Cannabis Indica.
East Indian Cannabis sativa (Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica are
botanically identical; the difference in their properties is solely due to the difference of
soil and climate in which they are grown). Hashish. Bhang. Ganja. N. O. Cannabinaceć.
Tincture of young leaves and twigs.Clinical.─
Catalepsy.
Chordee. Clairvoyance. Delirium tremens. Delusions.
Epilepsy. Gonorrhśa. Headache. Mania. Menorrhagia. Paralysis. Prostatitis. Satyriasis. Stammering. Urćmia. Urinary
disorders.
Characteristics.─
The use of Cannabis ind. in the East as an intoxicant gives the leading note
of its sphere of action. It produces a state of exaltation with sublime visions, delusions,
and hallucinations in great variety. Time seems interminable, space illimitable. Imagines
himself in a room of which the walls gradually close in upon him. Double consciousness.
Fixed ideas. Apprehensive of approaching death; of becoming insane. Great agitation;
anxiety; nervousness. Horror of darkness. Incoherent talking. Uncontrollable laughter.
Inability to fix his thoughts on one subject. Forgets what he intends to write or speak. Can. ind. produces a sensation of levitation. Sensation as if in
a dream. Vertigo on rising, with stunning pain in back part of head. (Can. ind. removed for me a vertigo in which the patient felt as
if the house were falling in ruins about her.) Shocks through brain on regaining
consciousness. Guided by this symptom, I removed with this remedy a “noise like a crash
or explosion during sleep.” Sensation as of brain boiling over and lifting cranial arch
like a lid; opening and shutting sensation. Weight at occiput, from which pains start up
sides of head to temples and vertex. Headache with flatulence; lasts till flatus can be
passed up or down; throbbing of occiput. Scalp sore feeling; crawling on vertex; sensation
as though skin tightly stretched over bones of face. Clairvoyance and clairaudience; extreme
sensitiveness to noise. Grinds teeth whilst asleep. Stammering and stuttering. There is a
sensation in anus as if sitting on a ball; as if anus and part of urethra were filled by a
hard, round body. The urinary and generative organs are very strongly affected. There is
constant dull pain in region of right kidney. Pains in kidneys when laughing. Urine loaded
with slimy mucus after exposure to damp and cold. Frequent micturition with burning pain, in
evening. Dribbling. Urging and straining, but cannot pass a drop. Burning, scalding, or
stinging in urethra before, during, and after urination. Increased sexual desire,
satyriasis, priapism. Erections: while riding, walking, or sitting still, not caused by
amorous thoughts; violent; painful. Gonorrhśa; without pain; with light-headedness; very
profuse yellowish-white discharge. Feeling as if discharge in urethra. Chordee. Very
profuse, painful, dark menstruation, but without clots. Palpitation, awakens from sleep.
Stitches in heart, with oppression, > deep breathing.
Warmth of spine extending to head. Backache < during
catamenia, which occur every two weeks and are scanty. Paralysis of lower limbs and right
arm. Nash relates the case of a lady suffering from cardiac dropsy, who, when relieved of
the latter, suddenly lost the power of speech. In answer to a question she could begin a
sentence, but could not finish it, as she could not remember what she wished to say. She was
very impatient about it; would cry, but could not finish the sentence, though she could
signify assent if any one did finish it for her. Can. ind.
cured rapidly. [In one case of over-dose the observer experienced a modification of this:
Absolute forgetfulness of the thought, speech, or acts of the previous moment; startled by
hearing the echo of the last words of a sentence he has just spoken. Having suggested a walk
to a companion and meeting him at the street door, wondered why they were there. Afterwards
he could remember everything. < Lying down quietly:
then thought succeeded thought only to be immediately blotted out: no inclination to sleep. > Walking about out of doors.] Can. i.,
like Bell., has: Wants to sleep but cannot. Very sleepy.
During sleep: starting; talking; grinding teeth; nightmare. In paralysis there is tingling
of the affected parts. The sensitiveness to noise is extreme; can hear a whisper in
adjoining room and is irritated thereby. In some subjects a perfect condition of catalepsy
is produced.
