193
28. Bhang—
Daily amount of weight.
Daily cost.
(a) (lose from 1½ drs. to 3 drs. 1/ 16 to ¼ anna.
(J) dose from 2 drs. to 4 drs. ¼ to ½ anna or
one anna.
Ganja: baluchar—
(a) ½ oz. two or three times daily ¼ to 1 anna
in one sitting, or 2 to 6 annas daily.
(b) ½ oz. to 1 oz. daily in 2 or 8 sittings, 3
annas to 1 rupee daily.
Charas:—
Weight in one sitting.
Cost daily.
(a) from 5 grs. to 15 grs. ¼ to 1 anna, or 1
to 3 annas.
(b) 1 oz. to 4 oz. from 4 annas to a rupee.
Bhang is sold at 12 annas a seer. Baluchar
ganja at 6 annas a tola, pathar ganja at ½ anna
a tola, chur ganja at ¼ anna a tola, charas is
sold at 4 annas a tola.
29. Charas—Is an easy thing to prepare. It
is mixed with dry tobacco leaves on the palm of
the hand and then placed over smoking tobacco
stuff on fire on a chillum, and inhaled in one deep
breath successively and slowly. In the former
case the stuff is at once burnt and consumed,
while in the latter it does so slowly.
Ganja.—Tobacco, dry, is also added to it as
above, but with it some water is taken and rubbed
as before and used, but not so suddenly and rapid-
ly, as its active principle requires some time to
burn and turn into fumes to be inhaled and with
drawn inside the lungs and bronchial tubes. It
is therefore breathed at short intervals.
Dhatura is mixed only with criminal intents.
Opium to increase the effect. Milk or juice of
madar (Calotropis gigantia) is mixed with old
charas, and some honey is added to it for sale
purposes. The ingredients of bhang massala
are souf or aniseeds, black pepper, cardamom
seeds (of white kind), almond seeds. In summer
season people add to it the following: rose leaves
and seeds of kakri and kharbuza.
30. There is a general tendency for hemp
drugs to be used in company, specially charas
and ganja. Bhang is also used, when practicable
in company; but moderate consumers use it
singly, and at home ganja and charas are always
used by males, to which sex they are mainly
confined; but bhang is occasionally and rarely
used by females, and that on festival days only.
Habitual female consumers are very very few.
Some children above ten years become habituated
to it in company of their friends or relatives,
etc.
31. The habit of consuming any of these drugs
is easily formed. That of bhang is easily broken
off; but that of charas and ganja with difficulty.
It is very easily developed from moderate to exces-
sive.
32. There is no custom, social or religious, in
regard to the consumption of any of these drugs.
There is a custom existing among Hindus to take
bhang during Holi festival days, and at other
occasions when they have nothing to do to pass
their days with merriment and pleasure. But
these customs are not looked upon as compulsory,
but only obligatory.
33. The consumption of each of these drugs is
generally regarded as abominable. There is no
public opinion (social or religious) in regard to the
practice, or one in their favour. The public regard
the consumer of any of them contemptuously on
account of his being slow, sloven, foolish, unre-
liable and unintelligent, and unworthy for any
work that requires common-sense or average
amount of intellect in ordinary pursuits of life;
his mental, physical, and moral qualities being
deteriorated to some extent always. There is no
custom of worshipping the hemp plant on any
occasion by any sects of the people.
34. It would be certainly a serious privation to
any class of consumers to forego the consumption
of the drug they use all of a sudden, specially in
leaving off charas and ganja and bhang to those
who use it habitually in moderation or excess.
Ganja and charas smokers shall suffer about 75
per cent., and bhang about 33 per cent. They
shall suffer because they will feel too much for
them on account of there being constantly inflamed
desire for them, which is inevitable, and there
would be thus too much straining on their body
and mind.
35. It would be feasible to prohibit the use of any
or all of these drugs, but gradually. If deprived
suddenly, they will, of course, use it illicitly.
The prohibition could be enforced by raising tax
on them, and preventing their being imported
into our provinces as untaxed. No serious dis-
content can occur by their prohibition among the
consumers, nor would it be amounting to a
political danger. It would be followed to some
extent by recourse to (a) alcoholic stimulants, or
(b) other drugs.
36. Yes, alcohol is now being to a great extent
substituted for these drugs. Its increase is due
to—
(a) Introduction of Europe wines into this
country.
(b) By their being used by Europeans and used
in practice of medicine by them.
(c) By being copied by English-knowing men
and others who come in contact with them.
(d) By lower classes and working men learning
the habit in the mills and factories from
their European colleagues.
(e) By their drawing good wages in mills and
factories.
One can judge and see easily by comparing the
statistics of wine sales, both native or liquor, and
that got from Europe, and find out what an
enormous amount of increase has taken place in
their sale.
37. The effects of charas are sudden and in-
stantaneous, cause giddiness and dryness of the
mouth and throat, and no cough if it is pure ; while
the effects of ganja come on after a few minutes
(ten or fifteen) and cause great cough and irrita-
tion of the bronchial tubes or air passages.
38. Flat or baluchar ganja is costly and su-
perior, and produces better effects than the other
varieties, and does not cause much cough. Round
or pathar and chur ganja are inferior in their
effects, and are said to be adulterated, and are
therefore cheaper and require much more to be
consumed: round is second and chur third in
quality.
39. Charas and ganja are smoked and never
eaten ; but if it be given internally, as many pro-
fessional criminals do, they produce serious and
fatal effects, and there are no ways of detecting
them chemically from the contents of
the
stomach.
vol. v.
2 P