Use Se Narcotic Farm,
Lexington, Kentucky.

September 50, 1935.
Memorandun to Assistant Surgeon Himmelebach,.

I have read over the article on "Addiction Potentialities of
Dihydrodesoxymorphine-D" by Nethan B, Sidy, John G. Reid and Homer
Ae Howes, and also your comments on the same, with which I em in
agresnont «

It seems to me that the experiments made by these authors defi-
nitely prove that desomorpiine has decided addicting properties, but
they have unfortunately written thie article in such a vein as to
give the impression that they feel that it is not addicting or only
very slightly so. ‘The experiments on wonkeys are especially striking.

it ie noted on page 16 that the authors object to the substitu-
tion phenomena ae proof of addiction potentiality and say thet this —
phenomena is valid only if the previous administration of morphine
does not affect the ability of the new substance to cause abstinence ~
symptome and only if abstinence symptomea after acute withdrawal of
the new substance were the same in character end degree whether or
not there had been previous worphine administration and addiction in
the individual under observation. They do an experiment (SD) designed
to prove their contention but which in my opinion dees not prove it.
They cive desomorphine to animale that were previously eddicted te
morphine, They then withdraw the desomorphine and these animals upon
withdrawal suffer as much ae they previously suffered when morphine
alone was withdraw end not as much as animals thet had been addicted
to desomorphine alone. —

The difference here is, in my opinion, not due to any mysterious
action of morphine and desomorphine due to the fact that they were
given to the same animale. It rather proves, expecially in the case
of Ho, S$ which is cited, that thie animal wae more strongly addicted
than the enimale upon which desomorphine alone head been used because
No, 5, counting all of its addiction insults, hed been earried on an
opiate longer than those animals upon which desomorphine alone had
been used, Another thing to be considered here is that desomorphine
is necessarily given in smeller doses than morphine because of ites
high toxicity. It is logical to expect that the larger doses of mor-
phine would cause a higher degree of addiction wilesa desomorphine,
grain for grain, has greater addiction potentialities.
~ 2B

Experiment No. 4 with the rate should be taken to show that
one dose daily of desomorphine is not sufficient, when given over
a short period of a month or two, to cause marked eddiction in ani-
mals, probably beceuse the dose ia necessarily small, due to the
toxicity of the drug and also beceuse the action of this drug is
briefer then the ection of morphine. It ie noted that wha the
authors gave the drug three times per day en effect (hyper-irritability)
was produced comparable to thet previceusly reported by youe I am,
however, not prepared to say that this effedt is evidence of addiction.

Very truly yours,

Lawrenes Kolb,
Medical Director,
Medical Officer in Charge.