Abstract
Aim:
The primary aim of this study was to study, for the
first time to our knowledge in Egypt, the relationship
of initial use of cannabis as a gateway drug to later
dependency on opioid among Egyptian adults.
Methods:
Forty-eight patients were recruited from outpatient
psychiatric attendees at a psychiatric hospital, Cairo,
Egypt. A semistructured interview was conducted to
assess the relationship of initiating cannabis abuse to
later opioid dependence, and its relationship to
demographic and clinical variables.
Results:
The most frequent age group at the time of presentation
of the sample was 15 to 25 years (47.9%). The
mean age of starting abuse of drugs was 15.8 years
(SD=2.6; 11 to 25 y): 42 individuals (87.5%) started
with cannabis and 4 (8.3%) started with alcohol. The
entire group was dependent on opioid and 46 (95.5%)
were dependent on cannabis at the same time; 19
(39.6%) were dependent on alcohol. The significant
predictors of being dependent on opioid were being
single (r2=0.650, P=0.001), having a Vocational
Education and Training qualification (r2=0.329,
P=0.02), an early age of onset of use (r2=0.327, P=
0.02), cannabis as the initial drug used (r2=0.487,
P=0.001), and the use of cough medicine (r2=
0.516, P=0.001) or tramadol (r2=0.363, P=0.01)
currently. |
