Marijuana

Marijuana

171 Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands BOOK REVIEWS Edited by...

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171

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

BOOK

REVIEWS

Edited by H . PETSCHE and JOHN R. HUGHES

Marijuana. - - E. R. Bloomquist. (Glencoe Press, Beverly Hills, Calif., 1968, 216 p., $1.25). This little book appears to be Dr. Bloomquist's answer to another paperback entitled Marihuana Papers. Inasmuch as this reviewer had read the Marihuana Papers earlier and had found them, in part, rather amusing, Dr. Bloomquist's work, which covers basically the same material, was anticlimactic. It discusses the botany and history of the plant, the user and his group, the effects on mentation and behavior, the argument whether it is better or worse than alcohol or tobacco, the laws and, as a sort of summary, it presents the author's preferred answers to commonly asked questions. For members of the establishment not blessed with children of the "now generation", Dr. Bloomquist also provides a glossary of the drug scene, and for those shy souls who might not want to be caught smoking a reefer, he gives detailed instructions on how to roll your own. Although the first few pages leave one somewhat in doubt about where the author stands in regard to the value or dangers of marijuana, his position becomes increasingly clear as one reads on. The conclusion is that marijuana is a dangerous drug with no medical benefit, and its use should not be permitted. The book is therefore the antithesis to the Marihuana Papers, in which the author argues for the benefits of the weed and against restrictive legislation. From the scientific point of view, the book has little to offer. There is hardly any information about controlled laboratory studies, and references to such publications as the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek abound in the bibliography. The title is actually somewhat misleading; the book should be more properly called Cannabis. But under these circumstances, it would hardly appeal to the prospective customer. The author repeatedly points out the mildness of the American variety of marijuana, but the main tone of the book addresses itself to the effects of chronic abuse of the Mexican or Oriental variety, and especially the effects of hashish. The author uses the word cannabis interchangeably with marijuana, thereby obliterating the differences between a weak and a strong compound. The book is apparently an outgrowth of the only scientific article on marijuana Dr. Bloomquist has published in the medical literature and of which we are told by the paperback's publisher that it "... was of such value that nearly a million reprints have been distributed". The article appeared in California Medicine and says in eight pages what is expanded to 216 in the book. It is

likewise a review paper, citing the opinions of others rather than the author's own personal investigations. Even this article's bibliography abounds with references to such sources as the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers magazine and the words of Abraham Lincoln. If this review serves arty purpose for the clinical electroencephalographer, it is to point out to him that the book does not contain neurophysiological information and neither do the references listed in the bibliography. This is not Dr. Bloomquist's fault, however, because genuine scientific information is extremely scant at present. Anyone interested in establishing dose effect curves of the various parts of the native, as well as :he Mexican and Oriental plant, utilizing objectively measureable parameters, would find a wide open field. Although this review may read somewhat like an indictment, it should be stated in all fairness that the book was not written for scientists but for the gerteral public. ERNST A. RODIN

Lq/ayette Clinic, Detroit, Michigan 4820 7 ( U.S..4.) Eleetroenceph. olin. Neurophysiol., 1971, 30:171

Migraine: mechanisms and management. - - J. Pearce (C. C. Thomas, Springfield, 1969, 1115 p., $7.50). Dr. Pearce's brief monograph is a brisk and fact-filled account of what is known about migraine in 1969. Written in the orderly style of a textbook chapter, it organizes and summarizes current concepts of the disorder. By digesting, evaluating and weighting information, it provides a useful and accurate guide to a practical understanding of the clinical problems, as well as a foundation for further reading of the extensive headache literature. The author's personal interest in the complicated forms of migraine - ophtbalmoplegic, hemiplegic, and basilar-artery migraine - results in a particularly useful discussion of these thorny problems. The neurologist is often pressed to investigate such cases with arteriographic studies in an effort to demonstrate an underlying vascular anomaly or aneurysm as the basis for the headaches. The author indicates the rarity with. which these lesions are found and wisely points out the potential dangers of angiography in the migraine patient. The relationship of epilepsy to migraine is reviewed, both from the viewpoint of the migraineur and of the epileptic patient. The author concludes that there is a

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol., 1971, 30:171 172