The Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
The
Narcotic Menace
By
Alwyn J. St. Charles copyright - 1952
Chapter
5
How
Addicts are Made
Addicts
are made, not born. Generally, there
are five major reasons why people, become addicted to dope. (1) They are enticed
into it by a peddler. (2) Their association with addict (3) They are seeking a
new thrill. (4) They have a close association with habit-forming drugs
professionally. (5) They become addicted through the use of drugs medically.
Peddlers
have perfected many ingenius(sic) techniques designed to rope in new teenage
customers. The story of Johnny C., a
Los Angeles
peddler, illustrates one method.
Johnny's
face was sad. Dejection and
despondency haunted hi every step as he walked slowly, head down, hands in
pockets, along notorious
Main Street
in
Los Angeles
. Johnny was a dope peddle but, be
had no dope to peddle.
Federal
officers had swooped down on a large dope distribute in the Angel City and had
seized nearly $50,000 worth of heroin, morphine, and cocaine.
They jailed nine wholesalers and had cut off Johnny's supply.
For
days now Johnny hadn't as much as a single bindle to peddle "Hopheads"
and "snowbirds" all over town were following him around begging for
their usual dose of the drugs. Some
of the even threatened him with violence unless he got them some dope in a
hurry.
"Oh,
what shall I do? What shall I
do?" He thought. 'How can I eat
without the money I earn from dope peddling?
Where will sleep? How will I
dodge my desperate customers." He
knew some of his patrons were getting to the stage where they might act on their
dangerous threats, and Johnny was a coward at heart.
When
Johnny's gloom was deepest, a promising thought struck him.
"Ah, how about my old friend Bob?" be asked himself.
"I understand he is now peddling 'reefers.' III go see him.
Maybe he'll have a connection who'll let me have enough 'stuff' to keep
my customers happy until I can find a new wholesaler of heroin, morphine and
cocaine."
Johnny
knew he 'had to do something quickly, as a storm of hurricane proportions was
fast heading his way.
Johnny
himself had never used any of the drugs he sold.
He was too smart for that. It
was strictly an easy way to make a living. Before
he took to pushing dope, he was a bookmaker for horse bettors, but things got
too hot, what with Senate Crime Committees stirring the police into action
against bookies, so Johnny switched over to dope peddling.
Johnny
didn't have much trouble finding his friend, Bob, the muggles" (marijuana)
peddler. "Bob," he told
him breathlessly, .are you still pushing reefers?
I am desperate. My wholesaler
and his whole gang got knocked over by the cops, and I haven't been able to get
dope for my customers. They are
going crazy and might kill me unless I can get some for them right away.
Do you know where I can get it?"
'Take
it easy, Johnny, I can get you all you need---if you've got the price.
"But,"
he whispered confidentially, "why don't you get wise to yourself, Johnny.
Why do you worry about heroin, morphine and cocaine.
The supply is too unsure. And
prices go up and down too fast. I'II
make you a good deal. If your peddle
'reefers' for me you'll make plenty of money and you'll never have to worry
about your supply.'
Bob
reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, "See this,' he said,
and he handed it to Johnny.
Johnny
took it and looked it over. "Funny
looking cigarette," he commented.
"That's
a reefer," Bob told him. "Smoke
it."
Johnny
smoked it, carefully noting the effects. He
liked it.
"Our
customers are increasing very fast," Bob said, "for we are working on
high-school kids. When we get them
sold on smoking, they really go for the stuff, and, they usually are customers
as long as they live."
Johnny
bought a couple dozen packs of reefers and Bob told him how to get started.
"There is a big high school out on the west side of town which we
haven't worked yet. You could
probably do a big business there."
"How
do I go about it?" asked Johnny.
"Well,"
Bob explained, "just get yourself an ice-cream
pushcart. Park it near the school
and start by selling cones to the kids. Later,
after they have gotten used to seeing you, just say to some boy you see smoking
a cigarette. 'Say,
I have a smoke with a better kick in it.' Then present him with a reefer
for free. Tell him that it is a new
special kind of cigarette. Don't
tell him it is marijuana. That might
scare him off. Do the same thing to
others of your ice-cream customers. You'll
be surprised how soon you'll be doing a thriving business in selling 'reefers'
to teenagers."
Bob
taught Johnny all the angles. "To
begin with sell the 'sticks' two for a quarter.
Later, when they get into the habit, raise the price to fifty cents and a
dollar, or at least three for a dollar. Then,
Johnny, you'll be making some real dough, for there's plenty of that folding
stuff in peddling 'muggles'."
Johnny
thought he had a good deal, so he began peddling marijuana to high school
teenagers, both boys and girls. In a
short time he built up a big business. He
had about 50 customers at the high school where he worked.
