1887.] P. Briihl— On the Resin of Cannabis indica. 227 



of Hashish are due to hemp-resin ' ; whilst Personne ascribes them to 



Cannabene. 



Physiological Action. — This leads us to the physiological action of 

 the resin. In the ' Chemisches Centralblatt ' of 1886 occurs a short 

 note on ' Cannabinon ', which is described as a balsamo-resinous sub- 

 stance prepared in a state of purity by E. Merk in Darmstadt. This 

 ' Cannabinon ', evidently identical with the resin which forms the 

 subject of this paper, is there said to be soluble in alcohol, ether, 

 chloroform, carbon disulphide, amy lie alcohol, benzol, volatile and 

 fixed oils. O'l gram is dispensed with one gram of ground roasted 

 coffee. It is said to be an hypnotic, inducing a quiet sleep. According 

 to some observers no evil after-effects have been observed, whilst 

 according to others the administration of the drug causes vomiting, 

 giddiness, trembling, etc. It is stated in the note that ' Cannabinon ' 

 mast not be confounded with ' Tetanin ', which produces the hemp- 

 intoxication. The tetanin here mentioned is probably identical with 

 one of the constituents of the essential oil of Cannabis indica ; but as 

 the term tetanin has been applied to one of the Ptomaines, it will be 

 preferable to use the terms introduced by Personne. I have tried an 

 experiment on myself with the following results : 



At 8-30 A. m. swallowed a dose of 0*12 grams of the freshly pre- 

 pared resin mixed with milk-sugar ; at 10 A. m. drowsiness came on ; 

 slight nausea and headache ; at 10-30 A. M. gone to bed ; lying for 

 some time in a half- waking state ; a certain amount of nervousness 

 and great tendency to magnify sounds ; (the calling-out of a little 

 girl developed into a fearful, sustained wail, which caused me to jump 

 out of bed in great alarm ; the crackling of the straw in the mattrass 

 was magnified into the patter of hail) ; sleep rather disturbed ; fully 

 awake again at 4 p. m. ; giddiness, nausea, slight headache, dulness 

 and disinclination to think, on the whole a feeling very much like 

 sea- sickness, alleviated by a walk in the fresh air and by taking a 

 cup of tea. It remains to be seen whether these evil after-effects can 

 be avoided by continued treatment of the resin with boiling water. 

 On the whole the effects of the drug on different persons appear to 

 differ considerably.* It does not appear to be perfectly settled whether 

 this difference solely is due to differences in race, climate, etc., or to 

 slight differences in the composition of the drug. The question can 

 be definitely settled only by carefully isolating the constituents of 

 ganja and testing the physiological effects of each by a series of 

 experiments. At one time it was thought possible that some of the 



* See Lauder Brunton, Pharmacology, page 1027 ; Ringer's Therapeutics, page 

 561 and ff. 



