124
ganja and charas none, except a desire for the
repetition of the dose.
45. (b) Charas and ganja weaken the constitu-
tion ; bhang does not seem to do so.
(c) No.
(d) Ganja and charas both cause difficulty in
breathing; bhang not.
47 and 48. They do not seem to produce a here-
ditary habit.
49. The moderate use of all three drugs seems
to produce aphrodisiac effects. Prostitutes use
them for that purpose. Charas and ganja do not
seem to produce impotence, except in excessive
quantities. Bhang only produces it if taken in
excess.
85. Evidence of SURGEON-MAJOR F. C. CHATTERJI, Civil Surgeon, Basti.
1. Lifelong experience of India and from Pesha-
war to Burma.
2. Yes. Ganja, charas and bhang. Ganja of
good quality is known as " baluchar."
19. Used only for smoking.
23. Bhang is used for smoking by poorer people
who cannot afford to buy ganja for the purpose.
This obtains in the cases of moderate smokers in
this district, but is not common.
28. (a) About 1 to 2 annas worth. (b) About
4 to 8 annas worth or more; 4 annas worth being
about a tola.
29. Tobacco is ordinarily mixed with ganja and
charas to make it presentable to the palate and also
to render its intoxicating effect gradually felt.
Dhatura is sometimes used by confirmed ganja-
smokers to heighten its effects, and by Thugs to
rob persons under its influence through the medium
of ganja.
The following is the list of bhang massala :—
black pepper, poppy seeds, kakri seeds, pumpkin
seeds, kasni, sonf, all ground and mixed with water
and sugar. Milk, almonds, rose berries are some-
times added by richer class of people.
30. Ganja and charas are smoked almost always
in company. The practice is mainly confined to the
male sex, but the bazar-women are not free from
the habit and often join men while they are smok-
ing in the shop. Bhang also is generally taken in
company, but not to such an extent as ganja and
charas. Boys from the age of ten years are seen
to indulge in ganja and charas, but this is rare.
31. The habit is easily formed, but it is not very
difficult to break off. Moderate habit tends to
develop the excessive one, but not always or in-
variably.
32. On Dussera day the use of bhang in the
evening is becoming almost a universal thing
among the Hindus in Calcutta and Bengal. Ganja
and charas are extensively used on such festival
days, such as Shewrat, Holi, Nag Punchmy,
Junmustomy.
36. Alcohol is more expensive, and as such it
cannot be substituted for the cheap ganja and
charas. There is no ground for thinking that
alcohol is taking the place of the above drugs.
37. The effects of charas-smoking are deeper and
more lasting than those of ganja.
The effects of bhang drinking, if indulged in full
quantity, are deeper still, and its intoxicating
influence lasts for two or three days even in some
cases.
39. Not known.
40. Bhang is very extensively used for its medi-
cinal effects, such as in cases of dyspepsia and
diarrhoea, in piles, in ague before the ague fit, as a
poultice on painful parts, and as an application in
brow ague. It is also given to children by Muham-
madans for the operation of phymocis, which is
done on every Muhammadan boy as a socio-
religious custom. Bhang is also used in cattle
disease when the animal does not eat well. It is
also used similarly in cases of horses.
41. (a) Yes; without doubt.
(b) Yes; very much used by kahars, and hard
workers as such.
(c) Also as a febrifuge and preventive of disease
in such climates as in the Terai.
(d) Also used as a preventive to colds and by
poorer persons with scanty clothing to keep them-
selves warm in cold nights in the western districts
of the North-Western Provinces.
42. Moderate use under such circumstances as
detailed above is certainly beneficial—vide above.
44. It is refreshing and exhilarating, does not
produce intoxication, allays hunger and fatigue,
creates appetite; effects transitory; after-effects
none.
45. (a) None known to the writer.
(b) Moderate use does not impair constitution.
(c) No.
(d) Excessive use does cause dysentery, bron-
chitis, asthma and hæmoptysis.
(e) No.
(f) Excessive use produces a transitory state of
ganja intoxication which, if not taken into hand,
goes to acute mania. It is at first of a transitory
kind and easily amenable to treatment when the
drug is entirely stopped, but after a few times it
becomes a confirmed mania. This does not happen
in all cases.
46. Fide above.
47. No.
49. (a) Yes.
(b) Yes.
(c) Yes; by burning the candle at both ends.
(d) Excessive use produces impotence.
50. Vide above.
56. Yes—vide above.
57. Not known.