Hashish and the decline of Arab civilization
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There are several reasons for the decay of Arab civilization. Probably the main one was the genetically shattering impact of the Mongol invasions on the high civilization lands of Asian Islam.
These conquests were accompanied, not by spontaneous cruelty, but by the systematic extermination of the civilian population in a series of towns, and the laying waste of whole regions. It was a planned destruction of mass killing. The scholars, the scribes and the clergy, the upper class, the merchants and the skilled artisans and masters of specialized trades were located mainly in the cities, and hence when these peoples were. All destroyed, there was imposed an immense genetic handicap on the subjugated populations. The Moslem creative minority was exterminated in Asia, as it was in other regions exposed to the Mongol scourge. These killings were followed by centuries of despotic rule, and then towards the close of the fourteenth century, Timurlenk ravaged India, Iran and Turkestan with hideous exterminations.
Nathaniel Weyl has suggested that the Mongols probably completed the destruction of Islamic civilization and inflicted irrevocable genetic havoc on Arab mental ability by spreading hashish addiction throughout Islam. (65)
Hashish was probably introduced from India into Persia by the founder of Sufism, a sect of mystics. By 1155 A-D. cannabis addiction is known to have been prevalent among the Sufis of Nisabur. Hashish use increased suddenly and dramatically at the time of the Mongol invasions, and was most common among the sufistic intellectuals, scholars and poets.(66)
The ulemas or interpreters of Koranic law, were unanimous in their disapproval of hashish use, but in spite of this, the drug continued to be popular. In the nineteenth century, hashish use appears to have been widespread and used even by theologians. (67) In 1959, Dr. M.I. Soueif, Chairman of the Department of Psychology and Philosophy at Cairo University, was requested to study cannabis addiction in Egypt by President Nasser. He found that hashish usage was prevalent enough to constitute a 'big sort of catastrophe' and to be a main cause of Egyptian 'lethargy' and low levels of drive and ambition. Over 78% of users were unable to drop the habit, and Soueif added, 'Those with a higher level of education and/or intelligence - show the largest amount of deterioration, illiterates almost no deterioration, and semi-literates in between.'(68)
In addition to being consumed in a considerably more potent form, the hashish of the Middle
East has been used for some seven centuries against some 60 years of widespread use in the West. This is of cardinal importance if, as appears possible, cannabis has a cumulative destructive effect on the genetic structure from generation to generation. This, says Weyl, would do much to explain the irrational modes of thought of the political leadership and intelligentsia of the Arab World and the extreme volatility and paroxysmal emotionality of the Arab masses.
Gabrile G. Nahas believed that hashish addiction has played a major role in reducing the Arab lands to the barran stagnation and oppressive mass poverty that has only been partially alleviated by the oil bonanza. He writes: (69)
Six hundred years before Columbus landed in the Caribbean, at a time when North America was covered by forests and plains populated by wild animals and a few thousand Indians the Arab world was one of the centers of civilization. In fabulous cities, such as Persepolis, Baghdad and Damascus, an industrious population of traders and craftsmen were thriving. They built elegant mosques and palaces, and financed famous universities where the best scientists and scholars of the time could be found. Their shrewd and effective leaders swept through North Africa into the South of Europe, to be stopped finally in Poitiers by the French. The decline of this brilliant Moslem civilization cannot be attributed to a single cause but to many of the interacting factors which tend to erode man's creative energy and blunt the full exercise of his power. Among these, abuse of Cannabis, the deceptive weed, with its promise of instant heaven on earth, cannot be excluded. This possibility might be one of the reasons why concerned physicians and responsible leaders from Arab countries have fought, during the past 50 years, to eradicate the use of hashish from a land once known as "the fertile crescent," which is now stagnant and destitute. It has been until now the ever-losing battle of a few courageous men attempting to turn an overwhelming tide.
The Central Narcotics Intelligence Bureau of the Egyptian Government has tried to combat the use of hashish. and in its Annual Report 1944 (70) said:'...the prepared product of the cannabis saliva plant, while having very limited medicinal use, is capable of profoundly disturbing the brain cells and of inducing acts of violence, even murder- it is in fact a thoroughly vicious and dangerous thing of no value whatever to humanity and deserving of nothing but the odium and contempt of civilised people.'
Furthermore, in the late 1960s, India, the United Arab Republic, Mexico and Ghana appealed to the Western World to help them stamp out the use of cannabis. This fact has rarely been publicised. These countries know its long-term social effects, and it would be the height of irresponsibility for Western governments to adopt short-sighted measures and relax the laws against cannabis. Our governments need to support these other countries in combating this social menace.
