During the discussion of document E/CN.7/256 in the 214th meeting of the eighth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, on 16 1,pri1 1953, a request was made for "an additional study on the physical and mental effects of the used of cannabis* tri in order to complete the writer's earlier study(5°)which is in the hands of the members of the Commission.    The facts and papers mentioned in the latter will not, therefore, be repeated here.

There are, indeed, quite a number of papers which have appeared since 1948 and there are also some older ones to which it seemed advisable to refer in the present study.

On the other hand, considerations of time and space necessitated a restriction in the choice as well as in the use and evaluation of the contents of the papers referred to. The writer has, therefore, thought it advisable to confine his study mainly to papers published in the scientific press. Facts contained in the Annual Reports and other government publications are known to the members of the Commission on Narcctic Drugs and are therefore mentioned only for special reasons. Furthermore, it seemed advisable to include some reference to botanical and pharmacological matters, as well as to cultural and social aspects.

As far as recent special governmental publications on the cannabis problem are concerned, there are two in particular which should be cited:

(a) a volume of some 400 pages containing 24 papers from Brazil, (6). which gives a comprehensive picture of the situation in that country and also contains valuable general views; all or most of these papers have been published before in different periodicals; some of them have been referred to in the earlier study(50)and'others are mentioned in the present study.

(b) the South African report,V-3)known to the members of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, an exhaustive study based on a large number of observations and enquiries and leading to important conclusions.

An effort has been made to present the material of this study in short chapters; however, some overlapping was unavoidable in order to maintain a certain continuity in the observations and statements of the different authors.

Before entering into details, reference is made to an illustrative study on:

*This request was repeated during the ninth session (19 April to 14 May 1954(45)