160
The cultivation was flourishing in Jessore
in 1843, and was continued down to 1875, when it
was stopped under the orders of the Board. About
1722 A.D., ganja was for the first time cultivated
in the village of Balubhora, in the district of
Bogra, and in that of Muradpur in Rajshahi,
which adjoins it, the seeds having been imported
from Kushtea, where there were shops for the sale
of the drug. The cultivation proving remunera¬
tive was gradually extended to several other
villages.
I cannot say why the districts of Rajshahi,
Bogra, and Dinajpur were selected.
Ganja can be cultivated in every district in
my jurisdiction (where wild bhang grows) if not
restricted; but the quality of the ganja will not
be so good as that grown in the ganja mahal.
Even the ganja cultivated and manufactured in
the Sibpur Experimental Farm was not so good
in quality as the Rajshahi ganja.
(b) For special conditions necessary for the cul¬
tivation of the hemp plant for producing ganja,
vide answer to question 5. Ganja can be culti¬
vated in places where wild hemp plant grows.
(c) There is no part of Bengal where its culti¬
vation would be impossible.
14, (a) Ganja, yes (vide answers to questions 7
and 8).
(b) Charas, no.
(c) Bhang.—Wild bhang is prepared in all the
districts in Bengal to a small extent.
15. Particulars regarding methods of prepa¬
ration:—
Ganja—Cultivated.—As in Babu Hem Chandra
Ker's report. Uncultivated.—As Sibjata bhang
(answer to question 4). The flowers with the
leaves are dried in the sun after cutting the plant.
There is no difference in the preparation of ganja
for (A) smoking, (B) eating, and (C) drinking.
Bhang—Cultivated.—No experience. Unculti-
vated.—Wild bhang plants are cut and dried, and
the leaves are then removed from the plant and
stored. There is no difference in preparation for
(A) smoking, (B) eating, and (C) drinking. In
Dacca wild hemp plant is gathered on the last day
of Chaitra, for the bhang gathered on the Maha
Bishub Sankranti is considered auspicious. It is
popularly believed that bhang drinkers obtain suc¬
cess in every undertaking. Wild bhang leaves
are at first dried in the sun. They are next boiled
in milk and water, and dried again in the sun and
kept in earthen vessels. Every family keeps it.
Bhang plants are used as fuel. Milk boiled with
dry bhang plant as fuel becomes sweet and tasty.
In Rangpur bhang leaves (sak) are fried with
other vegetables and eaten like any other sak
with rice. It produces intoxication and allays
fatigue and bodily pain.
Charas.—Charas is smoked in Bengal. No
experience about its preparation.
16. (a) Bhang is generally prepared by the
people in their houses where wild bhang grows. It
is sometimes illicitly cultivated and reared.
(b) Bhang can be prepared from the hemp
plant wherever grown.
(c) Charas.—I have no experience.
Ganja can be prepared from the wild plant
wherever grown if the flower is formed. The
method of preparation is very simple (vide Babu
Hem Chandra Ker's report).
17. Ganja.—The ganja manufacturers in the
ganja mahal are ordinary cultivators. They are
generally Muhammadans.
Bhang.—Wild bhang is manufactured by all
classes of the people where they grow, especially
for medicinal and intoxicating purposes.
Ganja.
Bhang. Charas.
18. (a) Deteriorate
by keeping Yes. Yes.
Yes.
(b) Does it quite
lose its effect
in time ?
After
After Keeps
3 years. 3 years. longer.
(c) How long
does it keep
good with
ordinary
care ?
2 years. 2 years. Ditto.
(d) What are the causes of deterioration ?
Ganja.—The cause of deterioration is the ab-
sorption of moisture and the consequent loss
of its resin, that is its intoxicating proper¬
ties. Exposure to air and damp atmosphere
causes deterioration. Insects also grow and
eat away the active properties.
Bhang.—Before the rains the wild bhang leaves
keep well on standing plants. After the
rains the leaves fall off and lose much
of their intoxicating properties. Bhang
plants can live for one or two years. The
leaves do not deteriorate for two years,
after which insects eat them up (partially).
Everything has its assigned life, and the
active properties are decomposed naturally.
(e) Special measures for preventing dete¬
rioration:—I think if it is kept herme¬
tically sealed, it can be preserved in a
good condition longer.
19. Ganja and charas are generally used only
for smoking. But Gurjat ganja is used for drink¬
ing by the priests—pandas at Puri, Satyabadi, and
Bhubaneshwar in Orissa. Some sanyasis and
fakirs chew and eat ganja raw in Bengal.
Majum is prepared in the Dacca town from
ganja. Ganja half a poa (2 chhittaks) is smashed
and mixed with syrup prepared from 1½ seers of
sugar. The mixture is boiled; then it is allowed
to cool; afterwards it is cut into small pieces
(small tablets). The vendor generally takes a
seer of ganja every month for making majum. It
is sold at R2 to R8 per seer to retail vendors. It
is consumed by Kayasths, Muhammadans, traders
(Sahus and Basaks), up-country people, etc.
Ganja-smoking.—The leaves and seeds are
separated from the ganja; a little water is then
added; it is thus washed thrice. It is then placed
on the palm of the left hand and pressed six times
with the right forefinger. It is then cut. It is
again pressed six times for the second time, and
cut again. It is then pressed six times for the
third and last time, and cut finally. Three
cuts and eighteen times pressing make the ganja fit
for smoking. A little prepared tobacco is first put
into the chillum; next the prepared ganja is placed
on it. For a chillum one pice worth of ganja (1/16
of a tola in weight, at 4 annas per tola) or two
pice worth of ganja (1/16 of a tola in weight, at 8
annas per tola) can be consumed by two or three