516
which are called bhang, buti sukha, and bijia.
The stalks are used as fuel by the poor.
3. The wild hemp grows in the Hoshiarpur,
Jullundur, Umballa and Saharanpur districts and
in the Kapurthalla State. The plant is not culti-
vated. Its growth is abundant in the Saharan-
pur and Hoshiarpur districts.
4. Answer to this question is contained in my
reply to question No. 2.
5. Cold climate and sandy soil, liable to inunda-
tions, produce the plant in abundance. Rains too
are beneficial to the harvest. The growth is scarce
in uplands.
6. The growth is generally dense. It is, how-
ever, scattered where the seeds have not fallen in
abundance.
7. The hemp plant is never cultivated. It
grows spontaneously.
(a) and (b) No.
(c) Yes.
(d) No.
8. In my opinion the growth of the wild hemp
is greater than it was eight or ten years ago ; the
reason being that more area has been thrown up by
the rivers and hill-streams, which has been occu-
pied by the wild plant.
9. Nothing is known, as the plant is not culti-
vated in this province.
10. The plant is not cultivated in this province.
11. I do not know anything about ganja as it is
not produced in this province.
12. Nothing is known.
13. I know nothing, as ganja is not produced in
this province.
14. Neither ganja nor charas is prepared in
the Punjab. Bhang only is prepared from the
hemp plant. When the harvest is ripe, the plants
are reaped and dried in the sun. The dry leaves
are then collected, and the stalks thrown away are
used by the poor as fuel.
15. Bhang is prepared from the wild plant as
mentioned above, and is drunk after being pounded.
16. Bhang is not prepared by people in their
houses. It is prepared from the wild plant where-
ever they may be. Ganja and charas are not
manufactured in this province.
17. The license holders get the wild plant
collected through the labourers. Ganja and charas
are not produced at all in this province.
18. Bhang begins to lose its effect after one year,
and becomes absolutely useless after three years.
It totally deteriorates by drenching. It can keep
good for two years with ordinary care. If kept in
a dry place, it can remain good even for three years.
Damp place, however, brings about rapid deteriora-
tion. After one year, bhang begins to decrease in
value.
Charas is very strong during the first year;
after that it gradually loses its strength, until the
fourth year, when it becomes quite useless. Charas
keeps good at hill stations, such as Simla, Kulu,
Ladakh, Dharmsala, etc. The deterioration is
both rapid and complete if the drug is kept in a
warm place or exposed to heat. Hundreds of
maunds of charas which became useless have been
burnt in this district. It should be borne in mind
that after two years charas would not fetch one-
fourth its original price. I don't know anything
about ganja.
19. Nothing is known about ganja. Charas
is not used in any other way except for smoking.
20. I don't know anything about ganja.
Charas-smoking prevails mostly among Hindu
fakirs, sadhus, suthras, bairagis, sanyasis, jogis,
Muhammadan fakirs, professional musicians, kan-
jars and camp followers, such as grass-cutters and
sweepers.
The drug is also smoked at the takias and temple
by fakirs and those who visit them.
21. I know nothing, because ganja is not pro-
duced here.
22. Charas is not manufactured in this province.
It is imported from foreign territories, such as
Yarkand, etc., where it is prepared from the culti-
vated hemp. It is first brought to the Hoshiar-
pur and Amritsar districts, whence a greater
portion of it is exported to North-Western Prov-
inces and Oudh. The remainder is consumed
in the Punjab. European cloth and other articles
to the value of nearly 3 or 4 lacs of rupees are
annually exported from Hoshiarpur and Amritsar
to Yarkand and Ladakh by the traders of this
country as well as those of Yarkand, who bring
charas, gold, silver, etc., to this country in ex-
change.
23. Bhang is not smoked in this province.
24. Bhang-drinking prevails among Muham-
madan fakirs, sadhus, udasis, nirmalis, akalis
(Sikhs) and other Sikhs. No one eats it. Bhang
is largely consumed in the Sikh temples. Its
drinking is common among the people in general
in the Lahore and Multan districts, the Bahawal-
pur State, and in Sindh and North-Western
Provinces.
25. The consumption of charas and bhang is on
the increase nearly three years since, the reason
being that large quantities of charas were imported
during these years. The drug became cheap,
hence the increase in its consumption. The in-
crease in the consumption of bhang is due to bum-
per crops of the plant, and also to the substitu-
tion of lawful for illicit consumption.
26 and 27. Nothing is known.
2S.
(b)
Charas.
(a) One to two tolas
per diem.
Three or four tolas
per diem.
Bhang.
Three to four tolas per
diem.
Five or six tolas per
diem.
The consumption of charas and bhang prevails
to a larger extent among sadhus and fakirs than
the ordinary people. Bhang when prepared for
use diminishes by one-fourth after washing and
cleansing.
29. Almonds, seeds of musk melon, black pepper,
milk, sugar, and other ingredients are mixed with
bhang. Some persons mix all the ingredients,
while others mix black pepper only. The object of
these admixtures is to neutralize the arid effect of
bhang. Black pepper is mixed to make the drug
less flatulent, and milk and sugar to make it deli-
cious. Charas is smoked after being placed
between two layers of tobacco. Dhatura is not
generally mixed with bhang in this province.
30. Bhang is drunk in solitude as well as in
company. Charas is generally smoked in company
and rarely in solitude. None of these drugs is
used either by children or women.
31. The habit is formed by associating with
consumers. It is not so difficult to nip the habit
in the bud ; but to forego it after it is fully formed,