Hemp, Indian

Syn. Hashish , Cannabis Indica . This plant, now so largely used in medicine, is a variety of Cannabis sativa , or, perhaps, the same simply rendered more active by climate. The parts employed in Asia for the purposes of intoxication, and in Europe as medicine, are the herb or leaves and the resin. The ‘gunjah’ sold in the bazaars in the East Indies is the plant, just after flowering, dried, and pre ed together. ‘Bang,’ ‘bhang,’ ‘subjee,’ or ‘sidhee,’ consists of the larger leaves and capsules without the stalk. The concrete resinous exudation from the leaves, stems, and flowers, is called ‘churrus,’ and in this country ‘resin of Indian hemp.’ ‘Hashish’ seems to be a general term for the preparation of hemp. Dr Preobraschensky, has lately subjected hashish to a chemical analysis, and states that he has found an alkaloidal body, not only in the commercial substance, but also in the flower-tops of the hemp itself, and the pure extract prepared from it, which was recognised as nicotine . Indian hemp is anæsthetic, anodyne, exhilarant, antispasmodic, hypnotic, and narcotic. In the East it is commonly used as an intoxicant, either by is of an agreeable or cheerful character exciting the party under its influence to laugh, dance, sing, and to commit various extravagancies. It also acts as an aphrodisiac, augments the appetite for food, and, in some cases, occasions a kind of reverie and catalepsy. In this country its action is le marked. It has here been chiefly administered under the form of alcoholic or resinous extract. See Extract of Indian Hemp .