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The
Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
Canadian
Medical Association Journal
- Nov. 1934
Editorial
Marijuana
THE peculiar and
striking effects of the hemp plant when taken as a drug into the human system
have been known for many centuries. Indeed,
it would appear that from time immemorial it has been used in several forms and
by various methods for its stimulating and narcotic effects by many millions of
people in the East. During the
eleventh century a remarkable sect of unorthodox Mohammedans appeared in Asia
and gradually established themselves as a considerable and dreaded military
power. Their most famous leader was
Sheik-al-Jebal, known to contemporary literature as " The
Old Man of the Mountains", a functionary who gave much concern to
the Crusaders. This sect is
supposed to have attained its "bad eminence " through the violence and
impetuosity of certain bands of its members while under the influence of hemp.
The name given to it, " Hashishim", or " The
Hemp People " is the origin of our word "assassin"'.
Etymology sometimes conveys an interesting bit of history.
The
plant concerned is known in the pharmaeopceias as Cannabis indica, a variety of
Cannabis sativa, belonging to the order Cannabinaceoe, in which there are only
two species, the hemp and the hop. It
is related to the nettle. It is a
native of Persia and India, but is cultivated for its fibre in most warm, dry
climates, as in Italy, Russia, South Africa, and in parts of America.
It is not unknown in Canada.
The poisonous
action of the plant is due to an active principle called "cannabinol,"
which is contained in a sticky resinous substance secreted chiefly by the female
plants. The dried and compressed
resinous tops are known in India as "ganjah" and, elsewhere, as "guaza".
This product is smoked usually with tobacco.
The dried leaves are called "bhang" in India and ",
hashish" in Arabia. From them
can be made by infusion an intoxicating drink, or they may be made up into a
conserve. Among the Persians,
Arabs, and Egyptians hashish was used originally as a flavoured sweetmeat or
treacle, prepared either from the leaves or the resin.
Nowadays,
hashish is more often smoked with tobacco.
In South Africa the Hottentots smoke the drug under the name of "dakha"
or "dagga." The resin separated from the plants is known in India as
" charas " or "churras." This is obtained in some instances
by the primitive method of walking, clad in a leathern garment, through the
field of plants and later scraping the resin from the clothing, or the plants
are beaten over rough cloths.
The
peculiar properties of the hemp plant as effecting derangements of the central
nervous system are most marked when it is grown in warm countries, and also seem
to depend somewhat on climate and the season during which it is grown.
Its effects, therefore, are not uniform and cannot always be predicted
with certainty. The following
excellent description of its pharmacological action is taken from Cushny's
"Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "
*
"The effects of Cannabis indica are chiefly due to the
changes in the central nervous system, in which it induces a mixture of
depression and stimulation similar to that seen under small doses of morphine.
Its action is much less constant, however, and seems to depend very
largely on the disposition and intellectual activity of the individual. . . . .
Soon after its administration the patient passes into a dreamy, seni-conscious
state, in which the judgment seems to be lost, while the imagination is
untrammeled by its usual restraints. The
dreams assume the vividness of visions, are of boundless extravagance, and, of
course, vary with the character and pursuits of the individual. . . . Ideas
flash through the mind without apparent continuity, and all measurement
of time and space is lost. True
hallucinations may appear, but are often absent, the chief features of the
actions being merriment, comfort, well-being, and self-satisfaction.
Often, less pleasant thoughts obtrude themselves, however, such as the
fear of impending death or of some imminent, indefinite danger.
During
this period the consciousness is not entirely lost, for the patient often feels
that his dreams are unreal, his satisfaction unfounded, and his movements
ridiculous, but he cannot restrain them; he can give a coherent account of his
condition when aroused and answers questions intelligently. . . . . Later the
dreams alternate with periods of complete unconsciousness from which the patient
can be aroused easily, and the symptoms eventually pass into tranquil sleep,
from which he awakens refreshed, and, as a rule, without any feeling of
depression or nausea.........In some cases acute mania and convulsive attacks
have been developed, and among the natives of India catalepsy occasionally
occurs."
It will be seen from
this that the use of this drug must have a peculiar fascination for certain
types of character. That there is
no after-depression or nausea is an added attraction. The periods of excitation with loss of adequate control would
seem to present special dangers. Probably,
indulgence in Indian hemp is responsible for the curious case of Orientals
"running amok", and the plausible suggestion has been brought forward
that some of the many crimes of violence being perpetrated at the present time
in the United States should be attributed to the same cause.
It is a point that deserves investigation.
