Page 76 - Pharmacognosy-II (06-PG 303)

Cannabis
Narcotic herb

Indian Hemp ‫الحشيش القنب الهندى‬

Indian Hemp is a leafy annual, some species of which attain heights of more than 10 feet. The plant
is dioecious showing male or female flowers.The female plants have a heavy foliage, while the male
plants are sparse.

Definition: Cannabis is the flowering and fruiting tops of the cultivated female plant Cannabis sativa
var. indica, family Cannabinaceae.

Cannabis is a narcotic herb and is most widely known as a psychoactive drug. Cannabis is a generic name
that describs a variety of preprations (products) of Cannabis sativa plant.

History:

Cannabis has been cultivated for its seeds and fibers from a very remote period, but the narcotic
properties are usually not marked in plants grown in temperate regions, and even in India an active
drug can only be grown in certain districts. The drug is mentioned in early Hindu and Chinese works
on medicine, and its use slowly spread through Persia to the Arabs.
Hemp or industrial hemp, is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically
for the industrial uses of its derived products and it is prepared from the pericyclic fibers of the stem
of Cannabis sativa (Cannabinaceae). The fiber is composed chiefly of cellulose, but some lignification
has usually taken place and the percentage of cellulose is lower than in flax.

Hemp products:

A variety of common names and synonyms have been attributed to Indian Hemp and its products
as:-
1. The ganja of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (1955) is required to contain ‘not more than 10% of its

fruits, large foliage leaves and stems over 3 mm’. This is the flat- or Bombay- ganja, which was
formerly official in many pharmacopoeias. Round- or Bengal-ganja is prepared by rolling the wilted
tops between the hands.
2. Bhang (Hindustani) consists of the larger leaves and twigs of both male and female plants. It is
used in India for smoking, either with or without tobacco and drugs such as opium or datura, or is

70