74
stored. Bhang is not known to be cultivated any-
where. Cultivated ganja plants are cut when they
are not quite dry and are trodden over by foot or
beaten down by sticks or stones to flatten their
buds. Thus the ganja assumes flat or round shapes.
Ganja plants are cut about the months of Decem-
ber and January. Uncultivated ganja is simply
cut and dried. Charas, the resinous matter of
ganja plant, is grown in high latitudes and is ex-
tracted by rubbing the plants while standing in
the fields with hands early in the morning when
the dew is on the plant. The gummy substance
which sticks to the hands is scraped and collected.
Ganja and charas are only smoked ; they are not
eaten or drunk. Ganja is well rubbed in the hand
with thumb and is mixed with tobacco (used for
chewing) and is then smoked in a chillum pipe.
Charas is used with tobacco (used for smoking);
smoking tobacco is placed in a chillum over which
charas is placed and then smoked, Bhang is both
eaten and drunk ; bhang used for eating is pre-
pared in several ways.
(1) Bhang is powdered and mixed with some
pepper (kali mirch and sugar.
(2) Bhang is fried in a pan in butter "ghi ;''
sugar and spices are then mixed with it.
(3) Bhang is boiled in water or milk with butter
"ghi"
; when boiled, butter is extracted,
which is mixed with sugar, spices, &c.,
and made sweetmeats of.
(4) Bhang is pounded with water and eaten in
the forms of pills.
(5) Bhang used for drinking is prepared by
filtering the pounded bhang in water and
milk and mixing sugar in it.
16. Bhang for eating or drinking in the above
process is generally prepared for use by people at
their own houses. Some buy it in the prepared
state from the licensed shop. Ganja (buds, etc)
and bhang (leaves) can be prepared for consump-
tion by any one from their plants wherever they
grow. Narcotic properties would, of course, differ
according to soil and climate of the place where
they grow. Charas cannot be so prepared. It
cannot be prepared from ganja plants grown in
the province.
17. By men of agricultural class in places
where the hemp drugs grow. There is no parti-
cular class to my knowledge who make the pre-
paration.
18. Four years after, ganja and bhang deter-
iorate, and charas three years after. They decrease
in their intoxicating properties every year after
the rainy weather ; four or five years after they
become utterly useless. Dampness of the place
where they are stored, moist atmosphere, exposure
to rains coupled with the nitrogenous gases pro-
duced from the bundles and heaps in the place of
storage are the causes of deterioration. The only
preventive measures are to save them from rains
and dampness, and exposure to air during the
year (not in rainy weather though).
19. Ganja and charas are only used for smok-
ing.
20. Agricultural labourers of all castes except
Brahmans of the united provinces, dâk runners,
fishermen,
boatmen, day-labourers, masons,
washermen, coolies who carry heavy loads, are the
classes of men who generally smoke ganja and
charas. They practically can't manage without
it ; very few of the respectable class use them.
Their percentage would be 10 per cent among this
class of men. Bengalis are more familiar to thes
drugs.
Consumption of ganja is three times more than
that of charas. The use of charas in cities and
towns is more than in villages. Muhamraadans
generally prefer charas to ganja. Among the
lower classes enumerated above 40 per cent. of the
consumers use ganja, 15 per cent. charas ; and
among the higher classes, ganja consumers, 10 per
cent. and of charas, 5 per cent.
21. In Fyzabad, Cawnpore and Benares Balu-
cher ganja is more used. In Lucknow and Bara-
banki, pathor ganja flat. The round ganja is
nearly out of use now.
22. All the charas used in the united provinces
is of foreign import. Charas is imported from
Yarkand to Mian Mir, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar,
whence it is re-imported to these provinces. In
Lucknow, Nepal charas called Saljehan is prefer-
red.
23. Bhang is not used for smoking.
24. Bhang is not so popular among the lower
classes and Muhammadans as it is among the
Brahmans, thakurs, khattris, bunias, religious
mendicants, bards, poets. The Chowbeys of Muttra
and Brindaban are the great consumers of this drug.
In Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpur, Fyzabad, Muttra,
the consumption of bhang is comparatively more.
During Holi festival, Shivaratri, Dasehra, Divali,
hot season, wedding parties, this drug is more
used. These are the general times for occasional
consumers.
25. The use of charas is more on the increase than
ganja, though both these drugs appear to have an
increasing tendency among the consumers.
Drugs are much cheaper than other intoxicants.
There is no religious prejudice among the Hindus
against the use of drugs as it is with some castes
in respect of liquor and tari. The drugs are so
very convenient to be carried from place to place
and to be kept at home. To a moderate consumer a
quarter seer of bhang and 5 tolas of charas or
ganja, if once purchased, would last for at least
15 days on an average. Therefore the consump-
tion of these drugs is more than other intoxicants.
Moreover, the abolition of chandu shops has also
to account to some extent for the increase in the
consumption of charas.
26. Among the drug consumers of each kind of
the drugs, the proportion of the consumers of
bhang is—
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Habitual moderate consumers
„
excessive
Occasional moderate
„
excessive
„
„
„
35
15
45
5
per cent.
„
„
„
Of ganja and charas—(a) 50 per cent., (b) 20
per cent., (c) 25 per cent., (d) 5 per cent.
27. Religious mendicants and devotees, fakirs,
idle lazy men and beggars, vagabonds, whore-
mongers, fishermen, boat-men, dak carriers, coolies
working on the hills, are the class of men among
whom excessive consumers, both habitual and
occasional, are found.
Excessive indolence, desire of keeping mind
and thoughts concentrated to any particular object
and away from other considerations, freedom from
all worldly cares and anxieties, very hard labour,
also debauchery, lead to the excessive consumption
of drugs. Among the habitual and occasional
moderate consumers are the men of agricultural,
mercantile class, men who use the drugs medically,
poor class of day-labourers who use these drugs as