Every
day he made big money. Everything
was going fine and Johnny thought he was a 'Big Shot.' Then it happened---
One
day, during the noon hour, Johnny was approached by three grim looking men.
One of them barked, "You are under arrest." Johnny's eyes
bulged out of their sockets as he looked at the police badge flashed at him.
"Why,
I'm only selling ice-cream cones, officers, what's the trouble?"
The
police detective smiled derisively. "Oh
yeah, well that's a new name for 'reefers' then.
Don't try to kid us Johnny, we know what you are selling."
He
nodded toward one of the men, 'Mr. Jones, principal of the school has sworn out
a complaint against you. We have
been watching you for several days. Here
are some reefers you sold during the past hour.
Come along now, Johnny, we've got a place for you."
When
Johnny's trial came up, a tragic story was related by Mr. Jones.
And a few parents also gave their testimony.
"My boy, Andy," tearfully testified one of the mothers,
"steals an lies every day. Before
he began smoking marijuana he was a good boy.
Now I can't trust him out of my sight.
He is so changed, I scarcely can believe he is my son."
A
father testified that, "Elsie, my daughter, flies into a rage whenever I
try to talk to her about her behavior, or when I try to make the slightest
suggestion to her. The other night
her mother ordered her to be home from a party before midnight and she
grabbed a butcher-knife and said she was going to kill her own mother.
Shaking
his head wearily, the father continued,-'Before she began using marijuana she
was always obedient and respectful. Now,
I am afraid she will kill some of her family if they try to manage her."
The
school principal, Mr. Jones, testified that the grades of the boys and girls who
were smoking marijuana had taken a deep plunge to mediocrity.
He said that discipline had suffered because the marijuana users were so
hard to handle.
'"They
are openly defiant," he said. "They
continue to break the regulations of the school, and despite all our precautions
these students manage to flagrantly violate all our rules of propriety and
decency. Some of them have become so
sex-minded that we really do not know what to do with them."
Mr.
Jones paused thoughtfully, then continued, "It has been my studied
observation that every girl and every boy, who has been smoking marijuana
cigarettes in our school, has undergone a complete change of character.
And in every case, the change has been for the worse.
No matter how good they were before they became marijuana smokers, they
are invariably bad ones now."
Many
parents testified how their children acted at home after starting to smoke
"reefers." Their stories were sordid and tragic.
The
jury wasted no time in coming to a verdict.
And Johnny was handed a stiff prison sentence by the court.
The judge minced no words in the lecture he gave Johnny after the
verdict. "You
are an assassin," roared the judge. "You
lured these girls and boys into using this maddening drug.
You have ruined their characters. You
have wrecked their lives."
Looking
sternly down at the prisoner before him, the magistrate continued, "We have
hope that we may salvage some of these wrecked youths from their addiction; but
those who fail to reform would be much better off in their graves."
The
judge paused and slowly punctuated his further remarks with much contempt,
"Johnny C., may your conscience let you rest neither day nor night during
your incarceration in prison. A
murderer is a gentleman compared with you. You
are the lowest form of a criminal I have ever had the misfortune to sentence to
prison. My misfortune arises from
the fact that I am unable to commit you for life."
The
judge remanded Johnny into the custody of the sheriff, revoking the bail which
bad allowed Johnny his liberty pending the trial.
"I
am giving you the maximum sentence provided by law," the court stated
sternly. "No punishment could
be too severe considering the gravity of your offense.
The despicable wrong you have done to these innocent children is
inexcusable"
The
judge eyed the cringing prisoner contemptuously, then turned to the sheriff,
"Take this man and lock him up," he ordered.
"And,"
said the sheriff to Johnny as he led him away, "I wish I could throw the
key away."
The
Narcotic Menace
By
Alwyn J. St. Charles copyright - 1952
Chapter
9
Marijuana
According
to some authorities Marijuana is the most treacherous drug of them all.
They call it the 'Killer" drug because of its use by
"Killers." Cocaine, no
doubt, is a stronger "killer" drug but it is difficult to obtain,
while marijuana is easy to get and comparatively inexpensive.
Probably
by far the most cases of teenage drug addiction in the United States today comes
from indulgence in 'reefers, (marijuana). The
drug can be taken into the body through the mouth, but this method is seldom
used in the United States, although it is common in India.
When it is taken through the mouth effects are slower and lessened,
although the effects remain longer than they do from smoking.
Investigations
have proved that 'reefer' smoking by school children has become widespread
throughout the United States; and that peddlers have become strongly organized.
The peddling of marijuana has become "big business" and
scientific means of advertising and sales methods have been worked out to
increase addiction.
Authorities
also have found that juvenile delinquency is directly related to the smoking of
marijuana, and that a large percentage of America's
major crimes and sex offenses may be traced to the use of marijuana.
