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The Marihuana Problem in New York City

· New York City,Marihuana,Medical Studies,Medical Research Book,Dalhousie University

As advertised, I am always looking for quirky, or if you prefer – esoteric books. And the book featured in this musing would quality under either banner. And it is also very scarce.

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The Marihuana Problem in the City of New York: Sociological, Medical, Psychological and Pharmacological Studies; by the Mayor’s Committee on Marihuana; The Jaques Cattell Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1944.

I just acquired this book and here is the wording posted along with the book, yesterday.

An interesting provenance – a gift presented by Dean Grant to the Dalhousie University Medical Library, with typical library markings and withdrawal card in the back of the book. There is one penciled mark in the summary section of the book that reads – The marihuana users with whom contact was made in this study were persons without steady employment. The majority fall in the age group of 20 to 30 years. Idle and lacking initiative, they suffer boredom and seek distraction. Smoking is indulged in for the sake on conviviality and sociability and because it affords a temporary feeling of adequacy in meeting disturbing situations. From the foreword by Mayor F. H. LaGuardia – As Mayor of the City of New York, it is my duty to foresee and take steps to prevent the development of hazards to the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens. When rumors were recently circulated concerning the smoking of marihuana by large segments of our population and even by school children, I sought advice from The New York Academy of Medicine. On the Academy’s recommendation I appointed a special committee to make a thorough sociological and scientific investigation, and secured funds from three Foundations with which to finance these studies. I am glad that the sociological, psychological. And medical ills commonly attributed to marihuana have found to be exaggerated insofar as the City of New York in concerned. The book has 53 tables.

This book, 220 pages is in very-good condition. The front cover has a light spray of white dots. An extremely rare study of the issue, undertaken in World War II.

The tables in the book are quite interesting. Here are several more.

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My muse, Sabrina

Sabrina lives on the shoreline of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia. She has been there for a long, long time. She doesn’t get around much, but she enjoys being in the salt water. She changes her hair style twice a day and changes her glasses to fit the weather conditions and her temperament.

I walked past Sabrina almost every day for the past twenty some years, first with Gryphon and then with Freyja, our wonderful Belgian Shepherds. Now, I walk by Sabrina by myself.

She started to reach out to me just over the past couple of years. I started to stop and look at her beautiful hair and she started to respond to my attention by planting thoughts in my head. Good thoughts, encouraging thoughts, stimulating thoughts, influential thoughts. She has become my muse. Although, I must confess some days she is stone-faced and refuses to talk to me. Thankfully, not often.

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