A tincture of the tops of the fresh herb of Cannabis Sativa L. (grown in Europe or America) is used.
General Action
As compared with Cannabis indica we see much less mental disturbance (less of the peculiar gum “Hashish” in plant used) and more effects due to to the other constituents of the plant, etherial oil and Nitrate of Potash (the latter is found in an unusual amount in the plant).
Allies. Cannab-ind., Nux-vom.
Generalities
Secretions greatly increased. She spun around on one foot and began to walk. Gesticulations. Spasmodic gestures. Seemed affected with chorea when walking. Jerking as if in blood of head, chest and stomach. Tearing constrictive pressure in l. knee, in forehead and over all parts of body. Tearing pushes and tearing, deeply-penetrating stitches in many parts, especially in limbs. Pinching superficially here and there in flesh. Sick feeling in whole body, with necessity to lie down on account of weariness and heaviness in limbs. General discomfort an hour after breakfast, especially in abdomen, as if inflated, with sticking cutting there and with general chilliness. Uneasiness, with sudden forgetfulness of what he wished to write. Indolent sensation in whole body. Indolence, with weariness, yawning and stretching. Weakness; greater in morning after an almost unbroken sleep than on lying down the previous evening; after slight motion; after eating, with indolence, everything affected him, even talking and writing; with sleepiness; with giving way of knees and aching in them; sudden, especially of lower limbs, with staggering on slightest motion of body, but more steady when walking. General stiffness.
Mind
About 4.30 P.M. took a large dose of the extract, about 7 P.M. while writing a prescription he became oblivious of surrounding objects, but went on writing when the receipt was finished he suddenly recollected where he was apologized for remaining so long, but was assured he had been only a few minutes, about 7. 30 he returned home, now he was greatly excited, the hilarity rapidly increased it was a feeling of inner joyousness, the system felt as if fatigue were forever banished, the mind gladly ran riot, was disposed to laugh, to make comic gestures, a frequently recurring fancy was to imitate with the arms the motions of a fiddler and with the lips the tunes he was supposed to be playing, he knew that he was acting foolishly, but could not control himself, once he raised his head and exclaimed, ” Oh, the mountains, the mountains!” about 8 numbness in limbs began, with general uneasiness and fear lest he had taken an over dose, he walked constantly about the house, the whole surface felt flushed and warm, mouth and throat were dry, legs felt as if not a part of the body, pulse 120 full and strong, fear as of impending death, legs felt as if waxen pillars and to his hand felt very firm, as if the muscles were in a state of tonic contraction, then began marked “spells”, when all connection seemed severed between himself and the external world, but on coming out of them it was not a void on which he looked back, but a period of active, though aimless life, a chaos of disjointed ideas, these spells lasted from a few seconds to one or two minutes, but seconds seemed hours and hours seemed infinite, was perfectly conscious between the paroxysms, would look at his watch, and then after an hour or two, as he thought, would look again and find that scarcely five minutes has elapsed, when most lucid there was a duplex action in regard to time, he would think it was so long since a certain event and then reason would say No, it had been only a few minutes, your thoughts are caused by the hemp, but he was never able to shake off this sense of the prolongation of time even for a minute, an exaggeration of distance was noticed only once, and that was when standing in the door watching the approach of the doctor in the street, limbs grew cold, on attempting to walk upstairs the lower half of the legs seemed made of lead, felt as if an evil spirit had control of the whole of him except the will power and was in conflict with, that felt as if his only chance was to struggle against the paroxysms, hopeless anguish and utter weariness, once or twice nightmare sensation, felt himself mounting upward, expanding, dissolving into space, overwhelmed by unutterable despair, then with tremendous effort he shook this off and started up with the shuddering thought, Next time you will not be able to throw this off, and what then? after an emetic vomited freely, without nausea and without much relief, about midnight went up-stairs to bed, legs and feet were so heavy that he could scarcely move them, did not recollect being undressed, went to sleep immediately, on waking early in the morning the mind was at first clear, but the paroxysms soon returned and recurred until late in afternoon, all day anaesthesia of skin, urine increased. (Compare Cann-ind.).
