323
Oral evidence.
1.—I have passed the first class examination
for Hospital Assistants. I have been in Govern
- m e n t e m p l o y s i n c e 1 8 8 0 . I h a v e h a d n o s p e c i a l
experience in insanity.
45.—I only know these two cases of insanity
attributed to hemp drugs. One was sent to the
asylum. The other was a goldsmith, who used to
take a ganja pill, and also smoked excessively.
The pill is the one described in answer 29. It is
the pill consumed in the place where he smoked.
His people told me this was its composition. He
took no opium or spirits. He was not sexually
immoral. He was only a goldsmith by caste.
He wandered in the streets and used to smoke
with this company. He never lived with his
relatives. He always stopped in the house where
the smoking was, the small room rented for the
smokers. He became an excessive smoker in
1886, and became mad three or four months
after. Before 1886 he was all right and
used to work at his business. For eight months
he went about in the dissipated way I have de
- s c r i b e d . H e w a s i n s a n e . H e w a s t h e n c o n f i n e d b y
his friends for three months and then he became
all right. His family are all healthy people. He
is not married. I treated him for some slight
ailments before 1886. He was not a ganja-smoker
then. I do not know why lie took to the
d r u g . H i s b u s i n e s s w a s n o t f a l l i n g o f f . H e
never had smoked ganja at all until he took
to it in this way to excess. I do not know any
- t h i n g a b o u t t h e f a t h e r o r f u r t h e r b a c k r e l a t i o n s :
not what kind of men they were or what they
died of. But I know his mother and sisters; they
are all right. I never treated this man for his
insanity. I had no reason, therefore, to make
further inquiry as to the cause of insanity beyond
the ganja. If he had been my patient, I would
have asked about whether his parents were afflict
- e d w i t h i n s a n i t y o r a d d i c t e d t o d r u g s . I d i d
not make these inquiries.
116. Evidence of Hospital Assistant I. PARTHASARATHY CHETTY, P enukonda,
Anantapur District.
1. As a medical man—Hospital Assistant in
the Subordinate Medical Service—travelled whole
of Northern Circars and some parts of Ceded
Districts, and came across native physicians who
generally use the hemp plant among other drugs
in medical preparations; besides, I have had oppor
-tunities to often know the effects of the drug as
it is smoked, from ascetics, with many of whom
I spent my leisure moments in their philosophical
discussions.
2. As popularly understood by people in these
parts of the country, there are two sexes in this
plant as in all other plants—male and female
plant.
Male plant has smaller leaves (called flowering
tops when ripe), knottily and thickly shrouded
together with twigs at regular intervals. These
tops are gummy and yield resin, has also seeds
contained in these tops. These gummy leaves or
tops form the officinal part for narcotic properties.
Plants of branchlets of slightly red colour are said
to be the best, while those of white colour are com
-paratively of less value; apparently no flowers.
Female plant has not these tops as distinguished
from the leaves it is with; has well marked flowers
and also seeds of less size, appearing sparingly unlike
in male plant; does not yield resin.
There is another kind of this plant, jogi
b h a n g i t r e e ; t h e t w i g s a n d b r a n c h l e t s a r e b l u e b l a c k i n
colour while green. In this kind flower and flower
- i n g t o p s s p a r i n g l y a p p e a r . Y i e l d s r e s i n . T h i s i s
considered most intoxicating in its effects.
Ganja as understood here is the flower tops (the
grouped small leaves) of the plant male, used along
with tobacco for smoking purposes.
Charas.—I do not know anything of this. I
read in books it is applied to the resin.
Bhang is prepared from mixing in certain pro
-portion the paste of the tops in sweetened sugar
along with spices.
3. Nellore and some parts of Anantapur, mostly
at Penukonda.
4. It is known by the name of sidda pathri
both in Telugu and Tamil. It is also named vanai
karpam, karpam and karakarmuly in Tamil.
vol. vi.
5. Black cotton-soil is said to be favourable to
the growth of the plant, whether of spontaneous or
cultivated birth.
6. Scattered.
7. Yes, for private consumption—
(a ) for production of ganja; and also
(c) for Chang.
The plants are grown to a limited extent within
the private yards of Muhammadans and also of
Hindus. They can be also found in the gardens
attached to the muttams of Hindus and makkams
of Muhammadans.
8. Recently there appears to be a decrease in the
cultivation of the plants, for the people in general
are now under the impression that the cultivation
of the plant even for private consumption is not
allowed by the State, and it is, if discovered,
visited with penal restrictions.
9. The plants, if for private consumption, are
well taken care of in all the processes of their cul
- t i v a t i o n c a l c u l a t e d t o i n f u s e n a r c o t i c p r o p e r t i e s i n t o
them. Debris of dead snakes, ptycholis fructus and
excreta of fowls, if used for manure, are each of
of them considered very favourable for the growth
of the plants. At about fifth month of the growth
of the plant, it is twisted a little at its trunk, and
at the breaks of the rind in result of this, opium
and assafœtida are inserted to increase the intoxi
- c a t i n g e f f e c t s .
10. Yes, they form a special class. Very seldom
are found instances where raiyats or agricultural
cultivators are engaged in the growth of the plants
for private consumption. But it occurs that rai
- y a t s g r o w a f e w o f t h e s e p l a n t s i n t h e i r f i e l d s t o
answer the occasional demands of fakirs or gosains.
11. Yes, there is no difference in respect of seeds
between the plant cultivated and the one of spon
- t a n e o u s g r o w t h .
12. I do not know. As understood here, the
male plant, on the contrary, is the kind used for
narcotic purposes, and it is the female plant that
is extirpated as useless— vide my answers under
query 2.
13. The cultivation of the plant for private con
- s u m p t i o n i s c o m m o n t o a l l d i s t r i c t s a s f a r a s I
2 x 2