Relations.─
Can. sat. In extreme sensitiveness to
noise: Nit. ac. (to jarring and rumbling of waggon in street); Coff. (to all sounds); Borax
(slightest noise, fall of door latch, rumpling of paper, rustling of silk). Asar. (to
scratching of linen or-silk, or even the thought of it). Levitation (Asar., Calc., Coccul.,
Phos. ac., Sil., Sticta, Sul., Thu.). As if in a dream (Ambr., Anac., Calc., Con., Cup.,
Med., Rhe., Stram., Val., Ver., Zn.─the sensation of time being
interminable distinguishes Can. i. from the others). Horror of darkness (Am. m., Bar. c.,
Calc., Carb. an., Phos., Stram., Stro., Val.). Noise like a crash or explosion in head
(Alo.).
SYMPTOMS.
1. Mind.─
Exaltation of spirit, with excessive
loquacity.─Full of fun and mischief, and laughs immoderately.─Hallucinations
and imaginations innumerable.─Anguish, accompanied by great oppression: > in the open air.─Constant fear of
becoming insane.─Exaggeration of duration of time and extent of space;
seconds seem ages, a few rods an immense distance.─Horror of darkness.─Fear
of approaching death.─Inability to recall any thought or event, on
account of different thoughts crowding on his brain.─Sudden loss of
speech; begins a sentence but cannot finish it.─Stammering and
stuttering.─Exaltation of spirits, with excessive loquacity.─Very
absentminded.─Every few minutes he would lose himself, and then wake up,
as it were, to those around him.─Constantly theorising.─Clairvoyance.─Delirium
tremens; trembling; hallucinations; tendency to become furious; nausea; unquenchable thirst.─Laughs
at merest trifle.─Sudden loss of memory.
2. Head.─
Vertigo on rising, with stunning pain in
back part of head.─Sensation as if the room were falling in pieces about
her.─Frequent involuntary shaking of the head.─Heavy
pressure on the brain, forcing him to stoop.─Violent shocks pass through
the brain; (noise like a crash or explosion during sleep).─Dull, drawing
pain in forehead, esp. over the eyes.─Throbbing, aching pain in
forehead.─Jerking in r. side of forehead, toward the interior and back
part of head.─A sensation of the brain boiling over and lifting the
cranial arch like the lid of a tea-kettle.─Opening and shutting
sensation at vertex.─Aching in both temples, most severe in r.─Dull
stitching in the r. temple.─Pain in the whole r. side of the head.─Head
feels heavy, loses consciousness and falls.─Dull, heavy, throbbing pain,
with sensation as from a blow, on back of head and neck.─Heavy weight at
back of head, pains shoot up to temples and vertex; pain at midday forces her to cry.─Headache
accompanied by flatulence, continuing until he can pass flatulence up or down; throbbing of
occiput.─Migraine.
3. Eyes.─
Fixed gaze.─Eyes
bright and shiny.─Visual clairvoyance.─Jerking in
extreme corner of the eye and eyelid.─Injection of vessels of
conjunctiva of both eyes.─Letters run together when reading.─Twinkling,
trembling, and glimmering before the eyes.
4. Ears.─
Hearing very acute.─Aching
in both ears.─Throbbing and fulness in both ears.─Ringing
and buzzing in the ears.─Noise in the ears, like boiling water.─Periodical
singing in the ears during a dreamy spell, ceasing when he came to himself.
6. Face.─
Countenance dejected and careworn.─Wearied,
exhausted appearance.─Drowsy, stupid look.─Skin of
face, esp. of forehead and chin, feels as if drawn tight.
8. Mouth.─
Lips feel as if glued together.─Gritting
and grinding of the teeth while sleeping.─Dryness of the mouth and lips.─White,
thick, frothy, and sticky saliva.─Every article of food is extremely
palatable.─Stammering and stuttering.
