44 
INDIAN HEMP. 
couraging. Rigler, for instance, observed an accelerated 
circulation after the use of haschisch; Sigismund, a diminished 
frequency of the pulse; Ley found an exciting effect on the 
sexual organs ; Scanzoni denies it; some saw contraction of 
the pupil, others not, &c. 
It is further a fact, that the effect of hemp in the East is 
quite different from the effect it produces in Europe; what 
can be effected in Calcutta or Algeria with one or two grains, 
requires in Europe thirty or forty times as much. Two 
grains are considered at Cairo a large dose; with us, eight 
grains are the smallest dose. There is probably some ethereal 
ingredient in the Oriental hemp which is destroyed by 
transport. Many practitioners hesitated to increase the 
doses sufficiently for the desired operation. Having once 
employed the remedy, I made up my mind to ascertain the 
truth, and continued my experiments until they embraced 
one thousand cases. But before giving the result, I will 
shortly refer to the plant and its therapeutical exhibition. 
The external appearance of Indian and European hemp is 
the same, as are their botanical characters. The differences 
described by many authors are probably due to local causes 
only; the only real difference is the quantity of narcotic 
resin which is secreted by particular glands—like the lupulin, 
in the hop plant. This resin exudes, in India, from the 
flowers, leaves, and stalks, and is known there by the name 
of churrus. Its quantity increases with the southern direction. 
The hemp cultivated in Edinburgh by A. Christison 
exhibited no churrus; plants collected in Regent’s Park, by 
Ley, contained about one tenth as much resin as their 
Oriental sisters. French and German hemp appears to be 
richer in resin; the hemp growing in Italy still more so. 
Greece and Asia Minor furnish quite a powerful product; 
but by far the strongest is from Persia and India, although 
even there variations are found according to the soil. The 
quality of the resin seems to be subject to a similar variation, 
showing the same difference as rhubarb, roses, and poppies 
do in different climates. All of them require the rays of an 
Asiatic sun for the full development of their powers. 
Asia is evidently the native country of hemp. This is 
proven by direct statements, by its being frequently mentioned 
in the history of Oriental nations, and by the very derivation 
of the name: Cannabis, Kannabis, from the Kanub—Ganja 
of the Arabs. (Ainslie, Mat. Ind ., vol. ii, p. 190). From 
China, India, and Persia, the cultivation of hemp spread to 
Egypt, over Africa to Europe and America, the fibres and 
the oil recommending the plant. 