Agitation. Excitement after drinking wine and water, with cheerfulness, afterwards the former nausea and discomfort returned; E., then sensation of ease and comfort, with pleasing languor, then inebriation. Unsteadiness of mood. He become almost violent, when he assumed a sad, preoccupied air. Anxiety. Anger at trifles, with frenzy. Fretfulness, (<) afternoon. Pleasure in nothing, indifference to everything. Fear at slightest noise; of the bed, in which he afterwards lay down. Sadness; in forenoon, liveliness in afternoon. Desire, especially at dinner, for wine to enliven his depressed mood. Gayety, as from intoxication. Disposition to laugh (Cannab-ind., Nux-mos., Nux-vom.). Constant laughter mingled with tears. Animation, with congestion of face, great loquacity, and inclination of head to r. and l. Loquacity. Constant murmuring of unintelligible words. Whistling and singing.
Mistakes in writing. Confusion of thought in afternoon and evening, with forgetfulness, heat and congestion of head, but coldness on going into open air. Wavering and uncertainty of mind, overwhelming vividness of ideas. Ideas remain stationary after fixing his mind long upon a subject. Ideas seem to stand still, with staring and absorption in higher thoughts, but is unconsciousness of them, with pain in parietal bones. Absent- minded. Wanting in reflective power, deficient in imagination, spiritless. Coma. Unconsciousness of the existence of the limbs, a sensation compared to that when under the influences of chloroform, without complete unconsciousness.
Head
Aching; on moving head, and in nape of neck; piercing pain. Confusion; with heaviness and with pain in forehead and on eyes, so that his lids threaten to close. Heaviness. Tension. Throbbing, with heat in it and fever; T., with pain. Congestion when writing. Rush of blood; causing heat and flushes; causing pleasant warmth in it, with pain in temples. Intoxication. Vertigo; when standing; when walking, with tendency to fall sideways (Nux-v.,); as if head moved from one side to other; as if everything would turn around with her. Head seemed to describe a circular movement, which extended to the whole body, so that he fell. Dreamy in head for several days as if the room turned around with her.
Frontal pain; beneath eminence, extending to occiput; drawing, through forehead. Throbbing outward beneath l. frontal eminence, then stupefying pressure. Compression from margin of orbits to temples. Heaviness in sinciput till evening, with heat in it. Constriction in sinciput. Visible throbbing in r. temporal artery in morning. Pressure in temples; throbbing headache extending forward into r. T., with warmth about head, red and hot cheeks, with nausea (<) in the warmth. Tickling spasm in T. Compression in T. Pain in vertex; as from a stone upon it. Pressure internally in side of head when leaning the other ride of head against a wall. Pain in r. occipital bone; drawing, in occiput, extending to ears. Tension in O., then in sinciput, lastly in temples. Painful pimples, sensitive to touch, and on nape and behind ears. Crawling on scalp.
Eyes
Injected; and brilliant. Cornea obscured. Pressure from behind the eyes forward. Sensation of spasmodic drawing. Sensation of sand in r. in evening, with necessity to rub it. Burning evenings. Weak sensation with indistinct sensation. Pupils dilated; alternately D. and contracted. Tearing in upper lid. Pressure on lids, that makes them difficult to open with sticking in orbits. Heat in external canthi, with prickling. Sensation as if eyebrows were pressed down. On attempting to write found that the characters made with the pen were very fine. Vision of a flame playing before eyes; of a circle of white flaming zigzags on r. side near field of vision, so that only a portion of objects is seen indistinctly; of vertical shining, white points, that move in lines from one eye to the other, mornings on waking, then flickering before eyes, and light and dark dots floating in different directions.
Ears
Inflamed pimple, painful to touch, in r., with swelling of meatus, afterwards discharge of pus mixed with blood. Stitches in mastoid process; in external meatus while chewing; outward in l.; at 10 A.M., with pain in throat, then cold and heat alternating with headache, (<) motion or stooping, (>) supporting herself on r. side, with feeling as if head were shaken, stitches in l. side of head, near skull and opposite to it, S. behind r. ear very violent, the condition lasting at night in sleep, so that she groaned, complained and often awoke. Pain behind r. as if pushed with a blunt instrument; in external as if drawn out of head; jerking, in r. tympanum, extending to shoulder. Smarting in external cartilage, which may have been pressed upon at night in bed. Throbbing dragging, extending almost to cheeks, (>) stooping, returning on becoming erect. Sensation as if membrane were stretched before them. Roaring before E. Ringing. Loud singing. Sound in l. as if the string of an instrument were struck.
Born in 1837in Westminster, Vermont. . He was an orthodox doctor who converted to homeopathy
Dr. Allen compiled the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica over the course of 10 years.
In 1881 Allen published A Critical Revision of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica.