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228. Evidence of MUNSHI BORAM KISHOR, Kayasth, Zamindar, and Member of
the District Board, Machlishahr, Jaunpur.
(1) Medical books. (2) Information from con-
sumers. (3) Personal knowledge.
2. Definitions may be accepted.
3. Gorakhpur, Basti, Fyzabad, Bahraich.
4. Ganja—jasa, pathar, chipta, mara, baluchar.
Bhang—sabzi, patti, siddhi, buti.
Charas—No other name.
5. Damp soil.
6. Dense.
7. Not cultivated in this district.
16. Bhang is generally prepared by people in
their houses. It can be prepared from the hemp
plant wherever grown. So can ganja and charas.
Drugs so prepared are of inferior quality.
18. All these can be kept with care for one year.
Are spoilt by damp, but preserved by exposure to
the sun.
19. Used only for smoking.
20. Ganja and charas—Fakirs, Rajputs, Musa-
hars, Chamars, Kahars.
21. Flat ganja is prepared.
22. Foreign charas from Punjab.
23. Bhang never used for smoking.
24. Banias and Brahmans eat and drink bhang.
The chief localities of consumption are Mathura,
Benares, Allahabad, Mirzapur and Bindachal.
25. The use of ganja and charas is on the in-
crease, because they cause speedy intoxication and
are cheap and allay fatigue.
28. (a) From one to four annas.
(b) From annas eight to Re. one.
29. (a) Ordinary people, tobacco.
(b) Fakirs, dhatura.
30. Ganja and charas—in company. Bhang—
alone. Children do not consume drugs unless they
become fakirs in their childhood.
31. Habit easily formed ; broken off with diffi-
culty ; tendency to excessive consumption.
32. Consumption not regarded as a religious duty
except by fakirs.
33. Generally held in disrepute, because they cause
loss of mental faculties. No custom of worshipping
the hemp plant.
34. Serious privations only to sadhus.
35. It would be feasible to prohibit use of any or
all of them, and enforce the prohibition by crimina
process. Habitual consumers would be temporarily
discontented, but would subsequently be thankful
to the Government. No political danger.
36. People who find that they are suffering harm
from drugs, they take to alcoholic liquor in order
to break themselves of drug-taking.
37. Ganja causes intoxication sooner than charas.
38. Flat ganja causes intoxication more quickly
than other kinds. Other kinds cause headache.
40. Yunani doctors prescribe them, and they are
used for cattle disease.
42. They are not harmless. Reasons: Ganja
and charas—Body becomes dry, mind debilitated.
44. These drugs are not refreshing. Bhang
creates appetite. The effect of bhang lasts six hours,
of ganja two hours. The after-effect is laziness.
45. (a) Bhang does not cause physical, mental
or moral injury. Ganja does.
Effect of ganja on—
(b) Constitution.—Blood dried, limbs be-
come slack, pain to body.
(c) Digestion is injured, appetite lost.
(d) Bronchitis and asthma are caused.
(e) Habits of immorality are formed. Moral
sense impaired.
47. Appears to be hereditary and affects the
children of moderate consumers.
49. At first the use of hemp acts as an aphrodi-
siac. After some time it causes impotence. Pro-
stitutes do not use it.
54. A few use them for this purpose.
55. They mix hemp drugs with dhatura and
administer them to their victims. Complete
stupefaction can be caused by the unmixed drug.
56. Hemp drugs mixed with dhatura form a
deadly poison.
57. Only so used as medicines.
58. The present administration is severe, and is
not capable of improvement.
229. Evidence of REV. THOMAS EVANS,* Minister, Mussoorie.
Instead of sending a categorical reply to the 70
questions put down in the paper received, I think
it best to give my opinion and views on the use
of hemp drugs under two or three general heads,
which may answer the purpose as well :—
I.—I would say that I am glad that this ques-
tion has been submitted for the enquiry of a com-
petent Commission, though I think there should
have been a larger non-official element on the Com-
mission. I do not deem it fair either to the public
or to the official members, who are the servants of
Government, to hand over the solution of a ques-
tion which involves a large amount of revenue to
the decision of a majority of officials, and I am not
at all sure that the non-official members are by
any means the most fitted men for the post they
are called upon to take in this matter.
II.—I have tried to get native gentlemen who
could give valuable evidence to do so, but, with few
exceptions, I have failed, and the excuse is either
that native officials (and even barristers and plea-
ders) are afraid to give evidence lest they should
thereby give offence to the Government, or in the
case of others who say that the " use of these drugs
is considered low and vulgar " in native society, and
that in case they gave evidence it might be thought
that they were addicted to such bad habits and
suffer in their izzat.
The Commission has my full sympathy in the
I difficulty they have to elicit the necessary informa-
tion on account of the abovementioned fears, and it
would appear to me that the only natives from
whom reliable evidence can be gathered are (a)
those who are engaged in the traffic, and (b) the
Invited to attend at a meeting of the Commission for oral exnmination, but failed to appear.