CA'NNABIS (in Greek and in Latin also Cannabis), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Cannabinacur.
Cannabis satire!, the Common Hemp, is a plant nearly allied botanically to the nettle, with which it even agrees UP its general appearance. It is an annual dicecioue plant, with erect nearly-simple stems from 4 to 6 feet high, and covered with rigid hairs. The leaves are either alternate or opposite, digitate, and stalked ; the leaflets are five in number, narrow, lanceolate, sharp-pointed, serrated, rough, pale-green on the under side ; the uppermost leaves have only three leaflets. The male flowers grow in little bunches at the exits of the upper leaves • they are pendulous from short stalks, and have a calyx of five spreading narrow lanceolate sepals, containing five stamens. The female flowers appear in close leafy clusters at the exile of the upper leaves, and consist of a roundish calyx, split half way down into two and containing a simple 1-celled ovary terminated by a couple of awl-shaped stigmas. The fruit is a lenticular body, looking like and commonly called a seed.
This is the only species known ; it is said to be a native of Persia, and Is certainly wild, Recording to Roxburgh, "among the hills and mountains north of Indie, as well as common everywhere in the garden. of the native. throughout Asia." It is now universally distributed over the north of Europe. Herodotus, Iv. 74, describes it as growing in Scythia, north of the Danube', • country which he had visited. We must from this conclude that the plant is really a native of north and east Europe.
It is from its possessing a remarkably tough kind of woody tissue capable of being manufactured into linen and cordage, that hemp is best known ; and for its good qualities in this respect it is unrivalled among the many species possessing similar properties. But it also contains a deleterious narcotic secretion of great energy. If one remains for any length of time amongst a plantation of young hemp, headache and vertigo are often the result; in hotter countries these effects are much more violent, a kind of intoxication being speedily produced. Oriental 'nation's have taken advantage of this to add another to the list of intoxicating drugs, which they contrive to 'substitute for the forbidden wine of western people. The powdered leaves mixed with some kind of aromatic are infused in water and drunk, when a drowsy ecstatic feeling comes on, which is said to be much more agreeable than that produced by opium. The leaves are also mixed with tobacco for smoking. The two chapters of Herod., iv. 74, 75, are curious as to he intoxicating effects, &c. The drug obtained from hemp is called bang, or haschish, or cherris gangika or gangs, kinnab, subjab, majah, are other names for it. The seeds of hemp abound in a thick mucilage, and are used medi cinally for the preparation of emulsions : a useful oil is obtained from them by pressure. The hemp develops its active properties more in warm climates, hence for medicinal purposes it is brought into this country from India under the name of Cannabis Indica.