It
has been proved, furthermore, that marijuana produces physical and mental
deterioration. Many
patients in the nation's insane asylums owe their insanity to the continued use
of marijuana.
Marijuana
has a history dating back about three thousand years.
Indian hemp, the plant from which marijuana is taken, was originally
grown in Central Asia, but is now found in nearly every section of the world.
It grows either cultivated or wild, illegally and legally.
The technical name for the drug is 'Cannabis Sativa"
The
original use of Indian hemp was to make twine, cord, and textiles.
Later on, it was discovered that the hemp
carried properties which could be used for medicinal
purposes, for medicine and
surgery. The Chinese used it
as a valuable and effective anesthetic in surgery as long as two thousand years
ago.
Along
about the tenth century the peoples of Asia and Africa began using the drug for
pleasure purposes. They liked the
intoxicating effects of Marijuana and it came into rather common usage.
Marijuana,
incidentally, is the American synonym for "hashish," the so-called
"assassin" drug.
Shortly
after the use of the drug came into popular favor, it engaged the attention of
various Asian and African governments. The
medical, religious, and sociological problems posed by the new drug came in for
a great deal of attention at that time.
After
investigation, most authorities concluded that mental and physical deterioration
resulted from the use of marijuana and warned against its use.
Some
claimed, however, that the benefits from using the drug were good and they urged
people to indulge in it. Probably
those who urged people to use marijuana were either addicts themselves, or
perhaps they were profiting financially through the sale of the weed.
In
the nineteenth century knowledge of the use of marijuana in Asia and Africa was
given to Europeans in the form of lurid sensational exposes of the drug by
romanticists of that day. The
writers themselves would experimentally take hashish (marijuana) and then write
stories describing the effects they received.
These
reports on the effects of marijuana convinced the Europeans that the narcotic
was extremely dangerous, that it would drive a person insane, or into crime, and
that its effects on the physical and mental health of the user was damaging.
So, they decided to let the Africans and Asiatics keep their marijuana
vice to themselves.
In
recent years, however, Europeans have taken up the smoking of marijuana.
And they blame their new vice on America, claiming that Americans brought
the drug to Europe and introduced it there.
Back
in the seventeenth century Indian hemp came to America.
The New England colonists first planted the weed solely for commercial
purposes.
The
seed is also used for bird-food. Sometimes
the oil, which is extracted from the seed, is used in the preparations of
artists' paints, as a substitute for linseed oil.
A rosin substance which is taken from the plant is employed in the
manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations.
Since
that time, planting of the weed has spread until now it is found growing in
every state of the union. Only
about ten thousand acres are devoted to legal production.
The remainder of the large amount of acreage growing marijuana in this
country is illegal.
Strange
to say, although marijuana has been growing in this country since the
seventeenth century, Americans did not begin to smoke it until recent years.
About twenty-five years ago, marijuana began to develop into a narcotic
problem in this country, but it has only been during the past seventeen years
that the problem has become serious.
In
this latter period, Federal and State laws to control marijuana have been
greatly strengthened. And because of
the current teenage dope epidemic, new and much stronger legislation against the
sickly-smelling weed is now being drawn up.
There
is some doubt as to the origin of the word "marijuana" Some
authorities believe that the word derived from the Portuguese Mariguano,"
which means "intoxicant."
Many
are of the opinion that the word is derived from the Mexican words for
"Mary and Jane."
Introduction
of marijuana smoking into America is thought to have come from Mexico.
It is well known that 'reefer' smoking is an old Mexican vice, and since
the southwest part of the United States was once part of Mexico, it is only
natural that the large Mexican populations of California, Arizona, New Mexico,
and Texas would continue their habit of smoking 'reefers' and spread addiction
to their new neighbors.
Then,
too the Mexican laborers who flood into states bordering Mexico carry across
their marijuana habit along with a supply of the weed, thus further spreading
addiction.
Up
until recently the marijuana problem was largely restricted to these southwest
states, but in late years it has spread like a prairie fire and has encompassed
the whole United States.
It
formerly was said that New York City was the "Heroin City," Chicago
the "Morphine City," and Los Angeles the "Marijuana City"
Not so anymore. All three of these
drugs have become widespread in their use throughout the nation.
Finding
marijuana addiction spreading fast, and believing the drug to be harmful, such
agencies as the International Narcotic Education Association, the Opium Advisory
Association, and others, conducted an investigation into the subject.
Their findings have contributed greatly to the knowledge existing on the
subject.
When
marijuana a few years ago became recognized as a major menace to the teenagers
of this country, the Bureau of Narcotics urged and obtained marijuana
legislation in all of the 48 states, and in 1937 this drug was brought under
Federal control when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act to become effective
October first of that year.
