85
of smoking or drinking the hemp drugs is not in-
terchangeable with the liquor habit; but there is
greater probability of the bhang drinker taking to
liquor than of the smoker doing so.
Question 30.—Children begin to drink bhang
before ten years of age, but not to smoke ganja
and charas till after that age. Fakirs use the
drugs to attain religious abstraction, and other
people take them for companionship.
Question 35.—It is my opinion that ganja and
charas ought to be restricted. People would have
to give up these drugs if they were prohibited.
They would not take to other drugs except tobacco.
There are lots of drugs in the country which might
be used for intoxication, such as dhatura and nux
vomica. Dhatura is now taken to a limited extent
by excessive consumers. It could not be substituted
for ganja and charas, for it could not be smoked
alone with tobacco, because it is such a very severe
intoxicant. It is now taken in small quantities
with bhang. It is not smoked, as far as I know.
I have served chiefly in the west of the province.
Question 45.—The moderate use, though long
continued, will not produce insanity if it is indulged
in with caution. I allude to the excessive use as
productive of insanity. A consumer must be cau-
tious about climate and season in connection with
his use of the drugs. I have never seen a person
who became completely insane. I have seen men
on the read to insanity, but could not say if they
were moderate or excessive consumers. Bhang is
not harmless. The chaubes of Muttra are fine men.
I think all intoxicants must be injurious.
52. Evidence of BABU BHOLANATH CHATTERJI, Bengali Brahman , . Officiating
Deputy Collector, Mainpuri.
1. The information regarding hemp drugs, on
which my answers are based, has been derived
mainly from the contractors with whom I came
into contact during my tenure of office as Deputy
Collector in charge of excise in the Mainpuri dis-
trict, and from my personal observation.
2. The local names for the three narcotic articles
obtained naturally from hemp are bhang or sabzi
(the word siddhi or patti is not used in these parts
to denote this article), charas and ganja.
The three varieties of ganja are locally known
as (1) baluchar, which corresponds to flat ganja ;
(2) pathar, which corresponds to round ganja ; and
(3) chur, which corresponds to broken ganja,
Baluchar is not imported into these parts on account
of its dearness.
3. The hemp plant grows spontaneously in the
districts of Gonda, Hardoi, and Bahraich in Oudh,
Farukhabad and Saharanpur in the North-Western
Provinces, and Umballa in the Punjab, and is
abundant in the district of Bahraich in Oudh. I
have been to all these districts, except Umballa in
the Punjab, but my visits to them were flying,
and I did not see the growth of the hemp plant in
them.
4. It is known as bhang, sabzi, booty, siddhi or
patti, and all these names refer to exactly the same
plant.
5. Damp climate and mar, or black soil, are sup-
posed to be favourable to the growth of the wild
hemp.
6. The growth of the wild hemp is ordinarily
dense.
7. There is no cultivation of the hemp plant in
my province for the production of ganja, charas, or
fibre, or seeds. It is, however, cultivated in the
Hardoi and Farukhabad districts of my province
for use as bhang.
8. Nil.
9. The cultivation of the hemp plant for use as
bhang is made by ploughing up the land and sow-
ing the seed broadcast during the rabi season.
10. The persons who cultivate hemp for its
narcotic properties do not form a special class, but
belong to the same classes as other agricultural
cultivators.
11. No. The seeds are obtained from the male
plants, which are the product of cultivation instead
of spontaneous growth.
12. The wild hemp is nowhere specially cultivat-
ed for the production of ganja.
13. There is no cultivation of the hemp plant for
ganja in my province.
14. Ganja and charas are not prepared in my
province, but bhang is in the Hardoi and Farukha-
bad districts of it.
15. The preparation of bhang consists only in
separating the leaves from the hemp plant and dry-
ing them up, and is the same whether the hemp
plant is cultivated or grows wild. Bhang is never
used for smoking. Those who eat or drink it do so
after pounding or grinding the dried leaves with
water and other substances, or rubbing them and
throwing them into their mouth.
16. Bhang is not prepared generally by the
people in their houses. It can be prepared from
the hemp plant wherever grown. Ganja cannot be
prepared from the wild plant, but requires special
cultivation of the plant.
17. All classes of people who cultivate the hemp
plant without distinction of race or caste.
18. Ganja, charas and bhang deteriorate by
dampness. They keep good for one year with
ordinary care, and for three years with special care.
They lose their effect after three years. To prevent
their deterioration, it is necessary to protect them
from cold.
19. Ganja and charas are used only for smoking.
20. The smoking of ganja and charas is not
confined to any particular class of the people. All
classes of the people, except Saraugi Banias, smoke
them to a more or less extent. The smoking of
ganja and charas is, however, prevalent to a very
large extent among Hindu sadhus and Musalman
fakirs, and members of the lower classes among
Hindus and Musalmans, and in cold regions.
21. Flat ganja, or baluchar, is always preferred
for smoking to the other kinds of ganja.
22. The eharas produced in Yarkand and im-
ported through the Punjab is chiefly used. An-
other kind produced in Bokhara and imported by
Afghan merchants was in great demand five or
six years ago, but its sale has been stopped on
account of the deception of the Afghan merchants.
23. Bhang is never used for smoking.
24. The eating or drinking of bhang is not con-
fined to any particular class of the people. All