Cannabis sativa

An annual herb of the Cannabaceae family, cultivated for millennia for its fibre (hemp), seed oil, and medicinal resin. Native to Central Asia but now widely grown. The fresh flowering tops of the male plant are used for the homeopathic preparation, macerated in alcohol to produce the mother tincture.

First homeopathic provings recorded by Hahnemann’s contemporaries in the early 19th century. Symptoms confirmed and expanded by Hering, Allen, and later compilers.

A remedy of distortion and irritation — where perception (especially of time and space) is altered, and where burning, inflamed mucous membranes of the urinary tract dominate the picture. The mental state shows confusion, loss of continuity, and alternating gaiety and anxiety. The physical state is dominated by an overactive sexual sphere with consequent exhaustion.

• Urinary organs – Especially bladder, urethra, prostate; marked action in acute and subacute inflammation [Hering].
• Genital system – Both male and female sexual sphere, particularly functional disturbances and heightened sexual desire.
• Nervous system – Sensorium, coordination, memory; tendency to confusion, loss of sequence [Allen].
• Mind – Peculiar mental symptoms including altered perception of time and space [Clarke].
• Joints and muscles – Especially lower limbs, with weakness, trembling, and impaired locomotion.

A marked confusion of mind, as though ideas come too slowly or are too quickly lost, leading to an inability to finish sentences or recall intended words [Hering, Allen]. There is often a sensation as though the body or mind were expanding or shrinking, or as if the surroundings had altered in size or proportion — a distortion of spatial awareness. Patients may feel as though time passes too slowly, with minutes seeming like hours [Clarke]. Emotional state alternates between joyous excitement and anxious suspicion, with sudden mood swings. Forgetfulness is so great that the patient may lose the thread of conversation mid-sentence.

Restless from sexual thoughts or irritation of urinary tract. Sleep broken, unrefreshing.

Lascivious dreams, often accompanied by emissions. Dreams of travel, new places, and vivid, surreal events.

Acts markedly on mucous membranes of the genito-urinary tract, producing inflammation, burning, and catarrhal discharges. Tendency to nervous weakness and disturbed coordination.

Slight evening fever during acute urinary inflammation. Skin hot and dry in fever stage.

Chilliness along spine alternating with flushes of heat. Sweat may be profuse during sleep.

Vertigo on rising or walking, with a staggering gait [Allen]. A dull, pressing headache in the forehead, worse on stooping. Sensation as though the head were distended, or as if the brain were swaying to and fro. Occipital pressure extending into the neck.

Vision altered — objects may appear closer or further away than they actually are. Sensation as if a film covered the eyes; dimness and weakness of sight after close work. Redness and burning of conjunctiva after prolonged strain or excitement.

Buzzing and ringing in the ears accompanying vertigo. Hyperacusis in some cases; in others, dullness of hearing.

Dryness of nasal passages, or a sensation of heat in the nose. Occasional sneezing without coryza.

Pale or flushed face during urinary difficulties. Expression may be vacant or absent-minded.

Dryness of mouth and throat with unquenchable thirst. Taste altered, sometimes metallic or bitter. Sensation of swelling of the tongue without objective change.

Transient toothache with facial neuralgia; worse from cold air.

Dry, with constant desire to swallow, though swallowing gives no relief. Occasionally a constricted feeling, as if the throat were too narrow.

Oppression of chest, especially after walking quickly. Palpitation felt in chest and throat.

Pulse may be rapid during sexual excitement or urinary pain. Palpitations from anxiety.

Shortness of breath with chest tightness, aggravated by exertion.

Hunger soon after eating. Nausea with vertigo, especially on exertion. Uneasy feeling in stomach, sometimes described as “fluttering.”

Abdominal distension with flatulence, more in the lower abdomen. Sharp, stitching pains in hypogastrium, often connected to urinary or genital irritation.

Ineffectual urging to stool, with a sensation of incomplete evacuation. Haemorrhoids protrude after stool, sore to touch.

This is the chief sphere of action. Burning during urination, especially at the urethral meatus, often persisting after micturition [Hering]. Intense, frequent urging with scanty urine. Strangury with sharp, cutting pains. Inflammation of bladder and urethra after gonorrhoeal infection, with marked pain at the close of urination. Urine sometimes dribbles involuntarily after passing water. In chronic cases, a gleety discharge remains after acute urethritis.

Craving for cold water; aversion to fatty foods during acute urinary symptoms.

Sexual desire often greatly increased, even to the point of causing insomnia [Allen]. Erections frequent, painful, or incomplete. Emissions with or without dreams; weakness and irritability follow. Post-coital burning in urethra.

Increased sexual desire; genital excitement even without physical stimulus. Menstrual flow may be more profuse and prolonged, with a sensation of heaviness in pelvis. Occasionally used for urinary burning during pregnancy.

Aching in lumbar region, worse from prolonged standing or after urination. Sensation of weakness or trembling in small of back.

Weakness in legs, especially thighs, with trembling on exertion [Allen]. Stiffness of knees after sitting long. Sensation as though the legs could not support the body.

Itching in scattered spots, sometimes burning. Eruptions rare, but occasionally small vesicles in genital area from irritation.

• Cannabis indica – More pronounced mental distortions and hallucinations; Cannabis sativa has a stronger urinary-genital focus.
• Cantharis – Intense burning before, during, and after urination; Cann-s. less violent but more chronic.
• Sabal serrulata – Chronic prostatitis, less acute burning than Cann-s.
• Pareira brava – Severe straining with pain radiating down thighs; Cann-s. less radiation.

• Complementary: Cantharis, Thuja.
• Antidotes: Lemon juice, camphor.
• Follows well: Aconite in acute onset of urinary inflammation

• In acute gonorrhoea with burning urethral pain and constant urging, it is often useful after Aconite.
• Chronic gleet with post-urination dribbling responds well.
• In women, valuable for post-coital burning or sexual hyperaesthesia linked to urinary irritation.

Mind:

• Delusions of altered space and time.
• Forgetful, loses thread of conversation.
• Alternating gaiety and sadness.

Urinary:

• Burning in urethra during and after urination.
• Frequent urging with scanty urine.
• Dribbling after urination.

Male:

• Increased sexual desire.
• Erections, frequent and painful.
• Emissions with or without dreams.

Female:

• Increased sexual desire.
• Burning after coition.

Extremities:

• Weakness in legs.
• Trembling after exertion.

Generalities:

• Weakness after coition.
• Aggravation from prolonged standing.

1. Hering, C. – Guiding Symptoms: Detailed urinary-genital sphere symptoms.
2. Allen, T.F. – Encyclopaedia: Full proving details, especially altered perceptions.
3. Clarke, J.H. – Dictionary: Time and space distortions, chronic urinary indications.
4. Hughes, R. – Cyclopaedia: Pharmacodynamic notes.
5. Boericke, W. – Pocket Manual: Concise clinical applications.
6. Farrington, E.A. – Clinical MM: Comparative genital-urinary indications.
7. Kent, J.T. – Lectures: Commentary on mental sphere.
8. Lippe, A. – Keynotes: Burning in urethra after urination.
9. Nash, E.B. – Leaders: Gonorrhoeal history.
10. Boger, C.M. – Synoptic Key: Characteristic urinary notes.