The
interest for us in this matter lies in the fact that the use of Indian hemp is
no longer confined to the "mystic East" but has become a real menace
in Canada and the United States. At
the last session of the Opium Advisory Committee of the League of Nations, held
in June last, it was stated that "Seizures of Indian hemp have been
reported from Canada, Egypt and Roumania. The
Canadian seizures are of interest, as these appear to be the first seizures of
hemp drugs introduced into Canada from places other than the American continent.
The Committee will remember that previously there have been a number of
seizures in Canada of marijuana cigarettes from the United States."
The fact that various authorities have tightened the clamps on the
manufacture of drugs such as opium, heroin and cocaine, and that their vigilance
has made the illicit traffic in these drugs highly precarious, has caused the
"dope" vendors and addicts to explore other fields, that promise
similar profit and pleasure and less risk. Hence they have turned to hashish, known in this country by
the Spanish name " marijuana" (pronounced" marihuana"), or,
more colloquially, "hay" or " the weed." While the
cultivation of Indian hemp appears to be forbidden in most European and
near-Eastern countries, liberal supplies continue to be available for the
illicit traffic. The ease with
which the hemp plant can be cultivated in warm countries and the fact that it
grows wild in so many places render the problem of controlling the traffic a
most difficult one. Hemp, for
example, is grown clandestinely in some of the Balkan states, in Syria, South
Africa, and in south-western United States.
Supplies have also, recently, been obtained from certain of the West
Indies.
For
our information in regard to the development of the illicit traffic in Indian
hemp as it concerns Canada we are indebted to the Narcotics
Division of the federal Department of Pensions and National Health, and
particularly to Col. C. H. L. Sharman, to whom we desire here to extend our
cordial thanks.
The
first intimation that the drug was being introduced into this country was
received in May, 1931, when it was discovered that marijuana cigarettes were
being sold in Walkerville, Ont., at $1.00 each. A purchase was made and an analysis showed that the cigarette
was composed entirely of Indian hemp. It
was further learned that these cigarettes were being brought over from Detroit,
Mich., and were being sold to young boys and girls. The plant was in some cases obtained in bulk and made up into
cigarettes on the Canadian side. It
was found possible to purchase 370 grains of the loose weed for $3.10.
Analysis of the bulk marijuana referred to above showed a strength
approximating in potency 116 per cent of the American standard in the P.X. for
fluid extract of Cannabis indica. In
April, 1932, it became known that marijuana cigarettes were being sold illicitly
in Ottawa. This traffic was traced
to its source in Windsor, and, shortly after, it was learned that some
thirty young people in that city were addicted to marijuana.
The cigarettes were being peddled in dance halls.
Again the source of supply was Detroit.
In May, 1933, the marijuana cigarette had reached Montreal, apparently
from New York, and was being used in cabarets and night clubs, and by October of
the same year shipments were arriving from the West Indies, in particular, from
Kingston, Jamaica, and again, from West Africa.
In July, 1934, marijuana cigarettes were being sold in Toronto.
It has been stated, on competent authority, that the use of marijuana is
very popular on the Pacific coast. Thus,
it can be seen that the traffic in Indian hemp has attained the proportions of
an industry with widespread ramifications.
The same statement applies to the United States.
The Mexican representative on the Advisory Committee of the League of
Nations was quoted in August, 1933, as saying that in recent years the use of
Indian hemp had greatly increased in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
From statements before us it would seem that the illicit
traffic in marijuana cannot be readily controlled in the United States, for the
reason that Indian hemp is not included among the narcotic drugs specified in
the Harrison Act, and, this, of course, means that Canada must show
correspondingly increased vigilance to prevent imports into this country.
Fortunately, our Narcotics Act fully covers the matter.
The above tale, though told only in outline, will sufficiently indicate
the excellent work done by our Narcotics Division, with the efficient aid of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in laying bare the existence of this nefarious
traffic. Much has been done already
to dash the ardour of the traffickers, and some salutary punishments have been
imposed by the courts. Probably,
much more yet remains to be done, but there is no doubt that eventually the
traffic will be still better controlled, and, we hope, ended.
The menace is a serious one, for the experience of in countries is that
the hashish habit has a special appeal to the young, not, necessarily, that they
crave for the drug, at least it first, but they use it with the desire to appear
"smart." Then, comes the
urge for more, and a dangerous habit is created. It would appear, also, that most of those indulging in
hashish represent new fields for exploitation, they not having been at any
previous time addicts to morphine, heroin, or cocaine. A.G.N.
*Ninth ed., Lea & Febiger, Phila., 1929, p. 281.
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