CHEMISTRY OF COMMON LIFE.

Our common European hemp (Cannabis sativa), fig. 68, so extensively cultivated for its fibre, is the same plant with the Indian hemp (Cannabis Indica), which from the remotest times has been celebrated among Eastern nations for its narcotic virtues. The plant came to Europe from Persia, and is supposed by many to be a native of India; but, like tobacco and the potato, it has a wonderful power of adapting itself to differences in soil and climate. Hence it is now cultivated, not merely on the plains of Persia, India, and Arabia, but in Africa, from its northern to its southern extremities; in America, all over its north-eastern states and provinces, and on the flats of Brazil; and in Europe, in almost every kingdom and country. In northern Russia it is an important article of culture, even as far north as Archangel, and from that region our manufacturers have been accustomed to receive large supplies of its valuable fibre.

In the sap of this plant — probably in all countries — there exists a peculiar resinous substance, in which the esteemed narcotic virtue resides. In northern climates, the proportion of this resin in the several parts of the plant is so small as to have escaped general observation. The whole plant, indeed, has a peculiar smell, even when grown in Europe, which, though not unpleasant to every one, often gives headache and giddiness to persons who remain long in a hemp field. This probably arises from an escape into the air of a small quantity of a volatile narcotic principle.

But in the warmer regions of the East, the resinous substance is so abundant as to exude naturally, and in sensible quantity, from the flowers, from the leaves, and from the young twigs of the hemp-plant. We have already seen that climate modifies considerably the proportions of the active ingredients contained in the dried leaf of tobacco, and in the dried juice of the poppy. The hemp-plant exhibits a still more striking illustration of the influence of climate upon the chemical changes which take place in the interior of living vegetables. It grows well, and produces abundance of excellent fibre in the north, but no sensible proportion of narcotic resin. It grows still better, and more magnificently, in tropical regions; but there its fibre is worthless and unheeded, while for the resin it spontaneously yields it is prized and cultivated.

2°. FORMS IN WHICH HEMP IS UESD. — Among the ancient Saracens and the modern Arabs, in some parts of Turkey, and generally throughout Syria, the preparations of hemp in common use were, and are still, known by the names of haschisch, hashash, or husheesh. The most common form of haschisch, and that which is the basis of all others, is prepared by boiling the leaves and flowers of the hemp with water, to which a certain quantity of fresh butter has been added, evaporating the decoction to the thickness of a syrup, and then straining it through cloth. The butter thus becomes charged with the active resinous principle of the plant, and acquires a greenish colour. This preparation retains its properties for many years, only becoming a little rancid. Its taste, however, is very disagreeable, and hence it is seldom taken alone, but is mixed with confections and aromatics — camphor, cloves, nutmegs, mace, and not unfrequently ambergris and musk — so as to form a sort of electuary. The confection used among the Moors is called el mogen, and is sold at an enormous price. Dawamesc is the name given by the Arabs to that which they most commonly use. This is frequently mingled, however, with other substances of reputed aphrodisiac virtues, to enable it to administer more effectually to the sensual gratifications, which are the grand object of life among many of the orientals.

The Turks give the names of hadschy malach and madjoun to the compositions they use for purposes of excitement. According to Dr. Madden, the madjoun of Constantinople is composed of the pistils of the flowers of the hemp-plant ground to powder, and mixed in honey with powdered cloves, nutmegs, and saffron.

Thus the Indian hemp and its products are used in one or other of four different forms: —

First, The whole plant dried and known by the name of gunjah; or the larger leaves and capsules dried and known as bang, subjee, or sidhee; or the tops and tender parts of the plants collected after they have been in flower, and which in some places are called haschisch; or the dried flowers, called in Morocco kief, a pipe of which, scarcely the size of an English pipe, is sufficient to intoxicate; or the dried pistils of the flower as they enter into the composition of the madjoun of the Turks. These several parts of the dried plant, when newly gathered, have a rapid and energetic action. Their efficicy diminishes, however, by keeping.

Second, The resin which naturally exudes from the leaves and flowers, and is, when collected by the hand, called momeea; or the same beaten off with sticks, and sold by the name of churrus.

Third, The extract obtained by the use of butter, which, when mixed with spices, forms the dawamesc of the Arabs, and is the foundation of the haschisch of many Eastern countries and districts.

Fourth, The extract obtained by means of alcohol from the gunjah. This is said to be very active, but I am not aware of its being in use in the East.

It is curious how common and familiar words sometimes connect themselves with things and customs of which we know absolutely nothing. The word assassin — a foreign importation now long naturalized among us — is of this kind. M. Sylvester de Sacy, the well-known orientalist, says that this word was derived from the Arabic name of hemp. It was originally used in Syria to designate the followers of “the old man of the mountain,” who were called Haschischins, because among them the haschisch was in frequent use, especially during the performance of certain of their mysterious rites. Others say that, during the wars of the Crusaders, certain of the Saracen army, intoxicated with the drug, were in the habit of rushing into the camps of the Christians and committing great havoc, being themselves totally regardless of death; that these men were known by the name of hashasheens, and that thence came our word “assassin.” The oriental term was probably in use long before the time of the Crusades, though the English form and use of the word may have been introduced into Europe at that period.

a. The effects of the churrus or natural resin have been carefully studied in India by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. He states that when taken in moderation it produces increase of appetite and great mental cheerfulness, while in excess it causes a peculiar kind of delirium and catalepsy. This last effect is very remarkable, and we quote his description of the results of one of his experiments with what is considered a large dose for an Indian patient: —

This glowing description of the effects of the haschisch, though given by one who had often used it, is on that very account, like the pictures of the opium-eater, open to suspicion. We feel as if it were intended as a kind of excuse or justification of the indulgence on the part of the writer.

