1 154
2 and the poorer classes, as they are unable to procure more
3 expensive spirits. Those who abstain from opium and poppy-
4 heads, also make use of a draught of this hemp liquor; for it is
5 notorious, that those who are addicted to opium must daily get
6 their accustomed draught, otherwise they suffer pain in all their
7 limbs. This, however, does not occur in using the hemp plant,
8 as they can abstain from it without any unpleasant effects ; and
9 in my opinion it is the least prejudicial of all the intoxicating
10 beverages generally used. The longing for this drink, especially
11 among the lower classes of the population, induced the late
12 government at Lahore to devote a certain sum for its preparation
13 and distribution. Not far from the outside of the Delhi gate,
14 near the road to Umritsir, close by my hospital, there was
15 an establishment called Seid Gunge, where this beverage was
16 delivered gratuitously. As might be expected, the Nahungs
17 flocked there in hordes, and this munificence was greatly abused.
18 I made several trials on myself, my friends, and my domestics, to
19 ascertain its effects ; and I found that inebriation commenced
20 about half-an-hour after taking it, and lasted about three hours,
21 upon which a sound sleep ensued. Those who have partaken of
22 it, feel no ill effects on the following day ; there is none of that
23 headache, giddiness, or nausea, &c. which generally follows
24 inebriation from wine or spirits. The intoxication is accom-
25 panied by a good appetite, and the imbibers become excessively
26 jovial ; laughing, joking, and talking, often without control.
27 Even if the stomach is surfeited, no ill effect is experienced ; the
28 digestion is not thereby impaired, and no costiveness is to be
29 feared. In the Bengal Dispensatory, p. 584, it is stated that the
30 composition of cannabis indica , called majoon, is most fascinating
31 in its effects, producing extatic happiness, a persuasion of high
32 rank, a sensation of flying, voracious appetite, and intense aphro-
33 disiac desire. In the same Dispensatory, p. 594, it is mentioned
34 that in several cases of acute and chronic rheumatism, half-grain
35 doses of the resin were given, producing unequivocal aphrodisia,
36 and great mental cheerfulness; alleviation of pain in most
37 instances, and remarkable increase of appetite in all.