42. Moderate use of bhang and ganja do not
seem to produce any serious organic mischief.
43. No, even moderate consumers are repulsive.
44. They (bhang and ganja), produce pleasant
intoxication, talkativeness and merriment. They
are refreshing. They produce varacious appetite
not appeased by food. They do not allay hunger.
Their effect lasts for four or five hours, sometimes
longer. The after-effects are headache and giddi-
ness. Yes, the want of subsequent gratification
produces uneasiness.
45. Yes, the use of ganja and bhang produces
noxious effects. They weaken the constitution
and produce loss of appetite. They generally
produce dysentery, asthma, and bronchitis.
They impair the moral sense, induce laziness
or habits of immorality or debauchery. A
ganja-smoker never talks on any important
moral, social or religious subject, nor does he mix
with good people. He has got a circle of his own
where he indulges in loathsome conversation.
Ganja produces insanity (mania) both temporary
and permanent. In temporary variety the symp-
toms were seen to recur on use of the drug after
liberation from restraint. The typical symptoms
of insanity are excessive talking, constant motion,
insomnia, incoherent trembling and: violent
screaming. The insanes generally confess to their
taking the drug.
46. Ganja produces the symptoms mentioned
under the heading habitual moderate use of the
drug in a greater degree.
47. The use of ganja and bhang does not appear
to be a hereditary habit, or to affect the children.
48. Answer to question 47 also applies here,
49. Yes, ganja and bhang are used as aphrodisiac.
I cannot say if they are so used by prostitutes.
Excessive indulgence of the sexual organs produces
eventually impotency; but whether hemp has any
direct connection with impotency I cannot say.
I think ganja is more injurious when it is used as
narcotic than as an aphrodisiac, because in the
former case the people generally become insane.
50. Answer to question 49 also applies here.
51. Ganja-smokers generally commit petty
thefts when they are in need of pice for the pur-
chase of ganja.
52. The same.
55. Yes, stupefaction by ganja may be induced
without admixture.
56. The admixture of dhatura seed with ganja
and bhang increases the narcotic action of these
drugs.
Oral evidence.
I am L. M. S. of Calcutta. I took my degree
in 1877, and have been in Government employ
since. I have served in several districts in Bengal
and Assam. I have no special experience of in-
sanity, except that I was employed for three
months about a year ago in the Dullunda Asylum.
Question 45.—My first three sentences here
dozen in my village Madhopara in the Dacca Dis-
trict, suffering from dysentery, bronchitis and asth-
ma who, were also ganja-smokers. They were
all excessive smokers. These effects do not follow
the moderate, but the: excessive use. It is a mis-
take to have put them under the moderate use. It
is not always easy, however, to distinguish
between the moderate and excessive, because
moderation may go to excess. When I see a man
I may think he takes it moderately. But when
he is diseased I may come to know that he used it
in excess stealthily. All these people were habitual
smokers, not occasional. From that I cannot ex-
actly say that they used ganja in excess. The
fact that they were ganja-smokers led me to be-
lieve that these effects were due to ganja. I have
seen many non-smokers suffering from these
diseases. There are many causes that bring on
dysentery, bronchitis, and asthma. But I did not
discover any other causes in these cases. I have
no recollection of ever treating any cases of dysen-
tery, bronchitis, or asthma caused by ganja.
These cases are the basis of my remarks. I saw
them in my own village with my own eyes. I do
not remember any case of dysentery, bronchitis or
asthma in a ganja-smoker which I attributed to
any other cause. In other words, where I saw
ganja-smokers suffering from these diseases I at-
tributed them to ganja. This was 20 years ago,
before I was a medical student...
As to ganja producing insanity, both temporary
and permanent, I only knew one case apart from
my experience in the Dullunda Asylum. That was
in my village. This man was a very excessive
smoker. He was sent to the Dacca Asylum, and
died there after two or three years. This was
when I was a school-boy. I have no experience
of temporary insanity, except in cases in Dullunda
with ganja history. I base my remarks regarding
insanity and the symptoms on text-books veri-
fied by my three months' experience in the asylum
and my recollections of this case.
"The typical symptoms of insanity" does not
mean in my answer hemp drug insanity, but symp-
toms of insanity generally. There is no text-book-
that I know that tells the symptoms of hemp drug
insanity. By insanes confessing to taking the
drug, I mean insane people who have also a ganja
history.
Question 49.— The experience that I have does
not justify my statement as to people generally
becoming insane. It is not based on experience,
but from inference. I saw one hard ganja-smoker
who became insane. Therefore I conclude that.
this is more injurious to health. I cannot call
ganja more injurious when used as an aphrodisiac,
because when the man uses it as a narcotic he is
useless; but when a man has an aphrodisiac he is
good for something. The use of the word "gene-
rally" may not be correct. It is too strong. Few,
at least, become insane. Since I entered Govern-
ment service I have never had a case of dysentery,
bronchitis, asthma or insanity due to ganja under
my treatment, except in the Dullunda Asylum.
120. Evidence of ASSISTANT SURGEON NORENDRA NATH GUPTA, Baidya, in Civil
Medical charge, Rangpur.
1. From conversation with the ganja-smokers
(popularly called ganja-khors) during my mufassal.
movements in my official capacities as Deputy
Superintendent of Vaccination, Darjeeling Circle,