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Question 45.—The moderate use of charas may
exceptionally produce insanity ; but my remarks as
to effects refer mainly to the excessive use. Moder-
ate use would only produce insanity in the case of
persons with weak intellect. By that I mean
taking the drug to the extent of one or two chil-
lums:
My experience is based on persons coming as
patients to the hospital. As to dysentery, I saw a
case of a man who said he was a charas smoker,
and took an excessive dose, and it brought on
dysentery. I had doubts as to this being the
cause. But I think charas may injure the diges-
tion and predispose to diarrhoea or dysentery. I
have not enough of cases to be able to say that the
drug really produces dysentery. I am not certain.
But I have had a case or two with allegations as to
this being the cause, and I had no other cause. I
ought to say rather, " It may produce " than " It
does produce" dysentery.
As to insanity, my remarks are based on cases
sent to the dispensary for observation. I have a
room where civil lunatics are thus kept for observa-
tion. I am in charge and have to watch the cases.
The Civil Surgeon reports. These observations are
the sole basis of my remarks. I have also occasion-
ally seen the cases in the jail when occasionally
acting as Civil Surgeon.
In such cases we inquire from the patient, if he
is able to answer, otherwise from the relatives or
people who bring him in. In nearly half the cases
we see relatives or friends. The cases that come
are generally poor people; and the relatives are
generally uneducated, and of the low order of in-
telligence found among such people. The kind of
questions I put would be (1) the general health of
the man, and (2) his previous history, i.e., how
long he was insane, and what he did that made
them bring him in, (3) whether any of the parents
was a lunatic or addicted to anything extraordinary
or had a fit of insanity, and (4) the cause of the
insanity : had he been taking charas or alcohol, or
been exposed to the sun, or had injury to the brain?
If the use of charas for any length of time was
mentioned, we would not make any further in-
quiries than I have mentioned above, but simply
believe that that was chiefly the cause in bringing
on the insanity. We accept charas so readily,
because when there is no other cause mentioned we
accept that, and that is a thing on which the friends
can speak most easily. This is a cause which they
can more easily ascertain than any other.
I am not certain whether we write the cause in
the certificate, but we are at liberty to mention it, if
we ascertain it from the friends. We enter it in
that case as one of the "facts ascertained from
others." I am of opinion that charas alone does in
certain cases cause insanity.
My belief is that in one-fifth of the cases I see,
charas or bhang may be the chief cause or sole
cause. I cannot say how long the insanity lasts.
41. Evidence of ASSISTANT SURGEON RAM NARAIN, Delhi,
3. I have seen it growing very abundantly in
Kulu sub-division (where I have lived for two years)
up to about ten thousand feet above the sea level.
It grows there spontaneously. In Delhi district
also, the wild plant is met with along the banks of
canal and waste places, but the growth here is not
abundant.
4. In Delhi it is known by the names of bhang,
buti and subzi. The wild plant is called bhangra.
6. The growth of the wild plant in Delhi dis-
trict is scattered, but in Kulu, I have seen very
dense tracts of it near the river Bias.
14. The wild plant grown in Delhi is not used
for the preparation of ganja, bhang, or charas.
16. In Delhi bhang is purchased from the
licensed shop-keepers already prepared; it is,
however, washed with plain water before it is used.
Bhangra or the wild plant is considered very heat-
ing, and is seldom used for preparation of bhang,
ganja, or charas. Some people do collect the wild
plant, and use it as bhang when dry, but this is
done only by few. I have taken the wild plant for
the sake of experiment, but it produced no intoxi-
cating effect upon me, (Perhaps the quantity was
too little to produce any effect).
19. In Delhi, charas is mostly used, and as far
as I am aware, it is only used for smoking.
20, The low classes, such as kahars, sweepers,
fakirs, etc., and the poor people generally smoke
charas. The use of ganja is not common in Delhi.
I have seen it only smoked by Poorabia Brahmins
who are not natives of this place, but belong to
North-Western Provinces.
The locality where habitual smokers of charas
mostly resort to is the Jamna river near which one
can meet with several parties of them smoking on
every Sunday. Next to Jamna river their frequent
Vol V.
places of smoking are shivalas (places of worship),
and other fixed places where several of them sit
together and smoke their chillum (pipe).
22. In Delhi district foreign charas is used.
23. I have never seen or heard bhang being
smoked for the sake of intoxication, but I have
heard of some quacks advising bhang to be taken
in this way for the cure of piles.
24. As cold infusion, bhang is taken particularly
on certain occasions of festivals by all classes of
Hindus, especially the uneducated ones.
It is taken as bolus by some habitual consumers;
others take it in the form of majun (small lozenge-
shaped sweetmeat made of bhang, milk, ghi, and
sugar). It is thus eaten or drunk in their own
houses or in some shivala or near the Jamna river
on certain festival days.
25. The use of these drugs is, in my opinion, on
the decrease. Because it is mostly among the un-
educated people that their use is so common, and as
the number of such individuals is decreasing with
the advance of civilisation, the use of these drugs is
decreasing as well. The English educated portion
of the native community resorts more to alcoholic
drinks than to bhang and charas, the latter being
considered as intoxicants for the low classes and
ignorant only.
26. If we take one hundred of those who con-
sume bhang and charas, the proportion of them will
come to something as follows :—
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Bhang.
Habitual moderate consumers
20
Habitual excessive consumers
5
Occasional moderate consumers 50
Occasional excessive consumers 25
TOTAL
100
Charas.
60
30
9
1
100
3 O 2