276
impotence of long duration result from excessive
excitation following a single administration.
56. In every bazar through all hours of the
night majum is sold for the use of prostitutes and
their devotees. This is a sweetmeat made with a
decoction of the flower tops.
In conclusion, I consider restriction of the sale
of ganja under conditions similar to those requir-
ed for poisonous drugs in Great Britain, would
be an unqualified blessing to the country ; thus
contrasting with action taken against opium,
which agitation I believe to be unnecessary and
mischievous. 1 consider special measures should
be taken to restrain the use of ganja by sepoys,
and especially to prevent the young sepoy from
acquiring the habit.
Oral evidence,
Question 1.—I h a v e s e r v e d s i x t e e n y e a r s i n t h e
Civil Department. I was Superintendent of the
Lunatic Asylum at Madras for about six months.
I have had no special training or experience in
lunacy in England.
Question 31 .—Only the part of the population
which is naturally vicious takes to ganja. I do
not see anything inconsistent in my answer 31
with my answer 45 in regard to the effect of the
drug in inducing immorality.
Question 45—I refer to the habitual or con-
tinued moderate use when stating that the drug
impairs the moral sense, and induces laziness, im--
morality, and debauchery. The portion of my
answer relating to insanity, including the reference
to answer 39, contemplates the excessive use. I
have known the moderate use in cases of sepoys
and one private servant. I have seen sepoys
smoking ganja, in the lines, and known from hear-
say that it was ganja they were smoking. Besides
the above direct observation, I have derived
general impressions. My opinion of the effect of
the moderate use in impairing the moral sense and
inducing laziness, etc., is a general impression
and not based on actual observation. I could not
say that the cases of the sepoys presented these
effects. My general impression is based upon the
fact that persons alleged to have been ganja smok-
ers have presented these characteristics; but I
have not specially enquired into the truth of the
allegation that they were ganja smokers. They
were pointed out as notorious ganja smokers.
did not discriminate in these cases between the
moderate and excessive use, because I was not
called upon to do so. Though I have not made
the matter one for special enquiry, still I an
decidedly of opinion, from general observatioi
during my service, that the moderate use of the
drug leads to laziness and debauchery, Thes
effects can be produced by other causes. A viciou
life will produce them.
Question 46.—The physical effects of moderate
smoking vary with the constitution of the smoke
r . A m a n o f a b o u t 3 5 y e a r s o f a g e ,w
h o s a i d h e h a d
smoked from five years of age and is now an
immoderate smoker, showed no physical
d e t e r i o r a - t i o n . A n o t h e r m a n o f a b o u t 5 5 w h o t o o k t o t h e
habit at 30 or 35 is now a wreck. The conclusion
I d r a w f r o m t h e s e c a s e s i s t h a t t h e r e s u l t s w i l l
differ with the constitution of the persons co
n - c e r n e d . I r e f e r h e r e t o t h e i m m o d e r a t e u s e , w h i c h
may in one case induce no symptoms, and shew
very evident effects in another. I should say the
same of opium. Speaking generally, the immoder-
ate use of the opium does induce certain symptoms.
Ganja also used immoderately induces specific
symptoms. The immunity in one of the cases
described above is due to the man's power of resist-
ing the drugs ; but the normal tendency of the
drug is to cause deterioriation. I base my
explanation in regard to these two cases on my
general experience of the excessive use of the
drug and not upon the two cases alone.
My general experience of the effects of exces-
- sive use is based on cases in the lunatic asylum, and
also upon observations among the class of fakirs
and bairagis who use the drug largely in the
course of my dispensary practice. I have seen
large numbers of such persons in my hospital
practice, as well as during my inspections of
towns. In the latter case the men were, of
course, not under my treatment; but I must
have conversed with such persons. I have also
had a private patient who had the drug ad-
ministered to him in an excessive dose. This is
the case mentioned under question 50. This is
the extent of my experience. I understand by
immoderate use, use for the purpose of intoxication.
By intoxication, I mean the exhilaration, which
is all the intoxication that can be got by an im-
moderate consumer. I regard the use as im-
moderate in every case in which it is not medi-
cinal. There are moderate consumers who smoke
for the purpose of exhilaration in the ordinary
sense, which is a different thing from the exhi-
laration of the immoderate smoker.
As regards insanity induced by the drugs,
I allude to cases I have seen in the asylum. I
have no doubt had to deal with other cases ;
but I cannot recall any of them. I believe the
hemp drugs to be the exciting and not the pre-
disposing cause of insanity. The insanes I have
seen have come from the classes of sepoys and
Bairagis. Bairagis live poorly ; but I do not
know anything of their character as a class.
There are no characteristic symptoms of hemp
drug insanity. All the symptoms which occur
in such cases may be due to other causes. The
diagnosis is based purely on history. I should
not necessarily ascribe the insanity to hemp
drugs, because the insane's history shewed the
hemp drug habit. I should select the cause
which appeared in the history to he most promi-
nent. The histories as given by natives are
fairly reliable if they allege ganja ; they would
not be able to differentiate other causes so readily.
If heredity appeared in a history and the ganja
habit as well, I should ascribe the insanity to
heredity as the predisposing cause and to ganja as
the exciting cause. I believe that such a case would
appear in an asylum register under the head of
“Toxic insanity " under ganja. I cannot remember
the number of insane cases in the asylum due to
ganja when I was in charge, nor the number of
relapses. I have no instance of relapses of
insanity due to relapse into the ganja habit.
By " wearing out " in question 46, I mean that
the nervous system requires rest for correct
nutrition, and in the presence of over-stimulation
this nutrition cannot be secured. The case is
not exactly analogous to that of alcohol, because
in the case of alcohol I believe you will have
, b e s i d e s e f f e c t s o f o v e r - s t i m u l a t i o n , p h y s i c a l c h a n g e s p r o d u c e d i n t h e n e r v e t i s s u e , w h e r e a s i n
the case of ganja you will not, as far as I know,
have such changes. I can give no reference to
a post-mortem examination of a ganja consumer
in which any tissue change in the brain has been
recognized. My statement regarding the ab--
sence of change in nerve tissue is merely my