517
causes privation. There is a tendency for the
moderate habit to develop into the excessive.
32. The drugs are not required for the perform-
ance of any religions ceremony, nor have they any
connection with religion. The moderate use is not
injurious. Excessive Use is, however, likely to
prove harmful.
33. Generally speaking, the use of these dings
is not regarded as an evil. The reason why charas
smoking is looked upon with disfavour is that it
produces bronchitis, languor, asthma, etc. The
consumption of bhang at first sharpens the appetite,
but afterwards causes indigestion, etc. It does not,
however, injure the constitution much. Fakirs
look upon bhang as sacred to Shiva. Charss-
smokers also invoke Shiva, Kali, or any other god
before smoking the drug.
34. It would certainly be a privation to the con-
sumers to forego the habit. The numbers of such
consumers cannot be estimated. Fakirs and nanga
sadhus, who dispense with clothes after smoking
the charas, will specially feel serious privation if
the drug is withheld. Akalis (Sikhs) and other
people will also feel annoyed in the event of bhang
being prohibited.
35. Fakirs accustomed to the consumption of
bhang or charas will feel annoyed and offended at
the prohibition. Their worldly connections being
hardly such as to enable them to live in peace, it
will be difficult to maintain order among them.
It is also feared that these fakirs will then use the
drugs illicitly. Since they have been confirmed in
the habit, it will be very difficult for them to
forego it. The consumers of these drugs will not
have recourse to alcohol. Sudden stoppage of the
consumption of these drugs would cause serious
privation to the consumers.
36. People are now more inclined to spirituous
liquors than before. This appears to be due to the
increase in the number of liquor shops and also to
the people moving mostly in the society of the
consumers of liquor. As leading (native) gentle-
men have recourse to alcohol, the masses too are
following their examples.
37 and 33. Don't know.
39. No other drug, except that to which the
person is accustomed, can gratify his craving. No-
thing is manufactured from bhang or charas which
should fully gratify the consumers of bhang and
charas.
40. No physician prescribes charas in the treat-
ment of any disease. Bhang is, however, pre-
scribed by physicians in certain diseases, but not in
general. It is also given to cattle along with other
ingredients.
41. The consumption of bhang sharpens appetite.
The people of Sindh and North-Western Provinces
drink it as preventive of malarial diseases and in-
jurious effects of unwholesome water. Charas is
generally smoked by fakirs as a protective against
cold and flatulence.
42. In my opinion the consumption of these
drugs is not harmless. The moderate use of bhang
does not, however, prove injurious.
43. The consumers are inoffensive to their neigh-
bours. Dryness is, however, caused to their brain
and they talk nonsense after smoking charas.
44. The habitual consumers feel refreshed when
they take the drug, but get uneasy and distressed
when the effect is over. In case of not having the
drug at the fixed hour the consumer feels a sort of
perturbation.
45. Charas-smoking injures the brain and
causes loss of appetite in the event of excess. The
habitual charas smokers are generally dull and
lazy, and subject to phlegmatic diseases, e.g.,
bronchitis, asthma, etc. It does not induce to
debauchery.
Excessive smoking, however, affects the intellect
and even produces insanity of a temporary type
The disease is, however, cured by eating rich diet
and foregoing the habit. Excessive use is likely
to cause relapse. Diseased persons do. not use any
of these drugs. Bhang drinking does not cause
such diseases as are produced by charas-smoking.
Nothing is known about ganja.
46. Please see my answer to question No. 45.
47. The consumption of any of these drugs
does not affect, in any way, the children of the
consumers.
48. Please see my answer to question No. 47.
49. The consumption of any of these drugs is
not practised as an aphrodisiac. Immoral women
drink bhang to some extent as cooling beverage.
The consumption of bhang does not produce im-
potency, but excessive charas-smoking does.
50. Please see my answer to question No. 49.
51. Bad characters do consume bhang and
charas, but the use of these two drugs is not likely
to incite to any crime.
52. Please see my answer to question No. 51.
53. The excessive indulgence of any of these
drugs is not likely to incite the perpetration of
violent crime or homicide.
54. The drugs are not used by criminals to
fortify themselves to commit a premeditated crime.
These drugs do not possess the fortifying property
which liquor and other intoxicants do.
55. These drugs do not possess stupefying pro-
perties, which are peculiar to dhatura, mittha-telia,
etc. Complete stupefaction cannot be induced
without the admixture of other narcotics.
56. Nothing is known.
57. I know nothing about ganja, since the drug
is neither manufactured nor consumed in this
province. None eats charas. It is, however,
smoked by being placed in the midst of tobacco in
a huka chilium.
53. Requires improvement to some extent.
59. According to the system in force, no whole-
sale merchants except the retail vendors holding
licenses can purchase or sell bhang and charas. No
wholesale merchants can purchase and transport
charas and bhang for sale, but can sell the drugs
to the licensed vendors when one comes to him.
Arrangements should therefore be made for grant-
ing licenses to the wholesale dealers for buying the
drugs and transporting them to other places for
sale to licensed vendors.
60. I have no experience regarding ganja, as the
drug is not produced here.
61. Charas is not manufactured in this province.
62. The hemp plant is not cultivated here at all.
It grows spontaneously. No control is necessary,
seeing that the drug is cheap, and consequently no
loss is likely to result. If licenses for the purchase
and sale of bhang were given to wholesale vendors,
they would themselves manage to get the hemp
plants collected and stored up. Afterwards they
could sell to the lessees or other licensed wholesale
vendors. Control would thus be completely ex-
ercised.