Cannabis indica is a remedy which is certain to come into increasing use in our modern societies with their increasing use of psychoactive drugs. Naturally Cannabis is indicated in cases whose symptomatology is focussed in large part on the mental and emotional planes. It is interesting that there seems to be two basic types of people requiring Cannabis indica, each quite distinct form the other. One type is by nature a primarily emotional, ethereal person - someone who relates to things generally through the emotional realm rather than the mental. The other is primarily a mental type over stimulated in the mind, and governed by the fear of loss of control. I will discuss the symptomatologies of these two types separately.
The first, emotional type of person prefers not to use the mind. These people do not do mathematical or analytical tasks very well. As the Cannabis indica pathology overtakes them, they begin to feel light, ethereal and ecstatic. They seem to enjoy a blissful, floating state much of the time. They feel very light, not at all grounded - "spaced out".
These people seem to have a very tenuous connection between the vital body and the physical body. They seem to leave their body very easily. They easily experience samadhi-like states and trances, whether or not they are familiar with spiritual methods seeking such experiences. In these states they may readily experience psychic phenomena as well. On falling asleep, especially, they have the sensation of leaving the body and travelling in other dimensions. Sometimes they wake during the night and feel they are not in their body. During this state, they may try to make their legs move, and they find they cannot; they will them to move, but nothing happens. This is a cataleptic-like state, and it can be very frightening.
Most of the time these patients are in an ecstatic, exalted state, but when they feel the most separated from the body they become deeply terrified. They feel convinced that they can die in such a state - despite all reassurance to the contrary. Thus, they have a fear of death or a fear of insanity - hut in these people the fearful states pass away in a short time.
These ethereal people also experience distortions of sensory perception. Cannabis indica speeds up all the senses. All impressions are received much more rapidly and vividly. Because of this increased intensity, time itself seems distorted. Internally, they feel very stimulated, so external events seem to happen more slowly than usual. This is the reason for the symptom "Time passes too slowly". Spatial distortions also occur. They feel that they are far removed from objects, that they are travelling or flowing away from things. Their limbs may seem to shrink in size. Again these feelings are manifestations of the easy etheric disconnection these people experience.
Despite their ecstasy, these people, in their conscious mind realise that this is a pathological state. The mind becomes hazy, vague, scattered. They become inefficient in their tasks, and they cannot focus on reality for any length of time. Typically these people drift form one job to another because of the dissatisfaction. They leave a job simply because they have lost interest; they prefer to do something else. They do not feel any bitterness about this. Indeed, they are mild, sweet people in general; they are very easy going.
It is this first type of Cannabis patients who laugh easily and immoderately at anything. Their emotional reactions are easily stimulated by external impressions.
Now, the second type - the mentalised Cannabis patients - are almost the complete opposite. These people are not at all happy or easy to get along with. They also have felt a sense of leaving the body - but only in certain parts. Certain parts seem to become light, as if they are floating away. This is especially felt in the extremities. The arm feels as if the bones are no longer there, and it becomes so light that it could float away.
To these mentalised Cannabis patients such sensations are terrifying. They are losing control of the arm; it is going it sown way. Any loss of control creates tremendous anxiety and fear in them. Theses people feel a constant fear of insanity, which is another way of expressing a fear of losing control. Similarly, they may describe it as a fear of death. This anxiety state is continuous and motivates their behaviour to such a degree that you may consider remedies such as Phosphorus, Arsenicum, or Nitric acid. Also, this anxiety is generally felt in the stomach or in the chest.
Cannabis indica, especially in these mind-oriented patients seems to directly stimulate the brain. These people are constantly the arising about everything. They can be very interesting to talk to. They have their own ideas about what is happening in the world, about their own health, about various projects they are involved in, etc; Especially in our age of experimentation with various religions or spiritual approaches, these Cannabis patients are full of ideas about each practice. They are very quick and intelligent, and they can see anything from different angles at once.
Such patients may seem very educated and well-read, and in fact they often are, but they are not efficient in mental activities. Their minds are very scattered. Their theories have no beginning and no end; they are not verifiable because they are not grounded in reality. They jump from one idea to another, very much like Lachesis. At first, such patients may make you think of Lachesis, but as you listen further you realise how ungrounded their ideas are. Lachesis patients jump from one subject to another, but their ideas are more concrete and factual.
During a consultation, such a patient can pose great difficulty. They are very difficult to pin down. You may tell the patient, Since you seem to have such a great thirst I can base my prescription on that symptom. "Immediately, she will say, "Oh, wait moment. I didn't mean THIRST exactly. I am sure that my thirst a really a desire for salt, because it must be caused by the sardines I ate a while ago. They must have thrown my system off". This kind of process occurs with every symptom until you feel ?ou have nothing to go on. They see everything from so many ?ngles and in such relative terms that they cannot be pinned down ? anything definite.