CONCLUSION
One particularly disturbing aspect of cannabis use is that the adverse effects do not seem to be recognised by the majority of users. Some of these are viewed simply as inevitable hazards, and even when such symptoms as mental confusion, severe anxiety or other unpleasant effects occur, contact with medical authorities is seldom made. A Canadian study showed that only 3.6% of regular daily users reported unpleasant problems, and only 1.2% of occasional users sought medical treatment for cannabis problems. (7 1) There is also quite often a failure of the health authorities to establish a connection between the use of cannabis and the presenting problems. In 1973 Consultant Psychiatrist Elizabeth Tylden wrote that the clinical disadvantages of cannabis, although extremely well documented, were not generally known because there had been a large promotional campaign (backed by some members of the medical profession) which minimised the adverse effects. (72) Psychiatrist J. Carranza of the University of Texas School of Medicine who has had much experience with cannabis problems, has written of the serious denial that exists among mental health professionals and physicians that cannabis is harmful. (73) It is popularly thought among nearly all sections of the population that cannabis is harmless. He writes, 'psychologists and psychiatrists are evading the issue and they deny any psychopathology "when cannabis is smoked socially". Many Mental Health Professionals just believe that cannabis can be smoked "recreationally" and so why should one attribute psychopathology to cannabis? Let me tell you my personal opinion since I am both a psychiatrist and a clinical pharmacologist; we cannot accept any recreational " use in our society of a combination of drugs inhaled and producing aberrant thinking and behaviours that are highly dangerous to self, family and learning.'(74)
Evidence has been presented in this booklet which demonstrates that cannabis causes mental impairment. Sections 1 to 3 have described how cognitive processes may deteriorate, and the higher functions and qualities of the brain may be lost. The effects of cannabis reported by Solowij, Lundqvist and Ericsson are similar to some which maybe caused by damage to the frontal lobes of the brain.
Some responses of cannabis are 'acute' ones such as psychosis and panic attacks, and these may be short lived. These need to be distinguished from long-term effects which may persist long after consumption. These are partly due to the accumulation of cannabinoids in body fat for long periods, and to the dysfunction of parts of the brain (although acute psychosis may be a symptom of long-term accumulation of cannabinoids). Here lies one of the main reasons why cannabis should not be legalized, it takes such a long time for the drug to clear from the body (as compared for instance with a drug like alcohol). Cannabinoids are fat soluble, and when the drug is in the fat ', it takes a long time to come out again. If the concentration in the fat is high, it maintains a high concentration in the blood by the process of equilibrium, and so maintains the level of the drug in the brain, although fat itself has a poor blood supply.
Cannabis also dissolves in cell membranes. This causes physical properties in the membranes to change which consequently alter its functional state. This means that affected membranes in the brain will alter the functional properties of nerve cells, and this explains the indirect effect of cannabis on the brain. It is not only cannabinoid receptors that are affected, but the receptors of other neurotransmitters as well. If this happens then the drug is able to affect all functions of the brain.
This booklet has been produced with a concern that the adverse effects of cannabis should be more widely known, both among the general public and professional people. Cannabis use has become a major epidemic. It is a massive human experiment, possibly, says Carranza, one of the largest observed at any time in Western Society. Much more education is needed to demonstrate to people that cannabis with its 400 chemicals is not harmless. I am particularly concerned that many thousands of students are using cannabis regularly, even at the best universities, seemingly unaware or unconcerned at the serious impairment of their mental abilities that the drug causes. In the USA a 'Marijuana Campaign' is about to be launched by NIDA and other groups such as 'The Partnership for a Drug Free America'. This is aimed at providing accurate information on marijuana effects to deal with the current upswing of teenage usage. In Australia, the government has recently published a book dealing with the psychological consequences of cannabis use. A similar educational effort is needed now in Britain, sponsored by the government and other interested bodies, which presents clear factual evidence of the harmful and dangerous effects of cannabis.
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11 FRISCHKNECHT,H.R-,ibid.,pp.303-309.
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pg20
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David Copestake is a trained psychologist and member of the International Cannabis Research Society. In the mid 1960s as a young clergyman he founded and ran the first British church club for drug-abusers, and had daily contact with cannabis users. He was also an active campaigner against drug trafficking. In the 1970s he and his wife Margaret ran the 'Friends of Jesus' home for young people in need. This was a converted public house used to give temporary accommodation and help to drug-abusers and those with personality, fancily, mental and criminal problems.
He is the author of With Christ in the World of drug Addiction (1967), Cannabis: is Hash Safe? (1 979), and Is Hashish Safe? (India, 1981).
I would like to thank Dr David Harvey of Oxford University and Dr Roger Pertwee of Aberdeen University for providing material, reading the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. Also to Dr Elizabeth Tylden, hon. consultant psychiatrist Bromley Hospital, University College and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, for helping with earlier research and providing stimulating discussion, and to Prof. Derek Bryce-Smith for writing the foreword.
Further copies of this booklet may be obtained from the author. Price L2.00 each (post paid) at:
22 Meadow View, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 9SR. |