Under
this law all persons dealing with the drug in any way are required to register
with the Government and pay a special tax. It
restricts the use of cannabis (marijuana) to industrial, medical, and scientific
purposes. Violations of this law are
punishable by five years' imprisonment.
There
have been many descriptions of the effects of marijuana on human beings.
A pamphlet issued by the International Narcotic
Education Association, "Marijuana or Indian Hemp and Its
Preparations," gives an enlightening picture of how 'reefers' affect
some smokers.
'Marijuana
is a most virile and powerful stimulant," the pamphlet states.
"The physiological effect of this drug produces a peculiar mental
exaltation and derangement of the central nervous system"
The
stage of exaltation and confusion is more marked in some individuals than in
others, it says, and "is generally followed by a stage of depression'
Sometimes
the user become semi-conscious, "experiencing vivid and extravagant dreams
which vary according to the individual character and mentality:"
Some
gain a feeling of self-satisfaction and well-being.
"In others, it is alarming, presenting the fear of some imminent and
indefinite danger or of impending death. Later,
the dreams are sometimes followed by a state of complete unconsciousness.
Sometimes convulsive attacks and acute mania are developed"
The
rate of heart beat is decreased, the pulse becomes irregular.
"Death may result from the effect upon the heart."
And
"Prolonged use of marijuana frequently develops a delirious rage which
sometimes leads to high crimes, such as assault and murder.
Hence marijuana has been called the 'killer-drug'."
As
a habit, marijuana always results in a very marked deterioration of the
mentality and "sometimes produces insanity."
That is why marijuana is often called 'loco weed' Loco means 'crazy' in
Spanish
In
addition to the effects of marijuana in wrecking the body and decaying the
mentality, "its effects upon character and morality are even more
devastating," the association declares.
"The
victim frequently undergoes such degeneracy that he will lie and steal without
scruple; he becomes utterly untrustworthy and often drifts into the underworld
where, with his degenerate companions, he commits high crimes and
misdemeanors."
The
drug sometimes stimulates a lust to kill without any reason or motive.
Most
addicts describe the effects of marijuana as making them feel 'high.'
This high feeling gives them a sense of adequacy and efficiency.
They found that their mental conflicts were eased, their imagination
freed.
Unlike
other narcotics the body does not build a tolerance for marijuana, and thus if
the addict abstains from the use of marijuana he suffers no withdrawal pains, as
is in the case of opium, heroin, morphine, or cocaine.
To
obtain his 'high' feeling, the confirmed marijuana smoker uses perhaps from six
to ten cigarettes daily, although usually it only takes one or two 'Sticks'
(cigarettes) to make the average smoker 'high.'
Strange
to say, the effects of marijuana are usually lost if the smoker drinks whisky
along with his puffing. Because of
this, wise smokers don't mix strong drinks with their smoking.
On
the other hand, sweet wines are a good companion to a marijuana smoker, aiding
him to obtain his 'high' feeling. For
this reason, marijuana smokers often consume sweet wines while using their
'reefers.
Marijuana
smokers are careful not to allow themselves to get "too high," because
of the bad effects they experience if they over-smoke.
If they get too high in spite of their precautions, they drink beer, or a
sweet soda pop, which helps them to taper off.
A cold shower also exercises the effect of bringing them 'down.'
Effects
of smoking marijuana are almost immediate. The
effects from only one cigarette, which usually takes from six to ten minutes to
smoke, lasts for about an hour. The
effects increase progressively in intensity after several cigarettes have been
smoked. The effects in such a case
reach their maximum intensity in about an hour's time, and generally disappear
in three or four hours.
The
behavior effects of smoking marijuana vary greatly in different
individuals---and even in the same person---depending upon the personality
make-up of the smoker. Some remain
quiet sitting or lying down, and will show little interest in what is going on
in their surroundings. Others will
become restless and talkative.
The
effect of "euphoria" furnishes the smoker with a sense of well-being
and contentment, cheerfulness and gaiety, talkativeness, bursts of singing and
dancing, daydreaming, a pleasant drowsiness, joking, and performing amusing
antics. The sociability of the
smoker is usually increased, and if other smokers are present, there generally
is much laughing and joking.
Difficulty
in focusing and sustaining mental concentration occurs.
His sense of space and timing is badly affected.
He feels like he is 'floating in space.'
The
marijuana smoker is easily irritated by slight frustrations.
He will not stand for opposition. If
anyone tries to oppose him, it may lead to violence.
One
authority lists physical effects as "a feeling described as lightness,
heaviness, or pressure in the head, often with dizziness."
He found dryness of the mouth and throat,
and a floating sensation was common in about half the cases investigated.
There is some unsteadiness in movement, as in alcoholic intoxication.