?, you might not realise the extent of their theorising during ? course of the interview. They do not see it as a problem; ? they may not even be aware of it. During the interview ? a person talks only about heartburn or constipation, etc; Perhaps he did admit to some fear of death and excessive thirst, ? you decide upon Arsenicum or Phosphorus. Then, during ? conversation after the interview, you bring up a few general subjects of conversation, and you suddenly discover that he is full of theories, mostly far-out in nature. Then Cannabis indica comes to mind.
In addition, these mentalised Cannabis patients are very critical. With each prescription or suggestion you make, they want to know exactly why you came to that particular decision. They must feel in complete control at all times; they are driven by their underlying fear of insanity. For this reason they are always challenging and questioning. They are difficult people - quite opposite from the easy going and happy first type of Cannabis patient.
Characteristically, Cannabis indica is extremely thirsty, especially in acute situations. This, coupled with the fear of death, can lead to confusion with Arsenicum. There is one important differential point, however; Cannabis patients always want to rest and they feel better from lying down. Actually, from what I have observed, this is actually a mentalised symptom. They mentally arrive at the conclusion that they are better from lying down, and so that is hat they do. If you force them to take a walk, especially in fresh air, they feel better. You must be careful not to over exert them, however; over exertion makes all Cannabis symptoms worse.
The mentalised type of Cannabis patients have very strong desires for sex. In maintaining control it seems that their energy becomes concentrated in the sexual sphere. The desire is so strong that if they do not have a partner available in the moment they will resort to masturbation. They are not particularly choosy about their partners; they just want quick satisfaction. Consequently they are quite susceptible to gonorrhoea. Cannabis is one of the remedies that could be indicated in acute gonorrhoea, although its yellow, thick discharge is of no value in the prescription because it is common in gonorrhoea; the characteristic mental picture would have to be present.
Cannabis indica has a variety of urinary symptom - it is often indicated in infections of the bladder, urethra, and kidneys. It is also indicated in certain early neurological cases characterised by weakness and numbness of the extremities - prior to the stage of true paralysis or actual clinical diagnosis.
Cannabis indica probably has a usefulness in patients who have had a so-called "Bad trip" which has felt a lasting effect on the metal sphere. This would be true whether the bad experience occurred on hashish itself, or LSD, mescaline, heroin, or others.
It may also be needed in people whose constitutions have broken down into a dull, hazy, scattered mental state after using many such drugs over a period of years. If the mental state has become severely dulled, Phosphoric acid would be the first remedy to consider, but Cannabis indica and Agnus castus would be others to remember.
The first, emotional type of person prefers not to use the mind. These people do not do mathematical or analytical tasks very well. As the Cannabis indica pathology overtakes them, they begin to feel light, ethereal and ecstatic. They seem to enjoy a blissful, floating state much of the time. They feel very light, not at all grounded - "spaced out".
These people seem to have a very tenuous connection between the vital body and the physical body. They seem to leave their body very easily. They easily experience samadhi-like states and trances, whether or not they are familiar with spiritual methods seeking such experiences. In these states they may readily experience psychic phenomena as well. On falling asleep, especially, they have the sensation of leaving the body and travelling in other dimensions. Sometimes they wake during the night and feel they are not in their body. During this state, they may try to make their legs move, and they find they cannot; they will them to move, but nothing happens. This is a cataleptic-like state, and it can be very frightening.
Most of the time these patients are in an ecstatic, exalted state, but when they feel the most separated from the body they become deeply terrified. They feel convinced that they can die in such a state - despite all reassurance to the contrary. Thus, they have a fear of death or a fear of insanity - hut in these people the fearful states pass away in a short time.
These ethereal people also experience distortions of sensory perception. Cannabis indica speeds up all the senses. All impressions are received much more rapidly and vividly. Because of this increased intensity, time itself seems distorted. Internally, they feel very stimulated, so external events seem to happen more slowly than usual. This is the reason for the symptom "Time passes too slowly". Spatial distortions also occur. They feel that they are far removed from objects, that they are travelling or flowing away from things. Their limbs may seem to shrink in size. Again these feelings are manifestations of the easy etheric disconnection these people experience.
Despite their ecstasy, these people, in their conscious mind realise that this is a pathological state. The mind becomes hazy, vague, scattered. They become inefficient in their tasks, and they cannot focus on reality for any length of time. Typically these people drift form one job to another because of the dissatisfaction. They leave a job simply because they have lost interest; they prefer to do something else. They do not feel any bitterness about this. Indeed, they are mild, sweet people in general; they are very easy going.
It is this first type of Cannabis patients who laugh easily and immoderately at anything. Their emotional reactions are easily stimulated by external impressions.
