On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp, or Gunjah (Cannabis Indica): Their Effects on the Animal System in Health, and Their Utility in the Treatment of Tetanus and Other Convulsive Diseases — John Shaqi
On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp, or Gunjah (Cannabis Indica): Their Effects on the Animal System in Health, and Their Utility in the Treatment of Tetanus and Other Convulsive DiseasesO'Shaughnessy, W. B.
Science
On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp, or Gunjah (Cannabis Indica): Their Effects on the Animal System in Health, and Their Utility in the Treatment of Tetanus and Other Convulsive Diseases
O'Shaughnessy, W. B.
Cannabis -- Physiological effect; Cannabis -- Therapeutic use
The resin of the hemp is soluble in alcohol and æther; partially
soluble in alkaline, insoluble in acid solutions; when pure, of a
blackish grey color; hard at 90°; softens at higher temperatures, and
fuses readily; soluble in the fixed and in several volatile oils. Its
odor is fragrant and narcotic; taste slightly warm, bitterish, and
acrid.
The dried hemp plant, which has flowered and _from which the resin has
not been removed_, is called GUNJAH. It sells for 1s. 6d. to 2s. for 2
lbs. in the Calcutta bazaars, and yields to alcohol twenty per 100 of
resinous extract, composed of the resin (_churrus_), and green coloring
matter (_chlorophylle_). Distilled with a large quantity of water or
spirit, traces of essential oil pass over, and the distilled liquor
has the powerful narcotic odor of the plant. The _gunjah_ is sold for
smoking chiefly. The bundles of _gunjah_ are about two feet long and
four inches in diameter, and contain twenty-four plants. The color is
dusky green; the odor agreeably narcotic; the whole plant resinous and
adhesive to the touch.
The larger leaves and capsules, without the stalks, are called “_bang_,
_subjee_, or _sidhee_.” They are used for making an intoxicating drink,
for smoking, and in the conserve or confection termed _majoon_. _Bang_
is cheaper than _gunjah_, and, though less powerful, is sold at such a
low price that for less than a half-penny enough can be purchased to
intoxicate an “experienced” person.
According to Mr. McCann’s notes, the _gunjah_ consumed in Bengal is
chiefly brought from Mirzapore and Ghazeepore, being extensively
cultivated near Gwalior and in Tirhoot. The natives cut the plant when
in flower, allow it to dry for three days, and then lay it in bundles
averaging two pounds weight each, which are distributed to the licensed
dealers. The best kinds are brought from Gwalior and Bhurtpore, and it
is also cultivated, of good quality, in a few gardens round Calcutta.
In Jessore, I am informed, the drug is produced of excellent quality
and to a very considerable extent of cultivation. In Central India,
and the Saugor territory, and in Nipal, _churrus_ is collected during
the hot season in the following singular manner:--Men clad in leathern
dresses run through the hemp fields, brushing through the plant with
all possible violence; the soft resin adheres to the leather, and is
subsequently scraped off and kneaded into balls, which sell from 10s.
to 12s. for 2 lbs. A still finer kind, the _momeea_ or waxen _churrus_,
is collected by the hand in Nipal and sells for nearly double the price
of the ordinary kind. In Nipal, Dr. McKinnon informs me, the leathern
attire is dispensed with, and the resin is gathered on the skins of
naked coolies. In Persia, it is stated by Mirza Abdul Razes that the
_churrus_ is prepared by pressing the resinous plant on coarse cloths,
and then scraping it from these and melting it in a pot with a little
warm water. He considers the _churrus_ of Herat as the best and most
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