119
a week. They were not of bad character. There
was no suspicion of dhatura so far as I know.
The "influence" was intoxication. I had asked a
Brahman whether he knew of women taking bhang.
He said he knew of cases at the Holi, and he knew
women who had been in a state of semi-intoxication
for a week.
Question 45.—I have always been led to under-
stand that it was a peculiarity of charas smoking
(ganja is not used in these parts) to tend to cause
asthma. It is said to have an irritating effect on
the lungs. There is a native rhyme to that effect,
in which it is said " Khasi karo, kurra karo, tis par
na mare, to kya karo" (of charas). I have never
personally seen any cases of asthma or bronchitis
which I could attribute to charas. I have never
heard of tobacco being a cause of these diseases or
similar ailments. I have no experience of such
diseases being produced by smoking either hemp or
tobacco.
All the eight cases of insanity from hemp
drugs mentioned in my answer were under observa-
tion in the jail with a view to deciding whether
they should be sent to the asylum. In all cases it
is impossible for me to say whether there was any
admixture with the charas used. I never thought
of this before this inquiry began. Such cases are
under observation generally a fortnight before I
report on them. These men were said to be ad-
dicted to hemp drugs. I mean they were so re-
ported by the Magistrate or else they themselves
admitted it. I am not prepared to say whether
there was in any of these cases any history of in-
sanity in the family. I know there was no men-
tion of epilepsy. One man, Panna, the single
ganja case, was made over to his friends. This
man was first certified as insane. Then he was
cured, after being kept in jail, I cannot say how
long, and tried. He was convicted and sentenced.
This sentence was set aside by the High Court
owing to the original certificate of insanity. He
had several recurrent attacks (two I can remember)
in jail while a prisoner. I cannot say how long
the first attack lasted. The offence was theft. I
think it was in 1891. It was in this district. He
was a Brahman "phakar" or wandering religious
mendicant about 30 years old, very robust. He
was some months in jail as a prisoner.
I also recollect the case of a man named
Durjan, of Meerut Cantonment, gram parcher.
His was one of the six charas cases. He was
an old man of feeble physique. He was about
a month under observation, and made over to his
family not exactly cured, but quiet and not likely
to do any harm. He had the history of having
been insane before. I heard that from his wife
and friends who came to see him. I cannot say
how often he was insane before. He was not violent,
but labouring under mild excitement. I cannot
say whether there was any family history of in-
sanity. My general impression is that I got no
family history of insanity in any of these cases. I
also recollect the case of Har Narayan, a Brahman
of Ghaziabad, a man about fifty. This is the
bhang case. To the best of my recollection he was
sent to an asylum (either Bareilly or Agra, it de-
pends on vacancies). Ho was under observation
for about a month in 1892 (I think). He laboured
under excitement which abated ; but he was never
sane while under observation. He was not a mendi-
cant, but a poor man of ordinary occupation (I for-
get what). He was said to have been insane
before; but this was the first time he was reported
violent. He was, I believe, a regular bhang
drinker. He was not a criminal, but was brought
in as violent. I- also remember the case of Rai
Dayal, a Bhat, a young policeman sent to me by
the Police Superintendent or Inspector this year.
He was sent for observation and report. I believed
him to be insane. His insanity was ascribed to
charas smoking. He was only one day under ob-
servation, so far as I recollect. He had for some
time been in the company of sadhus and smoked
with them and became insane. I therefore recom-
mended (as he was young and had friends) that his
name should be struck off. This was done, I believe.
He had been troublesome for some days before, so
far as I remember. His wild, excited appearance,
his language, his behaviour made me regard him as
insane. It is possible that this may have been in-
toxication ; for I should not ordinarily consider a
day enough to judge of such a case. The point here
was that he should be removed from the police and
from the companionship into which he had fallen
here. I believe he was insane; but I did not take
so long to come to that conclusion, as I should have
done had it been a question of the young man being
sent to an asylum.
These are the only cases I remember, except the
two cases details of which are given in my answer.
These thirty-six cases are all the cases which
have come before me since I have come to Meerut,
i.e., from the 1st April 1891 up to now.
The last sentence of this answer would better
read thus : " I believe that charas smoking acts
directly as an exciting cause and indirectly as a
predisposing cause of insanity." By that I mean
that charas smoking may produce an instability of
mind which may render the patient more liable to
the effect of grief or other direct exciting cause.
I think this in regard to hemp drugs generally ;
but I have seen less of bhang and ganja than of
charas smoking. I do not know any special litera-
ture on hemp drug insanity. I would class hemp
drug insanity as intellectual insanity. It would be
toxic insanity as being due to a poison, if the same
term is also applied to alcoholic insanity. I do
not know of any special resemblance between hemp
drug and alcoholic insanity, save that they are both
toxic. I have very little acquaintance with alco-
holic insanity. You do not see it in this country.
I have not read of it recently. I have no know-
ledge of tissue changes in the brain. I would ex-
pect such changes with alcoholic but not with hemp
drugs. I cannot say how I would then account for
the permanent nature of hemp drug insanity. It
is usually permanent. I am not aware structural
changes are always found with permanent insanity.
I have not made a special study of the question.
To the best of my belief these eight cases were
due to hemp drugs. I based my diagnosis of the
causation on the history of each case. The history
was given to me by the Magistrate or by the
patient himself or by his relations. I have often
asked some prisoners in a jail whether they are
consumers; and, as a rule, they say not. My
diagnosis rests on the history. There are no
characteristic symptoms. When a case of mania
comes before me, I make inquiry as to the exciting
cause, generally with a suspicion that it will be
charas. I have knowledge of the poisonous action
of dhatura, symptoms of intoxication, staggering,
great dryness and burning in the throat and
stomach, dilated pupils, picking up imaginary ob-
jects. All these eight cases were before me in an
acute stage. The pupils were generally speaking
contracted, to the best of my recollection. I have
never heard of a case of the use of both charas and
drink, and have not considered the combined use.