When first it begins to act, the peculiar effects of the haschisch may be considerably diminished, or altogether checked, by a firm exertion of the will, “just as we master the passion of anger by a strong voluntary effort.” By degrees, however, the power of controlling at will and directing the thoughts diminishes, till finally all power of fixing the attention is lost, and the mind becomes the sport of every idea which either arises within itself, or is forced upon it from without.

“We become the sport of impressions of every kind. The course of our ideas may be broken by the slightest cause. We are turned, so to speak, by every wind. By a word or a gesture, our thoughts may be successively directed to a multitude of different subjects with a rapidity and lucidity which are truly marvellous. The mind beciomes possessed with a feeling of pride, corresponding to the exaltation of its faculties, which it is conscious have increased in energy and power. The slightest impulse carries it along. Hence those who make use of the haschisch in the East, when they wish to give themselves up to the intoxication of the fantasia, withdraw themselves carefully from everything which could give to their delirium a tendency to melancholy, or excite anything but feelings of pleasurable enjoyment. They profit by all the means which the dissolute manners of the East place at their disposal. It is in the midst of the harem, surrounded by their women, under the charm of music and of lascivious dances performed by the almees, that they enjoy the intoxicating dawamese; and, with the aid of superstition, they find themselves almost transported to the scene of the numberless marvels which the Prophet has collected in his paradise.”

The errors of perception, in regard to time and place, to which the patient is liable during the period of fantasia, are remarkable. Minutes seem hours, and hours are prolonged into years, till at last all idea of time seems obliterated, and the past and the present are confounded together. Every notion, in this curious condition, seems to partake of a certain degree of exaggeration. One evening M. Moreau was traversing the passage of the opera when under the influence of a moderate dose of haschisch. He had made but a few steps when it seemed to him as if he had been there for two or three hours; and as he advanced, the passage seemed interminable, its extremity receding as he pressed forward.

Yet, even among orientals, according to Dr. Moreau, there are some on whom the drug produces no effect whatever — upon whom, at least, doses are powerless which are usually followed by well-marked phenomena. As is the case with opium, long use also makes larger doses necessary. To some even a drachm of the churrus becomes a moderate dose, though sufficient to operate upon twenty ordinary men.

It requires, indeed, a long and gradual training to its use before its boasted effects can be fully experienced, and this fortunately is not attempted yet in Europe. While in Jerusalem, M. de Sauley, with the view of passing pleasantly a tedious evening, indulged himself in a dose of haschisch, which, upon his uninitiated constitution, produced only unpleasant results. He thus speaks of it —

a. The volatile oil. — When distilled with water, the dried leaves and flowers, like those of the hop, yield a volatile oil in small quantity. The properties of this volatile oil, and its action upon the system, have not been studied. It is not supposed, however, to have any important connection with the remarkable effects of the plant upon the living animal.

b. The natural resin. — But the whole hemp plant is impregnated, especially in warm climates, with a resinous substance in which most active virtues reside. When collected as it naturally exudes, this resin forms the churrus of India. It is extracted when the leaves are boiled with butter to form the basis of the haschisch, or when the dried plant is treated with alcohol to obtain the hemp extract. It is soft, dissolves readily both in alcohol and ether, and is separated from these liquids in the form of a white powder when the solutions are mixed with water. It has a warm, bitterish, acrid, somewhat balsamic taste, and a fragrant odour, especially when heated.

Both the resin which naturally exudes from the hemp plant, and the extract it yields to spiritous liquids, are probably mixtures of several substances possessed of different properties and relations to animal life. The remarkably complex composition of opium justifies such an opinion. And the analogy of the same substance makes it probable that the produce of the plant will differ in different localities and countries — so that the churrus of India, and the haschisch of Syria, may produce very different effects on the same constitution. But these points have not as yet been investigated either chemically or physiologically. This substance, therefore, holds out the promise of a rich and interesting harvest to future experimenters.

6°. HEMP COMPARED WITH OPIUM. — The extract of hemp differs considerably from opium, not only in its sensible properties, but in its effects upon the system. It does not lessen but rather excites the appetite. It does not occasion nausea, dryness of tongue, constipation, or lessening of the secretions, and is not usually followed by that melancholy state of depression to which the opium-eater is subject. It differs also in causing dilatation of the pupil, and sometimes catalepsy, in stilling pain less than opium does, in less constantly producing sleep, in the peculiar inebriating quality it possesses, in the phantasmata it awakens, and in its aphrodisiac effects. It operates likewise in a smaller dose, and does not produce that apathy to external impressions by which opium is characterised. On the contrary, to the intellectual activity imparted by opium it adds a corresponding sensitiveness and activity of all the feelings, and of the senses both internal and external. From the effects of opium a man must be roused by shaking and bodily movement. Those of haschisch are allayed by gentle soothing, and bodily stillness. This drug seems, in fact, to be to the oriental a source of exquisite and peculiar enjoyment, which unfits him for the ordinary affairs of this rough life, and with which happily we are, in this part of the world, still altogether unacquainted.

It is impossible to form any estimate of the quantity of hemp, of hemp resin, or of the artificial extract which is now used in different parts of the world for purposes of indulgence. It must, however, be very large, since the plant is so employed in one form or another by probably not less than two or three hundred millions of the human race!

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