CANNABIS 149 



is a brown, earthy-looking resin, brushed off from the plants by 

 leather-clad men running through the field. 



Cannabis americana, the plant grown in various parts of the United 

 States, acts similarly to the official plant. See article by author, 

 "Cultivation of Medicinal Plants in U. S." Jour. Amer. Phar. 

 Assoc., 1915. 

 Powder. Characteristic elements: See Part iv, Chap. I, B. 



CONSTITUENTS. The resin and a yellow, aromatic volatile oil, CioHie, 

 are its most important constituents. The former, cannabin (15 to 

 20 per cent.), is a brown, amorphous powder, soluble in absolute 

 alcohol (but not in cold alcohol of 89 to 90 per cent.), from which 

 solution it is thrown down as a white precipitate by water; it is very 

 potent, 3 of a grain acting as a powerful narcotic; it comes into the 

 market as cannabin tannate; choline, C5Hi 5 NO 2 , syrupy, soluble in 

 alcohol and water, very sensitive to Mayer's reagent, yielding a 

 yellow, crystalline precipitate, is probably the same as the so-called 

 alkaloid, "tetano-cannabinine." Ash, not exceeding 15 per cent. 



Cannabinol. This principle has been obtained by Wood, Spivey, and Ester- 

 field from the exudate of cannabis indica (char as). Several different fractional 

 distillates from the ethereal extract of this exudate were obtained. Among these 

 distillates is cannabinol, CisH^C^, boiling at 265C. It is oleaginous and has 

 a red color. This they have found to largely represent the active principle. A 

 condensed account of the pharmacology of cannabis indica, as contributed by 

 Dr. C. R. Marshall, may be found in "Western Druggist," 1889, pp. 163-166. 



Preparation of Cannabin. Treat drug with water made alkaline with - Naj- 

 CO 3 ; exhaust dry residue with alcohol; add milk of lime; precipitate with H^SCU; 

 treat nitrate with animal charcoal. From the resulting liquid, concentrated, 

 cannabin is precipitated by water. 



ACTION AND USES. Powerful narcotic. The primary effect of the drug 

 is that of exhilaration, intoxication, stimulating the imagination, 

 etc. This is followed by depression, drowsiness, and stupor, the heart 

 becomes weak and slow and the pupil dilated. It has some advantages 

 over opium, it is claimed, in that it is not constipating, and interferes 

 less with digestion; it is more acceptable in certain morbid states of 

 the system and nervous disquietude. Dose: 3 to 5 gr. (0.2 to 0.3 

 Gm.). 



OFFICIAL PREPARATIONS. 



1 12 a. CANNABIS SEMEN. HEMP SEED. These have been used in the form 

 of emulsion as demulcent and anodyne, depending upon the fixed oil which 

 they contain. They are mostly used as a bird-seed, however, and for the 

 extraction of the fixed oil. 



Ii2b. OLEUM CANNABIS. OIL OF HEMP. A greenish fixed oil, becoming 

 lighter and brownish on exposure; odor hemp like; taste mild. Used as 

 a demulcent and protective. Neither it nor the seed are thought to have 

 any narcotic action. 



113. URTICA. NETTLE. STINGING NETTLE. The herb of Urti'ca dio'ica 



Linne\ Habitat: United States and Europe. Tonic, astringent, and a 



valuable diuretic. As an astringent it is chiefly used in uterine hemor- 

 rhages. Dose: 20 to 40 gr. (1.3 to 2.6 Gm.). 



