46 PHARMACOPEIAL DRUGS 



O'Shaughnessy (Bengal Dispensatory), in the following 

 terms: 'Haidar lived in rigid privation on a mountain 

 between Nishapur and Rama, where he established a 

 monastery; after having lived ten years in this retreat, 

 he one day returned from a stroll in the neighborhood 

 with an air of joy and gaiety; on being questioned, he 

 stated that, struck by the appearance of a plant, he had 

 gathered and eaten its leaves. He then led his compan- 

 ions to the spot, and all ate and were similarly excited. 

 A tincture of the hemp leaf in wine or spirit seems to 

 have been the favorite formula in which Sheikh Haidar 

 indulged himself. An Arab poet sings of Haidar's 

 emerald cup, an evident allusion to the rich green color 

 of the tincture. The Sheik survived the discovery ten 

 years, and subsisted chiefly on this herb, and on his 

 death his disciples at his desire planted it in an arbor 

 round his tomb. From this saintly sepulchre the knowl- 

 edge of the effects of hemp is stated to have spread into 

 Khorasan. In Chaldea it was unknown until 728 A. D., 

 the kings of Ormus and Bahrein then introduced it into 

 Chaldea, Syria, Egypt and Turkey. 



" 'The Greeks were acquainted with hemp more than 

 2000 years ago; Herodotus mentions it as being culti- 

 vated by the Scythians, who used its fibre for making 

 their garments, and the seeds to medicate vapour 

 baths.' " 



Imported into Europe preceding 1690, cannabis 

 passed into disuse until Napoleon's expedition to Egypt 

 (1809-10), when it was again revived by De Sacy 

 and Bouger. Waring's Pharmacopeia of India states 

 that the "fullest account of the history and physio- 

 logical effects of Indian Hemp is furnished by Sir W. 

 O'Shaughnessy's Bengal Dispensatory, pp. 579-604. 



