The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-04-28
SLAVES cE HEMP
An Oriental vice which Il Even wors'
Than Oplum.E Eating.

oRCHhihS PohoOHhh f>'O'''c' 81
the writer of this paper can assert that
the first experiences Of a hemp eater
are far from agreeable. For about an
hour after taking couple OF. spoonftils
OF the hemp no effects whatever arc
evident Then feeling Of chilli
ness comes over one, increasing
to a sensation Of severe cold. Then
the pulse rises; and, after taking
Whit or two at the narghile as it Is
passed around, the full toxic effects Of
the powder are experienced. The room
seems to turn round; the people near
appear to rise TO the ceiling; the pulse
beats with extreme rapidity. and the
throbbing of the heart becomes audible.
The will remains unaffected; but think
ing becomes impossible, for one can
not recollect any thing--the ideas seem
to slip away. In another ten minutes
the characteristic indications of hemp
eating appear. Every object around
attains monstrous size. Men and
women seem of Brobdingnagian pro-
portions, the cushions upon which one
sits seem fit for giants, and any trifling
obstacle in the way when you attempt
to walk, appears so big that you fear
to step over it. The room in which
you may be sitting seems to stretch be-
yond the range of sight, and one fam
cies the street outside is receding be-
fore ones very eye. All sense of time
is lost now, and when he is spoken to
the hemp-eater fancies there are long
and apparently senseless intervals be-
tween the words. His own attempts at
speech are similarly marked; the sylla-
bles come slowly, laboriously, and
minutes seem to elapse between the
beginning and end of word. In this
stage it is usual to partake of moro
coffee, which changes the nature of the
sensations. A Whit at the narghile
that always accompanies the beverage,
and the body seems to rise into the air
and float about. though, inexplicably
enough, the feet keep firmly pressed to
the ground. Then ones legs and arms
appear to drop off, and life and sensa-
ton concentrate themselves, to ones
thinking, in the back of the head,
which feels full to bursting. Gradually
strength leaves the smoker: the pipe
slips from the nerveless fingers; will
altogether fails, and the body seems to
rise and float away in space. A heavy.
dreamless sleep usually succeeds such
an indulgence in the drug. and as o
rule the novice awakes none the worse
for the evenings experiment. A little
lemon juice removes any sensation OF
nausea or light headache that may
ensue.
Old and experienced hemp-eaters go
very methodically to work. They say
that to relish hemp ono must first abstain
from all stimulating food and drink for
a brief period; for only after a short
fast can one taste to the full the de-
lights of hashish and render ones sys-
tenn fully susceptible to its influence.
So, for several days previous to the
"orgie." the experienced hemp-eater
eats no meat, drinks neither wine nor
spirit, lives mainly upon vegetable
foods, light pastry. and ripe fruits. and
smokes little. On the day of the de-
bauch he rises very early and fasts till
the afternoon, when the friends who
are to Join him arrive. They prepare
for dinner by taking strongly charged
pipe and inhaling the thick white
smoke. A light meal is then served.
in which plenty of sweet pastry figures.
and each of the company retires to his
cushion prepared for the evenings in
diligence. Musicians are stationed at
the end of the apartment. dancing
girls are introduced, or if the host is a
very wealthy man he orders his own
slaves in. Hemp boluses are passed
around, and the pipes well charged
with the drug. For this purpose tobac-
CO is first laid in the bowl; upon this
small charge of pure hashish extract
is placed, and the whole is fired by
means of q glowing ember of charcoal
and saltpetre which has been mingled
with honey and dried. Strong and
well-sweetened coffee is handed round;
and while the dancing and music go on
the smokers begin. Lomnging back
they suck the smoke into the lungs and
air-passages. sending it forth again
through the widely distended nostrils:
and, gazing upon the forms and faces
posturing and revolving before them.
the hashashin swims off in a sea oi
blissful content that verges upon
ecstacy. As soon as the pipe is ex-
hausted, strong coffee without sugar is
taken, and this rouses the dreamers
from their vision of delight But a
"bolus" of hemp-cake, and another
pipe we'll charged, stimulates afresh
the excited imagination. and sends
them off again into their dreamlands.
The singers chant their love songs,
and the almehs sway in their passion
ate dances. This goes on for hours,
fresh pipes and coffee being passed
round at intervals. the smokers wax
ing from one dream only to go off into
another. Such an orgie, indeed, is
sometimes protracted for two or three
DAYS. Then lassitude and exhaustion
ensue, and the hashish experiences q
sort of revulsion against the drug
which lasts for some weeks; when the
longing for it returns. In many parts
among the Bektaches, for example,
there are regular gatherings for hemp
smoking, just as the Nsairie of Syria
meet on certain days to drink hemp
tea. The poorer classes find oppor
tunity for indnlging in the drug in the
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