And the arms and legs feel heavy, like in a light stage of hypnotism.
Sometimes
there occurs nausea, vomiting, a warm feeling of the head or body, burning of
the eyes, blurring of vision, tightness of the chest, heart palpitation, an urge
to urinate or defecate, and a ringing or pressure in the ears.
Other various hallucinations may be effected by the use of marijuana.
Tremor
and ataxis are usually common effects of the smoking, regardless of the
amount used.
Dilatation
(widening) of the pupils of the eyes, with slow reactions to light is a
tell-tale symptom of marijuana smoking. Sometimes
this condition remains present even during the day after the reefer binge.
One
strange effect of marijuana is its effect on the body's hunger pangs.
It stimulates the smoker's appetite making him hungry for food.
Interviewed by this writer in the Los Angeles County jail, a marijuana
addict, who had recently been arrested, admitted that his overweight was due to
his reefer smoking. "I get
awfully hungry when I'm using the weed," he said, "and I eat
heavily."
Every
time he has to go to jail for a few months, he said, he becomes thin, but
"when I get out and get back on marijuana, I soon get fat again."
The
smoker soon learns how much it takes to get him 'high,' and regulates his
smoking accordingly. If he doesn't
over-smoke, the effects can usually be summed up as a pleasant sensation of
contentment, well-being, sociability, mental and physical relaxation, usually
ending in a feeling of drowsiness.
Some
smokers obtain a feeling of dizziness, unsteadiness, and muscular weakness.
Some become restive, irritated, dizzy, fearful of their surroundings, and
are afraid of death striking them.
Hysterical
effects sometimes occur. The reefer
may produce hallucinations, visions, illusions and delusions, and other effects
commonly associated with forms of insanity.
Under
the influence of marijuana, a person will laugh more readily and for longer
periods than non-smokers. This
effect is probably produced by the fact that when 'high' things appear funnier
and normal inhibitions are released.
The
U. S. Bureau of Narcotics has released information on how to identify a
marijuana plant, which might be growing in your own backyard and you wouldn't
know it unless you had this information.
The
hemp plant is an annual, growing each year from the seed.
It has an upright stalk which attains a height of three to sixteen
feet-usually four to six feet.
This
stalk varies in diameter up to two inches, the usual conditions of planting
producing stalks of one-half inch or less. They
are more or less fluted, or four-comer ridged, lengthwise with the stem.
They
may have well-marked nodes or joints at four to 20-inch intervals.
When planted for fiber production, the stalks are crowded and are without
foliage, except near the top. By
contrast, the wild growing plant, or an occasional uncrowded one along the edge
of a field, has numerous branches.
The
plant has compound palmate leaves with five to eleven leaflets or lobes, usually
seven, and almost invariably odd in number.
The
leaf is somewhat similar in shape to a hand, with the fingers represented as
leaflets. These leaflets or lobes
are pointed at both ends and vary up to about six inches in length, and to about
one and-a-half inches in width.
Hemp
has two sexes. At maturity its male
and female plants can be distinguished from one another.
The female flowers, being inconspicuous, are found hidden among the small
leaves at the ends of stalk and branches.
The
male flowers are very conspicuous and, when mature, they shed pollen profusely.
The fruit (seeds) is similar in size to a large wheat kernel, but nearly
round; and when mature it may be dark in color or distinctly mottled.
It
must be borne in mind that plants differ considerably in gross appearance.
As stated above, they may, for example, vary from three to sixteen feet
in height at maturity. They may be
quite bushy or almost without branches. The
differences are due to (1) origin of seed, (2) local conditions of soil and
climate, (3) proximity of other plants during growth, etc.
Marijuana
grows in most parts of the world and a number of agronomic varieties are known,
usually designated by the name of the locality where they are principally grown.
Dry
climates, for example, generally produce shorter plants than moist climates.
Range of temperature and length of growing season are major factors.
Variation
in resin content may occur. "Cannabis
indica, Canabis(sic) Americana," and other terms are loosely used to
designate such agronomic variations.
When
seed produced in one place is planted in another where different soil and
climatic conditions prevail, the plants win resemble those from which the seed
was harvested.
If,
however, such plants be cultivated in the new locality for several generations,
the characteristics of the local variety appear and the plants can no longer be
differentiated.
From
this fact, among others, it is definitely established that all are agronomic
modifications of the plant "Cannabis Sativa."
I of which only one true botanical variety is recognized.
The
green plant has a characteristic odor and is somewhat viscid or sticky to the
touch. It is profusely covered with
fine hair, scarcely visible to the naked eye, but readily seen under a
magnification of fifteen diameters, the Government agency reported.
The
narcotic problem created by the smoking of marijuana is not new to India.
It has been a problem there for centuries.
