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The Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
American Journal of Nursing:
2 separate
articles from the Nursing Journal on 1 page
1st
(July 1936)
2nd (Aug 1938)
5 Stars Classic
"Reefer Madness Propaganda"
Mariahuana -
By Victor Lewitus
There is a plant which at present offers promise of adding
its weight to our already overburdened narcotic problem.
It is technically known as Cannabis indica, but is more commonly
recognized as Indian hemp, hashish or mariahuana.
It is also variously known, according to its manner of preparation, as
bhang (the infusion), charas (the extracted resin), ganjah (as a tobacco), and
majum (as a confection). The term mariahuana originates from the Mexican or South
American Language in which the term connotes any substance which produces an
intoxication, and the term hashish
or hasheesh is partly represented in our own word “assassin.”
The terms thus point to some of its deleterious properties.
Although originally indigenous to India, Asia Minor, and
Northern Africa, the drug has reached our shores where it grows in the wild
state as Cannabis sativa. Recently
it gained a place for itself in the newspaper columns because the New York
police department discovered a lot in Brooklyn covered with the stuff.
It was found on investigation that this “crop” was supplying the
“needs” of a large number of soldiers on Governor’s Island who came easily
into the habit of purchasing the stuff in order that they might make
“reefers” for themselves. The
officers noticed that their troops went “loco” and could not report for
duty, and this lead the police to investigate, with the results referred to.
The plant consists of an herb which reaches several feet
above a man’s shoulders, bearing compound finger-like leaves which are
conspicuously toothed, and flowers at the upper terminal ends in clusters.
It contains an active resin which is optimum during the flowering
stage--abundant in the female plant.
At one time it was cultivated in many parts of the world
and in our own country for its fiber from which rope, twine, and cloth was made
and for this purpose it is still utilized in some localities.
It has also been employed for its oil (from the seeds) which is quick
drying as in linseed oil. The seeds themselves are widely used in bird foods of various
types. Furthermore, the resinous
principle has marked analgesic properties and for this reason it is used as a
part of the formula of corn collodions since it readily allays pain.
In the narcotic world, however, it is known as the
“murderous” narcotic--a well-deserved caption for it is known that in the
Orient bands of men under its influence have run amuck and perpetrated the most
heinous crimes. The drug is used
similarly to opium--often smoked, or chewed in the form of a sweetmeat.
It produces hallucinations in which the mind is freed from all restraint.
The imaginary experiences and sensations are intensely realistic and the
victim of this narcosis finds delight in this, as if they were actual
experiences. The reaction later
reverses itself, and there is an imaginary suffering which finds expression in
violent acts which often lead to a strong impulse to do great harm. It is during this stage that the desire to kill is greatest,
and large groups of men have been known to engage in mortal combat under its
influence. In large dosage,
Cannabis may cause paralysis of the extremities, difficult breathing, and a
feeling of impending death accompanied by that of uncontrollable terror.
Fortunately, unlike most other narcotics, the drug is not
known to cause a permanent addiction, for by abstinence the victim can be cured.
Continual use, however, is known to produce a violent type of insanity
which has brought to it the name “loco weed.”
The subject will suddenly turn with murderous violence upon whomever is
nearest to him. He will run amuck
with knife, axe, gun, or anything else that is close at hand, and will kill or
maim without any reason. After the
sudden outburst wears away, the memory is left blank and the victims of these
narcotic effects returns to normal.
The federal laws do not include hashish in their
regulations but many of the progressive states have embodied in their statutes,
measures to prevent its cultivation, sales, and distribution promiscuously.
Even thought it is not truly a “habit former” the danger of its
widespread use, because of ease of cultivation, must not be overlooked.
There have been some rumors as to its use by school children, which
cannot be denied since it is easy to believe that these adolescents will “try
anything once.” Strict control
such as that provided in the Harrison Narcotic Act is the remedy in this
instance.
American Journal of Nursing
(Aug 1938)
Dangerous Marihuana by Frederick T.
Merrill
Only about ten years ago the use of marihuana for narcotic
purposes was virtually unknown in this country except to the itinerant Mexican
laborers of the Southwest. In the
last six months a flood of publicity in the newspapers, magazines, and even
movies has awaked the public to the fact that a dangerous narcotic is being
used--and has been for several years--not only in certain circles of the
underworld, but also in the high schools and colleges.
The smoking of marihuana by adolescents is more widespread
than most people realize. It has
become a new fad, appealing to the curiosity and recklessness of youth.
The greed of unscrupulous peddlers, the immense profits, the cheap price
for which a marihuana cigarette retails, and the availability of supply from a
plant that grows wild almost everywhere are all contributory reasons for its
prevalent use. If the abuse of this narcotic drug is not stamped out at
once, the cost in crime waves, wasted human lives, and insanity will be
enormous.
The word, “marihuana,” is both the Mexican-Indian slang
word and the legal term for the portions of the plant Cannabis sativa L. which
are thought to contain the narcotic element.