9. Throat.─
The throat is parched, accompanied by
intense thirst for cold water.
11. Stomach.─
Ravenous hunger.─Pain
in the cardiac orifice, relieved by pressure.─Suffocative feeling while
eating.
12. Abdomen.─
Flatulence on rising in morning
(with headache); rumbling in bowels at night.─Abdomen feels swollen; > by belching.
13. Stool and Anus.─
Sensation in the anus as if
he were sitting on a ball; as if the anus and part of the urethra were filled up by a hard,
round body.─Painless yellow diarrhśa.
14. Urinary Organs.─
Pain in the kidneys when
laughing.─Burning, aching, or sharp stitches in the kidneys.─A
white glairy mucus may be squeezed from the urethra.─Burning and
scalding, or stinging pain in the urethra before, during, and after urination.─Urging
to urinate, but cannot pass a drop.─Profuse, colourless urine.─Has
to wait some time before the urine flows.─Has to force out the last few
drops with the hand.─The urine dribbles out after the stream ceases.
15. Male Sexual Organs.─
Sexual desire excessively
increased.─Satyriasis; priapism.─Erections not
caused by amorous thoughts.─Violent painful erections.─Penis
relaxed and shrunken.─Itching in the glans penis.─Sharp
pricking, like needles, in urethra, so severe as to send a thrill to cheeks and hands.
16. Female Sexual Organs.─
Very profuse
menstruation; painful, dark but without clots.─Spasmodic uterine colic,
pains returning like labour pains; great agitation and sleeplessness.─Threatened
miscarriage in 8th month; burning on micturition with purulent discharge.
17. Respiratory Organs.─
Rough cough, with
scraping immediately under the sternum.─It requires a great effort to
take a deep inspiration.
18. Chest.─
Oppression of chest, with deep,
laboured breathing.─He feels as if suffocated, and has to be fanned.─Stitches
extending from both nipples through chest.
19. Heart and Pulse.─
Palpitation of the heart,
awaking from sleep.─Pressing pain in the heart, with dyspnśa the whole
night. Piercing pain in the heart.─Sensation as if drops were falling
from the heart.─Stitches in the heart, accompanied by great oppression;
the latter relieved by deep breathing.─Pulse very slow (as low as 46).
20. Neck and Back.─
Pain across the shoulders and
spine; must stoop, cannot walk erect.─Chin suddenly drawn down to
sternum, lasting three days.─Warmth in spine extending to head.─Backache,
< during menses, which occur every two weeks and are
scanty.
22. Upper Limbs.─
Agreeable thrilling through the
arms and hands.─Paralysis of the r. arm.─Coldness of
r. hand, with stiffness and numbness of r. thumb.
23. Lower Limbs.─
Entire paralysis of the lower
extremities.─Weariness in limbs, and stiffness and aching in knees;
almost paralysis.─Agreeable thrilling from the knees down, with a
sensation as if a bird’s claws were clasping the knees.─On attempting to
walk, intensely violent pain as if treading on spikes, which penetrated the soles, and ran
upward through the limbs to the hips; worse in r. limb, and accompanied by drawing pains in
both calves.─Shooting pains in the joints of the toes of l. foot; worse
in great toe; aching and stitching pain in ball of l. great toe.
24. Generalities.─
Great desire to lie down in the
daytime.─Thoroughly exhausted after a short walk.─Felt
so weak that he could scarcely speak, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
26. Sleep.─
Excessive sleepiness; sound sleep,
with melancholy dreams.─Starting of the limbs while sleeping, causing
him to awake.─Voluptuous dreams, with erections and profuse seminal
emissions.─Talks during sleep.─Gritting teeth during
sleep.─Dreams prophetic; vexatious; of dead bodies, of danger, and of
perils to be encountered.─Nightmare every night as soon as he falls
asleep.
27. Fever.─
Loss of animal heat.─General
chilliness.─Coldness of the face, nose, and hands after dinner.─Profuse
sticky sweat, standing out in drops on his forehead.® 2000
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