MEDICAL CANNABIS
A SHORT GRAPHICAL HISTORY

INDIANA STATE, BOARD OF HEALTH 1938



MARIJUANA OR MARIHUANA

Known by many names joy smoke, love weed, griefes, mootas, grifes, grifas mooters, miggles, muggles, laughing tobacco, reefers, hashish, Mary Warner, Indian hemp, Indian hay, and (incorrectly) loco weed - marijuana is the Mexican term for the dried flowers and leaves of Cannabis sativa, an extremely poisonous weed that is supposed to have been introduced into the United States from Mexico. The plant is a big, vigorous weed that thrives in almost all the temperate and tropical parts of our country; it is also found in Asia.

In the United States Cannabis sativa is cultivated for four purposes (1) for fiber out of which rope, twine, cloth, and hats are made; (2) for the seed from which a rapidly drying paint oil is made; (3) as a constituent of commercial bird seed; (4) and as a narcotic in pharmaceutical preparations. In addition to its legitimate uses there is a dangerous illicit practice of eating the resinous exudation of the plant or of smoking cigarettes made from its dried leaves and flowers. The cigarettes are sold at prices ranging from five to fifty cents each. The smoking of Marijuana has spread so rapidly that the practice has become a serious menace. First introduced into the southwestern states by Mexican laborers, it is estimated that at present there are in the United States more than 100,000 addict, the majority of whom are of high school and college age.

Addiction to the drug marihuana is accompanied by a record of crime, brutality, and insanity, as old as history; its reputation for evil is said to be equally as impressive as that of opium. The toxic effects of the drug appear to be limited exclusively to the higher nerve centers. It produces at first an exaltation, a feeling of well being, a happy jovial mood, a fooling of increased physical strength, a loss of spatial and time relations in which persons and things in the environment appear very small but minutes seem like days. Larger doses or prolonged addiction to the drug may cause hilarity, hallucination, and swooning; it depresses the central nervous system so that the individual looses the power to control his behavior; he responds readily to the suggestions of others and numerous revolting sex crimes often involving children have been committed by persons under its influence. Taken in sufficient quantities it produces immediate lust, complete irresponsibility, and a tendency toward willful violence. When used in conjunction with intoxicants the drug may incite a vicious desire to fight and kill. Those who arc habitually accustomed to its use frequently develop a delirious rage after its administration, during which they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes. The prolonged use of the drug is said to result in mental deterioration and insanity.

The production and use of Cannabis indica within the United States are not prohibited by law because congress is restricted under the Constitution from enacting legislation on matters that should be controlled solely by the police, powers of the respective states. Hence, the best method of attacking the problem of the illicit use of marijuana lies in appropriate legislation by the states. Forty-five of the forty-eight states have enacted some form of legislation. Although the production, the possession, and the sale of the drug are controlled by law in Indian, nevertheless, in 1935 the Federal Bureau of Narcotics sized 200 pounds of illicit marijuana in this state.

JWJ:me
Distributed by
INDIANA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH



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