In general, this applies to very nearly the entire male and female plant,
although it is usually the flowering tops and leaves of the latter that contain
the richest amounts of the narcotic principle.
Because the plant is often known as Indian hemp and its stalk produces a
fiber useful in making twines, ropes, and certain grades of paper, it is
sometimes confused with other species of hemp.
It has also been mistakenly identified with “loco weed.”
The cannabis plant grows to a height of over twelve feet,
but five to eight feet is more common. The
stalk varies from one-half to two inches in thickness.
The configuration of each leaf with its five or six leaflets resembles
the human hand. Each leaflet,
pointed at both ends, is from two to six inches in length and one inch in width.
The male and female plants can be distinguished only when mature, the
inconspicuous female flowers being found among the small leaves at the end of
the branches. The male plant at
maturity has very visible flowers which shed pollen profusely.
The seeds may be dark in color or distinctly mottled; they are the size
of a wheat kernel but nearly round. Under
a microscope these seeds are particularly characteristic.
To prepare marihuana for smoking, it is merely necessary to
dry the flowering tops and leaves, crush into a coarse powder, and roll it into
cigarettes. Under such names as
“reefers,” “muggles,” “Indian hay,” “tea,” and “goof butts,”
they are sold in poolrooms, dance halls, and other places where young people
congregate, for prices ranging from ten to fifty cents.
Some cigarettes are strong in narcotic content; others mild.
The strongest sometimes contain enough narcotic poison to deal a knockout
blow to the smoker, inducing a condition which may lead to all types of violent
crimes and debauchery, about which the smoker probably will have no recollection
later. Although it produces none of the addiction symptoms (the
withdrawal phenomenon) which occur in morphine or heroin users, it does give
rise to a craving and may very easily lead to morphine or heroin addiction.
Individuals react differently toward equal doses of this
narcotic, depending on their racial, physiological, and emotional constitution.
The complete unpredictability of the effect of marihuana on any given
individual makes its use in medicine worthless.
It is this uncertain effect that makes it one of the most dangerous drugs
known, for one dose may bring about acute intoxication, raving fits, and
criminal assaults.
The physical effects of smoking marihuana appear about an
hour after consumption in the form of muscular trembling, acceleration of the
pulse, dizziness, and sensation of cold in the hands and feet.
Constrictions in the chest, dilation of the pupil of the eye, and
muscular contraction follows. These physical reactions increase in intensity until either
vomiting or complete stupefaction occurs. Restless
sleep, accompanied by bizarre phantasmagoria, then overcomes the victim.
The mental effects are more variable since the emotional
and imaginative attitudes of the smoker are the major determining factors.
The drug affects the entire nervous system, especially the higher nerve
centers. Illusions, inordinate and
senseless laughter, and a loss of spatial and temporal relations are the first
effects observable. The auditory sense is particularly distorted, which accounts
for the not infrequent use of marihuana by members of “hot” orchestras.
Even in the earliest states of intoxication the will power is destroyed
and inhibitions and restraints are released.
The most harmful anti-social effects of the drug occur during the later
stages. The intense over-excitement
of the nerves and emotions leads to uncontrollable irritability and violent
rages, which in most advance forms cause assault and murder.
Amnesia often occurs, and the mania is frequently so acute that the heavy
smoker becomes temporarily insane. Most
authorities agree that permanent insanity can result from continued
over-indulgence.
The files of the United States Bureau of Narcotics contain
many records of crimes committed by persons under the influence of marihuana.
The drug is often used by petty criminals to bolster up their courage for
contemplated crimes, for it gives the illusion of increased physical strength. As a result, these crimes are often violent ones.
In other cases, an overdose of marihuana may be either the direct cause
of a fatal automobile accident or a meaningless murder.
It is important to note that juries and judges are not allowing pleas of
marihuana intoxication as an extenuating circumstance for criminal acts
committed under its influence. Both
the peddler of the drug and the individual who commits a crime after smoking
marihuana should receive maximum penalties if society is to be protected from
crimes of this nature.
Marihuana has been known for many centuries by the peoples
of India and the Mediterranean littoral, mostly by such names as hashish, charas,
bhang, or kif. It is at present
subject to international restrictions in respect to its trade, while certain
governments have legislated against its abuse.
The United States congress passed a Marihuana Tax Act last summer, as the
various state laws lacked uniformity and were providing loopholes for
traffickers. The Act is an internal
revenue measure, but indirectly it limits the use of the drug to proper medical
channels. The taxation and
registration provisions of the law publicizes the cultivation of the plant and
makes its transfer extremely difficult. Illegal
transfers are subject to heavy penalties, up to two years in jail.
A new crop of marihuana will be harvested illicitly this
fall in spite of the successful efforts state and federal authorities have been
making in uprooting and destroying tons of the wild plant in all sections of the
country. Those interested in the
welfare of young people should be on their guard against its appearance in the
form cigarettes in their neighborhood. Boys
and girls of high school age and older should be told just how dangerous it is
to try even one cigarette. Marihuana
dives must be discovered and peddlers apprehended.
An aroused public can do much to eradicate this evil.
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