A  January Pi908m' I      A  Study  of  Cannabis  Americana.  19 
the  unknown  selected  as  producing  the  same  action  as  the  test  dose 
of  the  standard,  the  amount  of  dilution  or  concentration  necessary  is 
determined.  The  degree  of  accuracy  with  which  the  test  is  carried 
out  will  depend  largely  upon  the  experience  and  care  exercised  by 
the  observer. 
It  is  best  to  use  the  dogs  on  alternate  days,  in  order  that  they 
may  completely  recover  from  the  influence  of  the  drug.  Another 
point  to  be  noted  in  the  use  of  dogs  for  standardizing  cannabis  is 
that,  although  they  never  appear  to  lose  their  susceptibility  to  the 
drug,  the  same  dogs  cannot  be  used  indefinitely  for  accurate  testing. 
After  a  time  they  become  so  accustomed  to  the  effects  of  the  drug 
that  they  refuse  to  stand  on  their  feet,  and  so  do  not  show  the  typical 
incoordination  which  is  the  most  characteristic  and  constant  action. 
We  have  never  been  able  to  give  an  animal  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  a  U.S.P.  or  other  preparation  of  the  drug  to  produce  death. 
When  study  of  the  drug  was  first  commenced,  careful  search  of  the 
literature  on  the  subject  was  made  to  determine  its  toxicity.  Not 
a  single  case  of  fatal  poisoning  have  we  been  able  to  find  reported 
although  often  alarming  symptoms  may  occur.  A  dog  weighing 
about  25  pounds  received  an  injection  of  2  ounces  of  an  active 
U.S.P.  fluid  extract  in  the  jugular  vein  with  the  expectation 
that  it  would  certainly  be  sufficient  to  kill  the  animal.  To  our  sur- 
prise the  animal,  after  being  unconscious  for  about  a  day  and  a  half, 
recovered  completely.  This  dog  received  not  alone  the  active  con- 
stituents of  the  drug  but  also  the  amount  of  alcohol  contained  in 
the  fluid  extract.  Another  dog  received  about  7  grammes  of  S.  E. 
Cannabis  with  the  same  result. 
There  is  some  variation  in  the  amount  of  extractive  obtained,  as 
would  be  expected  from  the  varying  amount  of  stems,  seeds,  etc., 
in  the  different  samples.  Likewise  there  has  been  a  certain  amount 
of  variation  in  the  physiological  action,  but  in  every  case  there  has 
been  elicited  the  characteristic  symptoms  from  the  administration 
of  -010  grammes,  per  kilo  body  weight,  of  the  extract. 
The  repeated  tests  that  we  have  made  have  convinced  us  that  the 
drug,  properly  grown  and  cured,  is  fully  as  active  as  the  best  Indian 
Cannabis,  which  we  have  sometimes  found  to  be  practically  inert. 
Previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  physiological  test,  over  twelve  years 
ago,  we  were  often  annoyed  by  complaints  of  physicians  that  cer- 
tain lots  of  drugs  were  inert,  in  fact  some  hospitals,  before  accepting 