In India they call marijuana by other names, but like a rose, under any
other name it smells the same.
A
commission of doctors made an investigation in India of the subject in regard to
the effects of marijuana on the health of human beings, and its relation to
crime and industry.[1]
The
important findings of the commissions study are reported here.
Since India has been wrestling with the marijuana problem many times as
long as we have in the United States, the information collected by this
commission should be valuable in helping America to understand the marijuana
addiction disease and its deadly ravages.
It
was found that the form of mental disease in India known as "Toxic
Insanity," toxic meaning poisonous, has a direct relation to excessive use
of hemp drugs (marijuana).
Authors
of the study investigated 1,500 cases of mental cases whose insanity was
produced by marijuana. Investigations
were carried out in nearly all the mental hospitals in India.
Inmates suffering from toxic insanity were examined from time to time and
kept under observation for a number of years.
The histories of most of the discharged cases of toxic insanity were also
studied.
[1]
Cannabis Sativa in Relation to Mental Diseases and Crime in India, by Col. Sir.
Rain Nath Chopra, et al., 1942, released for public information by the United
States Government.
The
cases in which marijuana was the apparent cause of insanity were studied
individually and attempts were made to obtain all possible information with a
view to determining how far the facts found were reasonably correct.
All doubtful cases were eliminated. It
was possible, in this way, to collect reliable data on about 600 cases of
insanity caused by the use of marijuana hemp drugs.
Effects
of marijuana on the central nervous system (the brain system) were studied.
Results showed that marijuana, like other intoxicants or nerve poisons,
gives rise to an altered state of mind which in some cases produces insanity.
Marijuana
was found to exercise a marked effect on the intellectual processes which become
irregular, or even partially or totally suspended.
The higher centers of the brain were the most effected by the drug.
The higher centers are where the moral nature of man are located, and
when these centers are dulled or paralyzed, the person so affected loses his
moral conscience and is liable to commit any act no matter how foul.
Insanity
is produced from the excessive use of marijuana, the commission found, by its
action in interfering with the regular activity of the higher centered brain
cells, by shutting off their functions partially or completely.
This
leaves the low-centered brain cells (where man's lower nature is said to be
situated) in control of the individual.
Since
all people possess differences in character, the effects the drug produces on
the user varies in accordance with the personality of the addict.
It
appears, therefore, that a drug when it is absorbed into the system does not add
any new element to the brain, but it does excite or depress what is already in
the mind of the user.
All
types of insanity, therefore, resulting from intoxication through any drug are
characterized by certain general symptoms, such as excitation of the organs of
thought, sense of intoxication and incoherent ideas and actions.
In
the case of a specific drug, symptoms may differ widely in individuals.
Persons with insane, or mildly insane tendencies appear to be more easily
affected than normal healthy persons with a stable mind.
It
is well known that the same dose of a narcotic, for example alcohol, does not
produce similar effects in all persons.
The
personality of the individual determines the kind of specific effects which are
produced by the drug.
For
instance, the investigators learned that the hallucinations, such as seeing,
hearing, and feeling false sensations, are different in Western people than they
are in the people of India. The
Indians it was found are more prone to dreams relating to sex and of a
voluptuous nature.
The
effects, therefore, may be influenced primarily by the selective affinity on the
part of special groups of cells in the brain for a particular drug, and
secondarily by the personality of the individual taking the drug.
In
addition to the two facts above, there are other causes of importance which must
be considered in evaluating the effects of the marijuana hemp drugs on an
individual. They are, the degree of
education, powers of reasoning, judgment, dosage, mode and time of
administration of the drug, etc.
Any
one of these factors may modify the symptoms and the effects of the drug.
The
effects are more intense when larger doses are taken.
And they appear much quicker when the drug is taken on an empty stomach.
Most
of the narcotic poisons, and especially marijuana hemp drugs, produce disorders
of a temporary nature which disappear without leaving any trace.
The effects are excitement or depression of the faculties, or to a period
of intoxication. Sometimes profound
narcosis (sleep) is produced.
Complete
recovery occurs in most of these cases. The
duration and nature of the symptoms may vary according to the disposition of the
individual and the dosage.
Chronic
voluntary intoxication from the use of marijuana may also lead to mental
disorders. The course of the
symptoms may depend on the habits of the individual, on his reactions and the
dosage. The chronic form does not
generally start from the very beginning.
At
first, there are acute phenomena which may reproduce themselves a number of
times without, however, preventing chronicity from establishing itself.
These
acute symptoms are nothing but a recurring picture of the original attack, which
appears again and again in the course of the disease.
There
are two essential kinds of symptoms: (1) the irresistible desire for the poison;
with the periodical recurrence of the acute or sub-acute symptoms, and the
progressive decay of the mental faculties; (2) the acute symptoms correspond to
temporary saturation of the body with the poison, while chronic symptoms are the
expression of definite anatomical injury to the brain, which gradually results
from the effects of the drug.
