186
pieces and mixed up with the treacle; then cool
it. It will become solid and fit for consumption.
This preparation is made and sold by the contract-
or in small pieces.
" (2) Ganja halwa.—Take a convenient quantity
of ganja, remove the seeds, wash it five or six times,
and then put it into a pan and boil it in water.
In the course of boiling add a small quantity of
broken poppy-heads. When both are well cooked
add ghi. The essence of ganja and the poppy is
drawn into the ghi, which is extracted and secured
in a jug. Again, a treacle of sugar or jaggery
is prepared, with which spices, cus-cus, almond
and dried grapes are mixed. A small quantity of
t he pr e pa r e d ghi , a bove r e f e r r e d t o, i s t he n a dde d,
and the whole is properly stirred up and cooled.
This is called ganja halwa.
" (3) Bhangdalli.-- Meat, ghi and bhang cooked
together and mixed with ordinary curry massala
forms bhangdalli.
" (c) Drinking. --The preparation of ganja for
drinking purposes is called here sabji. It is pre-
pared as follows :—Remove the seeds and sticks
from the ganja and take it, or if bhang leaves are
available, take them, Wash either six or seven
times to remove the sticky substance; grind it well
with water; make it into a pulp. Get bhang
massala, consisting of dry ginger, pepper, saffron
cardamoms, and rosebuds, and grind all these into
a pulp. Mix the two pulps together, and add
sugar or jaggery, milk, plantains, fruits and
spices, according to the taste, convenience, and
means of the consumer."
16. Yes. I am told no.
17.
Ganja is prepared by both cultivators and
consumers. Bhang by consumers. Charas is
not prepared in this district ( vide answer to
question 20 re consumers).
18.
Ganja, the dried flowering tops, if stored
in a dry place, will keep good for at least a year;
some say longer. Bhang must be consumed
almost as soon as made or it will deteriorate. Yes,
it loses its effect in time. One year. Dampness
and bad storing.
N. B.—Charas not being made in this district,
no evidence applies to it.
19.
Ganja is practically used only for smoking
in this district; but it is occasionally used for
eating and drinking.
20.
Musalman fakirs. Smoking ganja, seems
universal among them. They meet together in
the early morning at makkams and smoke in com--
pany. Ganja smoking is further said to be not
unknown among any other class of Musalmans
or any caste of Hindus; but the higher the caste
the less the probability of the people thereof
s m o k i n g ; a n d , e x p e c t t h e l o w c a s t e s , t h e s m o k i n g i s i n d u l g e d i n t h e i r o w n h o u s e s . I c a n m a k e
no guess at the proportion of smokers and
n o n - s m o k e r s .
21.
In this district it is said that round or chu
r g a n j a , c a l l e d b a l a c h u r , i s p r e f e r r e d f o r s m o k i n g ,
but flat ganja, as a rule, is the only sort available.
23. No.
24. In the hot weather a small proportion of
ganja-consuming fakirs eat or drink bhang, chief-
ly in Cuddapah and Jammulamadugu taluks. A
few Hindus may like it now and then.
25. In Cuddapah, where ganja is most largely
consumed, the consumption is said to be on the in
- c r e a s e . T h e y s a y t h a t , w h e r e s o m e 2 0 p e o p l e t o o k
it twenty-five years ago, 40 or 50 do so now, the
cause being the opening of shops. In Piler, which
b o r d e r s o n N o r t h A r c o t a n d w h e r e h e m pi
s
l a r g e l y
grown, it is said to be more consumed
t h a n f o r -
m e r l y . I n
o t h e r p l a c e s t h e c o n s u m p t i o n i s s a i d
to be on the decrease, owing to the higher price
arising from taxation, and in Vempalli I found
that they said 10 persons smoked now to 20—
twenty years ago.
26. (a) and ( b) The information I could get
myself was not very reliable. Out of seven
smokers in one place, I saw only one who could
be considered an habitual excessive consumer, and
in most places none were found.
(c) and ( d) I could get no information. Pos-
sibly the cultivators of the plant may come under
heading (c).
27. Chiefly fakirs smoke. They say they do
so because their ancestors did so. Because it is
good for digestion. These men live by begging.
It seems that it is the poorer classes that smoke
more than the rich; but no information can be ob-
tained as to how far the agricultural classes who
cultivate hemp smoke. People whe have much
work in water and those who work in feverish places
are said to take it to relieve pain. Others who take
to the practice may be considered men of not much
stability of purpose, who take to it from seeing
others do it.
28. The amounts given varied very much; but
I gather for ganja the quantity used is about two
drachms, costing two pice a day, and not so much
is spent in bhang. For excessive consumers the
amount taken is mostly limited by their resources.
If more than one anna's worth is taken, then it
becomes excessive.
29. To ganja-
-
(a) Tobacco to improve the flavour or to make
it more intoxicating.
(b) White poppy seeds are added. One author-
ity, the Chitvel Hospital Assistant, says dhatura
is exceptionally used for the same purpose.
Bhang massala is composed of poppy seeds,
spices, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, saffron, sugar,
and almonds. Apparently two parts of bhang are
used to one of each of the other substance.
30. The invariable practice is to consume in
company. It is confined to the male sex; not
generally begun before early manhood; but one
smoker I saw declared he began when ten years
old. Children do not use the drug.
31. The habit seems easily formed ; but whether
it is easy to break off or not, I cannot so easily
answer. Those smokers who from poverty could
not get the drug said they just went without it.
I presume there is a little more difficulty in break-
ing than a tobacco smoker would find. Judging
from the number of
excessive smokers found, I should say there was a slight tendency for moder
-ate consumers to become excessive ones; for all,
however, appear to begin moderately.
32. Nil.
33. The habit is not looked on favourably;
the practice is condemned. Presumably because
it leads to intoxication and laziness. On the
other hand, it is said some religious people think
it enables the will-power to be controlled, and
that its use is therefore holy. If so, they are
exceptions to the fact told me that consumers
were ashamed of letting people know they were
so. On the authority of the Hospital Assistant
of Sidhout alone, it is said that these religious
people worship the hemp plant once a year.
31. Yes; as far as I could make out, fakirs
look upon it as a necessity of life, and others,