Cannabis indica or Indian hemp ,as it is commonly known by is an annual,indigenous to Northern India and Persia .It has a green ,angular ,branched and erect stem ,and has its leaves either alternative or opposite ,these leaves are composed of long and narrow leaflets ,sharp at the end and five in number ,which spread out from the end of long and lax leaf stalks ,the flowers which are in axillary branches are of two kinds ,the male and the female ;the male flowers are leaflets ,at their use and drooping ;the female flowers are the reverse namely ,leafy at their base ,and stand erect .
Cannabis indica is generally considered to be botanically the same as ‘cannabis sativa’yet although the two varieties ,if such they may be called ,agree together externally ,their medical properties are entirely different .It is possible that this difference is caused by change of climate ,soil and mode of cultivation .The whole plant has active medicinal properties ;but the resin which exhudes from the leaves and branches is ,undoubtedly the most potent .the dried flowering tops of the female plant ,from which the rasin has not been taken,is called “hashish”or “gunjah”by the natives .it is smoked by them in the same way as tobacco a small quantity of which is generally mixed with the “hashish” .its first effect when taken in this way is one of intense exhilaration,which almost amounts to delirium .The second stage is one of dreamy enjoyment and the third one of stupor ,so intense as to amount almost to a state of catalepsy. The officinal preparations are the tincture ,made from the entire plant cut during inflorescence with strong alcohol and the various dilutions prepared from this tincture .
Cannbis indica has a most decided effect upon the urinary organs ,there can be no doubt as the following symptoms developed during a recent proving .do most emphatically show ;-weary,dragging and aching pains in both kidneys very constant ,preventing sleep ,when laughing a pain is felt through the kidneys ,sharp and severe lancinating pains through the urethra ,very severe sending a thrill to the head ,profuse flow of urine ,perfectly colourless .The urine has to be passed very frequently ,but ,in very small quantities ,the last drops have often to be forced out with the hand
Dribbling of urine after the flow has ceased severe urging and desire to urinate ,but cannot .some considerable time elapses before the urine will flow .urination very frequent with burning pain in the urethra ,most prominent in the evening .great straining and urging to urinate .constant urging even after urination ,severe burning and pain during urination ,great uneasiness accompanied with constant calls to urinate and a burning sensation in the urethra and penis .scalding and burning before ,during and after urinating severe stinging pain ,almost unbearable before during and after urinating .while urinating an intense burning is felt at the orifice of the urethra which continues even after the flow has ceased .peculiar feeling in the urethra as if there were a discharge of a gonorrheal character ,a glairy white mucus escaping on the glands penis .Burning and itching of the scrotum .
Cannabis indica causes primarily a profuse flow of colourless urine and secondarily a complete suspension of the urine .It is of great value in those urinary troubles in which there is great urging and straining while urinating ,with a very scanty flow of the urine .In these cases there generally a stinging pain felt through out the urethra accompanied with an intense burning and scalding sensation before ,during ,and after urinating under its action .The bladder is placed in a state of debility and even paralysis and the whole tract of the urethra becomes highly inflamed .it is therefore a valuable remedy in those cases of debility of the bladder which are accompanied with a paraplegic state of the lower limbs .to prove beneficial it is of course necessary to continue its administration for some months and at regular intervals .It is also more effectual in these cases if “NUXVOMICA”of a similar potency is given in alternation with the “cannabis indica” .constipation in conjunction with the urinary troubles is an additional indication for cannabis indica a prominent symptom in the proving being a sensation as if a part of the urethra and the anus were filled up by a hard round body ,accompanied with costiveness ,the aching developed in the kidneys is very severe ,aggravated at night and preventing sleep.
As a reliable remedy in cases affecting the urinary organs having present either one or several of the symptoms described above in the proving ,”cannabis indica”can not be too highly recommended and numerous cases effectually treated fully bear out this statement.
Cannabis indica is analogous to those three great urinary remedies ,namely “cantharis,uva ursi,and terebinthina”.