The
prolonged use of the marijuana poison gives rise to a progressive deterioration
of all the faculties of the brain, eventually leading to insanity.
The
acute stage, if recovery follows, does not last more than a few days or a few
weeks. Acute toxic insanity is a
secondary insanity which may simulate all other forms of insanity.
It may differ, not only in the case of two different drugs, but also with
one and the same drug.
It
is temporary and may be cured with the elimination of the poison from the body.
In
forty per cent of the cases studied, the symptoms disappeared within twenty-four
weeks, and 2.6 per cent within six months.
Acute
confusional insanity was experienced by 37.07 per cent of the cases.
In
7.5 per cent of the cases there were maniacal conditions of expansive form.
These were characterized by erotic ideas of self-gratification and
exaggeration of the personality.
Melancholia
and depressive mania were found in 11.6 per cent of the cases.
Patients in this category suffered from deep gloom and despondency.
Persons who normally have sad and morose dispositions become victims of
this form of insanity.
Delusional
and hallucinatory type of insanity was produced by the drug in 12.5 per cent of
the cases. The delusions were of
self-aggrandisement. The tendency to
suicide was rare, but murderous acts by marijuana maniacs were not uncommon.
Sixty
out of the 600 cases, or ten per cent, had relapses after they were released as
cured. The relapses were more common
between the ages of twenty to thirty, and forty-one to fifty years.
Even
Schizophrenia, one of the most common and serious types of insanity was caused
by drug addiction in thirty cases, which is five per cent of those studied.
The
insanity known as "Chronic Toxic Mania" was present in fifteen per
cent of the cases.
It
was observed that persons who are unstable in character, and those suffering
from mental disorders are more prone than healthy people to acquire drug habits
and carry it to excess.
It
is well known that a narcotic drug which might not cause insanity in a healthy
brain, may upset the mental state in persons born with hereditary
predisposition. This hereditary
inclination was present in 7.5 per cent of the cases.
Using
other drugs along with marijuana was found to increase the frequency of
insanity. Indulgence in alcohol,
marijuana and the opium derivatives evidently form a combination which quicken
the steps leading to insanity.
The
relationship between occupation and marijuana insanity is important.
Investigation showed that the groups who have the greatest strain and
stress of life are the ones who are the most tempted to resort to the use of
narcotics. They use the drugs to
temporarily tide them over the period of stress.
This may lead to mental derangement in predisposed individuals.
Physical
effects brought about by marijuana insanity were numerous.
Signs of anemia were present in cases where the disease was of long
standing. The digestive system had
been damaged to the extent that sixty of the cases had to be forcibly fed.
Some of the patients suffered from attacks of diarrhea and dysentery.
A
large number of the patients suffered from the shakes and twitchings. (sic) The
strength of the hand grip was weakened in nearly all the cases.
Redness
of the whites of the eyes was a very common symptom, and has been declared a
typical symptom of marijuana insanity.
The
chief mental symptoms of the cases were incoherence of language;
uncommunicativeness; abusive and obscene language; sleeplessness; restlessness;
destructiveness; dirty filthy habits; indecent behavior; noisy; muttering
delirium; excited; talkative; complete silence; quarrelsome; loud laughter;
dancing; obscene postures; sad, crying or mourning; delusions; childish
behavior; suicidal and murderous,
These
symptoms changed very rapidly on admission to the hospital.
In a number of cases they disappeared within a few weeks of admission.
Twenty-five
per cent of the cases, however, showed little or no change in the beginning.
In
fifteen per cent of the cases there were relapses, with occasional outbursts of
violence.
On
the other hand, quite a few of them who were violent and abusive at first,
became melancholic or quiet. Some of
these cases drifted to a state of dementia.
The
best information obtainable showed that twenty per cent of the 600 cases were
picked up by the police and medical authorities, within the first month after
the beginning of the disease; another twenty-five per cent before the third
month. And there were seven
individuals who remained at large for periods of more than one year before they
were caught.
Sixty
of these cases did not show any signs of active disease on admission, although
they were admitted to the hospital after an attack of active marijuana insanity.
Of
the remaining 540 cases, 115 were cured within the first month of admission.
Two hundred and seventy were cured within the six months.
Three hundred and thirty-five were pronounced cured within eighteen
months. Out of the remaining 190,
thirty-five died. The 155 not cured
remained as wards of mental hospitals.
When
they took their first marijuana it is probable that these miserable victims had
no idea their action would lead them into an insane asylum.
The
average treatment period in various Indian hospitals varied from three to eight
months. Most of the patients were
kept under observation before being declared cured.
