l8o PLANT WORLD. 



THE HASHISH PLANT IN ARIZONA 

 AND MEXICO. 

 By Herbert Brown. 

 While in charge of the Territorial prison at Yuma, the 

 writer had cause to become familiar with a plant known as 

 "marijuana. ' It was said to be an exceedingly dangerous 

 customer when turned loose among men confined in penal 

 institutions, more especially so among those of the lower 

 class, by whom it is used a? a substitute for morphia and 

 opium, or rather it should be said they are substitutes when 

 marijuana is not obtainable. When dried and crushed to the 

 size of ordinary Mexican smoking tobacco, which it much 

 resembles, it is ready for use. Commonly it is mixed with 

 an equal portion of tobacco and when made into cigarettes 

 has a market value of 2^(, ^of and $i.oo each, not accord- 

 ing to demand but to supply. Its presence in penal institu- 

 tions is as much to be dreaded as the plague, and every effort 

 possible is made by the authorities to keep it out. Under 

 its baneful influence reckless men become bloodthirsty, trebly 

 daring, and dangerous to an uncontrollable degree, and at 

 least one lamentable tragedy in the territorial penitentiary 

 is directly chargable to it. 



Having seen this plant in its dried form and heard so 

 much of its hypnotic power for evil I was quite anxious to 

 meet with it under its natural conditions, and having ascer- 

 tained that it was cultivated to a limited extent in the 

 vicinity of Tucson I sought the advice and assistance of an 

 ex-convict whom I knew to be living here, and whom I 

 further knew would be informed if such were the case. At 

 first he was inclined to be non-communicative, but in due time 

 he "loosened up," and took me to where it was growing. 

 In all there were probably two dozen plants of various sizes. 

 Dr. D. T. MacDougal, director of the Carnegie Botanical 

 Laboratory, was next called into the case and he at once 

 identified the plant as a species of hemp, Cannabis indica. 



