 4,853 respondents of various demographic characteristics revealed a powerful relationship between the degree of religious belief and consumption of alcohol and intake of psychotropics. In general, people who viewed themselves as ‘very religious’ drank less and used less psychoactives, when compared to those individuals who considered themselves ‘not religious at all.’ Significantly elevated use of alcohol, tobacco products, marijuana, hashish, and amphetamines was associated with the ‘not religious at all’ group.

Opiate dependence produced by ad libitum drinking of morphine in water, saline, and sucrose vehicles.

Rats were given ad libitum morphine water, saline morphine, or sucrose morphine as their only source of liquid. Measures of liquid, food, caloric, and morphine intake along with body weight were taken daily, thereby monitoring the effects of morphine ingestion on these indices, and observing the course of dependence over time. To assess the degree of dependence the animals were given a two-bottle choice test between the drug solution and the vehicle, following a suitable ingestion period. The results indicated that the rats neglected morphine water and saline morphine in favor of the drug-free alternative. Concomitant morphine withdrawal signs (body weight loss, anorexia, adipsia, rhinorrhea, diarrhea, and irritability) were observed, thus indicating the animals were drug dependent. When morphine was given in sucrose solutions, the rats showed a marked preference for the drug solution over the vehicle.

The Drug Use Index: A Measure of the Extent of Polydrug Usage

A drug use index (DUI) is constructed from actual usage data of 1,121 respondents (517 males and 604 females). It is proposed that this index represents a quantitative measure of the degree of involvement in polydrug use. Correlations between the DUI and use of 19 drugs or drug classes are reported. Furthermore, some applications of the DUI are demonstrated with specific reference to four psycho-personality tests.

Morphine dependence in rats produced after five days of ingestion

In the first experiment dose-dependent withdrawal signs following a nalorphine injection (either 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 mg/kg, i.p.) were seen in rats that had been drinking sucrose morphine for 21 days. A non-dependent control group was generally unaffected by an injection of the antagonist (16 mg/kg, i.p.). In Experiment II, morphine withdrawal signs, both nalorphine induced and without nalorphine injection, were observed in rats which had been placed on only five days of morphine-adulterated food and sucrose morphine. Although both groups showed clear withdrawal signs after the drug was removed from their diet, the nalorphine-injected group showed more severe symptoms. By the eleventh day of withdrawal all rats had resumed normal eating and drinking and had nearly recovered their pre-drug body weights. It is concluded that reliable morphine dependence can be induced in five days, using a morphine-adulterated diet.

Interpersonal Influences in College Students' Initial Use of Alcohol and Drugs-The Role of Friends, Self, Parents, Doctors, and Dealers

The use of alcohol and drugs by 1,711 college students was surveyed anonymously, with a special interest in determining the sources of influence that led them to the initial use of different substances. Depending on the chemical, friends, parents, the person himself or herself, and doctors were named as the initial introducers. Drug dealers, by contrast, were named rarely and only in connection with a few hard drugs. Factors influencing drug use are discussed, and suggestions for prevention and treatment are made.

Voluntary morphine ingestion, morphine dependence, and recovery from withdrawal signs

We are reporting on conditions (without forced drinking or premedications) where rats voluntarily drink high quantities of sucrose-morphine solutions in preference to water. The volume ingested is inversely related to the morphine concentration in the liquid. The morphine antagonist, nalorphine, produced a clear set of opiate withdrawal signs in these (voluntarily) morphine-drinking rats. The severity of withdrawal signs was a function of the amount of ingested morphine. The present finding is the first report to show that rats ingest high quantities of sucrose-morphine without premedication or forced hydration procedures.

Chemical microinjections into brain of free-moving small laboratory animals ☆

Abstract A simple cannula-swivel unit which allows chronic discrete or continuous injections into brains of moving and behaving small laboratory animals is described. The cannula-swivel unit, with minor modifications, may also be used for intravenous and intragastric injections.

Attitude and personality correlates of hallucinogenic drug use.

Personality, attitude, and hallucinogenic drug use data were obtained from 298 male and female adult members of labor unions. Multiple regression and canonical correlation analyses of drug use, personality, and attitude data revealed that: the use of hallucinogens was significantly related to needs for novel or unconventional experiences and negative attitudes toward conventionally defined social values, and marijuana use scores were more strongly associated with the set of predictor variables than were other drugs reported.

Effects of intraventricular carbachol and eserine on drinking

Rats implanted with chronic cannulae in the lateral cerebral ventricle were treated with carbachol and eserine. Five doses of each drug were given to determine their effects on water intake of the Ss. All doses of carbachol and four lower doses of eserine failed to affect drinking. The findings suggest that drinking after application of carbachol to CNS structures, implicated in the thirst circuit, is not due to ventricular modification.

Establishment of morphine preference in the rat

Three groups of rats were placed on sucrose morphine and milled rat food for 25 days. Morphine HCl content was.5 mg/ml for all three groups. Sucrose concentrations were 2.5%, 5%, and 10%. In a subsequent choice test, all three groups selected their respective sucrose morphine over tap water. In an additional choice test given to the 10% group, the rats selected the sucrose morphine over the vehicle. We report on a highly effective oral method of inducing morphine preference.