In
the diagnosis of marijuana insanity it is found that this form of mental
derangement has its special symptoms.
Withdrawal
of the drug and general care of the patient usually leads to recovery.
The
symptoms of marijuana insanity differs from those seen in cases of alcohol and
other drugs. Delirium usually
occurs. The patient gets extremely
wild. He appears confused and
excited. He has bright shining eyes,
which are almost always heavily congested.
He
shouts, talks loudly, sighs, walks quickly up and down or around his cell, and
shakes the door out of its fastenings. If
at liberty, he is violent and aggressive and may run amuck, endangering the
lives of anyone around him.
These
symptoms are not so pronounced in other forms of insanity. Instances
are on record where the patient under excitement got hold of a weapon and
coldbloodedly committed murder without any reason or provocation.
In
summing up its findings, the learned doctors found:
"Excessive
indulgence in narcotics, such as marijuana, is apt to produce in healthy
individuals, and in susceptible individuals, mental confusion which may lead to
delusions with disorientation and disordered movements."
The
use of marijuana, if pushed further than the stage of light depression of the
higher centers, may produce confusion of mind and restlessness.
The
harm to the mind may show itself in various ways, such as weakening of the moral
sense, habit of telling lies, prostitution, theft, etc.
The addict may become egotistic and unreliable, and may under the drug's
influence become a sex degenerate.
The
foregoing authoritative information on the devastating effects of marijuana on
the mental and physical health of the user provides data which can be used by
parents and teachers to instruct and illustrate what happens when teenagers, and
others, yield to the temptation to try a puff from a 'reefer.'
Every
parent, every teacher, every school in America could employ this scientific
information to advantage in protecting their charges against the pitfalls of the
"Killer drug," which many ignorantly believe is harmless.
Marijuana
and Crime
Cocaine
is the drug most criminals like to use to give them the courage to commit crime.
But cocaine is hard to get. And
it is very expensive. Peddlers as a
rule do not want to bother with cocaine because of the difficulty in maintaining
a dependable supply. They would
rather push drugs which are in good supply, such as marijuana, heroin and
morphine. Consequently, the ordinary
criminal- has to be satisfied with marijuana to enbolden(sic) them for a
dangerous criminal venture.
Countless
instances have been recorded where marijuana reefers have been instrumental in
building up the recklessness and courage needed by a criminal to commit violent
crime. It has even been responsible
for coldblooded murder without provocation.
It
does not require many puffs on a marijuana reefer to give the user a pleasurable
feeling. But if he wants that -extra
courage needed to commit crime, he smokes enough to get him 'high' and waits
awhile, smokes another, waits awhile and smokes another.
The cumulative effects of these smoking periods acts to build him up into
a state of frenzy.
When
he is in the "frenzy" state, he is capable of any misdeed.
No crime is too big, nor too small. No
deed is too heinous for him. And
he is able to endure unusual fatigue, exposure, or exertion while he is in this
state. It hops him up to a point
where he feels he's sort of a "superman," for the moment.
If
he is religious minded, he is the new Messiah.
If he is business-minded, he is another John D. Rockefeller.
If he is medically-minded he is another Dr. Christian.
If he is socially-minded, hie is another Atwater Kent.
If he is criminally-minded he is another Dillinger.
And there is nothing he won't do to prove it.
MARIJUANA
AND SEX
It
has been found that marijuana is not an aphrodisiac, that is, it does not
stimulate the sexual organs physically into extra excitement.
It
does, however, release the bizarre sexual desires which lie idle in the back of
the mind, and allows them to come into the conscious part of the mind to prod
the marijuana user into unusual sexual behavior.
The
effect of the reefer on the sex life of the user probably is similar to alcohol.
Shakespeare summed it up succinctly when he said, "Alcohol
increaseth desire, but decreaseth performance."
Under
the influence of marijuana, therefore, the potentially dangerous sex maniac,
with his moral scruples and fear weakened by reefers, will go out and commit
violent sex crimes. Not that
the reefer itself will induce him to do it, but because the drug paralyzes the
conscience and there is no longer anything to stop him from committing acts
which he has before wanted to do, but which was prevented from so doing by want
of courage, or by moral scruples.
Inquiries
in various jails and mental hospitals reveal that in many cases even a simple
indulgence in a single marijuana cigarette is responsible for a heinous crime.
As
in the case of other drugs, the dosage required to obtain the desired effects is
dependent upon the character of the individual taking them.
Like in the use of alcoholic drinks, one person may be able to get drunk
on a couple of drinks, and another person cannot get drunk on a dozen.
Generally
speaking, however, a single reefer is sufficient to produce the "high"
effect in most persons. Such a small
dose will not create a long effect, of course, so it is usually followed up by
additional smokes.
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