Now, the second type - the mentalised Cannabis patients - are almost the complete opposite. These people are not at all happy or easy to get along with. They also have felt a sense of leaving the body - but only in certain parts. Certain parts seem to become light, as if they are floating away. This is especially felt in the extremities. The arm feels as if the bones are no longer there, and it becomes so light that it could float away.
To these mentalised Cannabis patients such sensations are terrifying. They are losing control of the arm; it is going it sown way. Any loss of control creates tremendous anxiety and fear in them. Theses people feel a constant fear of insanity, which is another way of expressing a fear of losing control. Similarly, they may describe it as a fear of death. This anxiety state is continuous and motivates their behaviour to such a degree that you may consider remedies such as Phosphorus, Arsenicum, or Nitric acid. Also, this anxiety is generally felt in the stomach or in the chest.
Cannabis indica, especially in these mind-oriented patients seems to directly stimulate the brain. These people are constantly the arising about everything. They can be very interesting to talk to. They have their own ideas about what is happening in the world, about their own health, about various projects they are involved in, etc; Especially in our age of experimentation with various religions or spiritual approaches, these Cannabis patients are full of ideas about each practice. They are very quick and intelligent, and they can see anything from different angles at once.
Such patients may seem very educated and well-read, and in fact they often are, but they are not efficient in mental activities. Their minds are very scattered. Their theories have no beginning and no end; they are not verifiable because they are not grounded in reality. They jump from one idea to another, very much like Lachesis. At first, such patients may make you think of Lachesis, but as you listen further you realise how ungrounded their ideas are. Lachesis patients jump from one subject to another, but their ideas are more concrete and factual.
During a consultation, such a patient can pose great difficulty. They are very difficult to pin down. You may tell the patient, Since you seem to have such a great thirst I can base my prescription on that symptom. "Immediately, she will say, "Oh, wait moment. I didn't mean THIRST exactly. I am sure that my thirst a really a desire for salt, because it must be caused by the sardines I ate a while ago. They must have thrown my system off". This kind of process occurs with every symptom until you feel ?ou have nothing to go on. They see everything from so many ?ngles and in such relative terms that they cannot be pinned down ? anything definite.
?, you might not realise the extent of their theorising during ? course of the interview. They do not see it as a problem; ? they may not even be aware of it. During the interview ? a person talks only about heartburn or constipation, etc; Perhaps he did admit to some fear of death and excessive thirst, ? you decide upon Arsenicum or Phosphorus. Then, during ? conversation after the interview, you bring up a few general subjects of conversation, and you suddenly discover that he is full of theories, mostly far-out in nature. Then Cannabis indica comes to mind.
In addition, these mentalised Cannabis patients are very critical. With each prescription or suggestion you make, they want to know exactly why you came to that particular decision. They must feel in complete control at all times; they are driven by their underlying fear of insanity. For this reason they are always challenging and questioning. They are difficult people - quite opposite from the easy going and happy first type of Cannabis patient.
Characteristically, Cannabis indica is extremely thirsty, especially in acute situations. This, coupled with the fear of death, can lead to confusion with Arsenicum. There is one important differential point, however; Cannabis patients always want to rest and they feel better from lying down. Actually, from what I have observed, this is actually a mentalised symptom. They mentally arrive at the conclusion that they are better from lying down, and so that is hat they do. If you force them to take a walk, especially in fresh air, they feel better. You must be careful not to over exert them, however; over exertion makes all Cannabis symptoms worse.
The mentalised type of Cannabis patients have very strong desires for sex. In maintaining control it seems that their energy becomes concentrated in the sexual sphere. The desire is so strong that if they do not have a partner available in the moment they will resort to masturbation. They are not particularly choosy about their partners; they just want quick satisfaction. Consequently they are quite susceptible to gonorrhoea. Cannabis is one of the remedies that could be indicated in acute gonorrhoea, although its yellow, thick discharge is of no value in the prescription because it is common in gonorrhoea; the characteristic mental picture would have to be present.
Cannabis indica has a variety of urinary symptom - it is often indicated in infections of the bladder, urethra, and kidneys. It is also indicated in certain early neurological cases characterised by weakness and numbness of the extremities - prior to the stage of true paralysis or actual clinical diagnosis.
Cannabis indica probably has a usefulness in patients who have had a so-called "Bad trip" which has felt a lasting effect on the metal sphere. This would be true whether the bad experience occurred on hashish itself, or LSD, mescaline, heroin, or others.
It may also be needed in people whose constitutions have broken down into a dull, hazy, scattered mental state after using many such drugs over a period of years. If the mental state has become severely dulled, Phosphoric acid would be the first remedy to consider, but Cannabis indica and Agnus castus would be others to remember.
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