426
56. Charas is not uncommonly mixed with
tobacco for the sake of the flavour of the latter.
Bhang is, as already stated, commonly mixed
with " bhang massala " and used in the form of
sherbet in the hot season by the well-to-do.
57. A case recently occurred in one of our jails
in which a convict ate a large quantity of charas
with the object of producing insensibility.
33. Evidence of SURGEON-MAJOR W. COATES, Civil Surgeon, Lahore.
Oral evidence.
I have been seventeen years in the service, nearly
twelve in civil employ. I have been employed in
various parts of the Punjab north of Lahore. I am
Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum, Lahore.
I have held this office for eight mouths. I have
not specially studied insanity, nor had special experi-
ence regarding it apart from that in the Lahore
Asylum. I cannot refer to any literature dealing
with the physiological effects of the hemp drugs,
nor do I know of any literature referring to the
pathological appearances of excessive doses on con-
sumers, nor to hemp-drug insanity. Before I came
to the asylum I had no experience of hemp-drug
insanity, except that in Peshawar I had seen a few
cases of insanity attributed to hemp drugs, and
sent them on to the asylum in the ordinary course
of work. I mean cases stated (as a rule by the
police) to be due to hemp drugs, but about which
I had no opportunity of making up my own mind.
There are no diagnostic signs of hemp drug in-
sanity. With a view to see whether there were
any such diagnostic symptoms I got together all the
cases attributed to hemp drugs in the asylum and
examined them. I found nothing diagnostic. The
diagnosis, therefore, depends on history. Without
a history it would be impossible for me to diagnose
a case of hemp drug insanity. The value of history as
ascertained in asylum cases is very little, I should
say. I discredit the histories generally, because I
think them unreliable. I have asked the police and
relations also occasionally why they have assigned
hemp drugs as the cause, and they have not given
me satisfactory reasons. Also, in the further in-
quiries recently made in the 1892 cases, the police
have been found to have entered hemp drugs,
though the relatives, etc., deny their use by the
lunatic.
There is no special character in the cases of
established insanity attributed to hemp drugs. They
are just like the other cases in the asylum. In
recent cases there is greater excitement ; but that
of course also is common to all forms of insanity.
There is no special character that I could see either
in the recent or chronic cases. I know the form
of insanity known as " happy mania"; but I have
not found this more common among hemp drug
insanes than others. I do not think hemp drug
cases give a peculiar character to our asylums, not
to the Lahore Lunatic Asylum at any rate. My
experience is limited.
In regard to the 1892 cases I regard case No. 7
as a doubtful case, in view of the fact that opium,
hemp and syphilis are all possible causes, and it is
impossible to say which was the cause.
Case No. 8 is also doubtful, as we have liquor,
hemp, grief for the loss of all her legitimate and
illegitimate children, prostitution and hard life as
possible causes.
Case No. .9. When I say that the cause is
" doubtful" in this case, I mean that I am not cer-
tain what the cause was; but I have no suspicion
that it was hemp.
Case No. 11. This is a case of juvenile insanity.
The boy went wrong very early in life. By
" vicious " I mean that he was addicted to intoxicants
and gambling. Taking all the 1892 cases, I think
that four cases (No. 1, No. 6, No. 11 and No.
12.) may reasonably be attributed to hemp ; that in
three cases (No. 2, No. 4 and No. 9) there is no
suspicion of hemp ; and that in five cases (No. 3,
No. 5, No. 7 No. 8 and No. 10) the cause may be
regarded as doubtful. That year there were 78.
admissions to the asylum from all causes. I was
not in charge of the asylum when Maula Dad (No.
4) and Jinda Shah (No. 12) died. I have never
conducted any post-mortem on a hemp drug insane.
I have sent in one annual report. The cause
given in Statement VII is based on the descriptive
rolls. If there were reason to change the cause in
the asylum we would change it ; but we have not
better means of judging as a rule than those who
make these entries. I know of no change being
made.
In all my twelve years' experience I have seen
nothing (apart from the lunacy cases above referred
to) of the evil effects of hemp (so far as I know)
on the people of the country—nothing that I could
say was due to hemp. I remember finding two
Europeans intoxicated in jail, and they produced
Indian hemp as having been smuggled in and given
to them. That was all. The effects were intoxica-
tion and effects similar to the after-effects of a, bad
debauch. I have never heard of diseased conditions
being attributed by natives to the use of these
drugs. I think hemp does produce insanity in rare
cases, just as alcohol does. We know that alcohol
does, if we know anything. So, I say, hemp drugs
may produce insanity. The effects of hemp drugs
are like ordinary intoxication ; that is, an effect on
the brain. And reasoning by analogy from alcohol
I think that this, if long continued, may produce
insanity, especially in a weak brain.
34 Evidence of SURGEON-MAJOR G. DENNYS , Superintendent of the Lunatic
Asylum at Delhi.
1. I have been a Civil Surgeon in the Punjab
during the last eleven and half years, and for the
last three years have held charge of the Lunatic
Asylum at Delhi. In the latter appointment. I have
had exceptional opportunities of studying the symp-
toms of toxic insanity due to the use of hemp drugs.
I should mention that in this part of India only
charas and bhang are used, and I have not met a
case of insanity due to ganja-smoking.
2. The definitions of charas and bhang may be
accepted for this province.
19. I have never heard of ganja or charas being
used except for smoking.
23. Not that I know of.