76
The effects of ganja are much more rapid. It
produces immediate giddiness and intoxication.
Its effects last four or five hours.
The after effects of both drugs are headache and
giddiness, but with the habitual consumer the after
effects of moderate indulgence are not noticeable.
In the case of ganja, the want of subsequent
gratification produces some longing for the drug,
but not nearly to the same extent as in the case of
opium.
45. I am not aware that the use of bhang in
moderation produces any noticeable noxious effect.
The habitual use of ganja even in moderation
appears to have a tendency to impair the constitu¬
tion, but in what precise way I cannot say. A
good deal seems to depend on the habits and
mode of life of the consumers. In the case of
men who lead an active open air life, the moder¬
ate consumption does not appear as a rule to pro¬
duce any perceptible effect, but such ganja smok¬
ers as I have met with among men leading seden¬
tary lives have always been unhealthy-looking
objects.
Ganja does tend to impair the moral sense and
induce habits of laziness and debauchery, but
in the case of moderate consumers, who lead an
otherwise healthy and regular life, these effects do
not as a rule become very marked.
Ganja probably tends to deaden the intellect,
but I have never heard of any case in which the
habitual and moderate consumption of the drug
caused insanity. There may be such cases. I
have met with many cases of insanity attributed
to ganja smoking, but in such cases the subjects
could not have been termed moderate consumers
in any reasonable sense of the word. I have had
no such case before me here, and have no notes of
cases I have seen elsewhere, and therefore cannot
give any precise details. There is one point which
should be remembered, and that is that nearly all
religious mendicants are ganja smokers. Many
of them are men who have adopted this mode of
life because they are not quite as sane as their
fellows. Cases of insanity among these men
should not be too readily attributed to ganja.
46. The habitual excessive use of ganja does
impair the constitution and moral sense, and does
cause insanity. A prolonged debauch causes an
acute form of temporary madness, and long con¬
tinued excessive use of the drug causes general
dulling of the faculties and imbecility.
47 and 48. I have never heard of any such
effect.
49. I have heard of such use, but have no
accurate information on the subject.
51 and 52. Bad characters may roughly be
divided into the following classes:—
1st.—Hereditary criminals, i.e., members of a
criminal tribe or of a tribe or caste having strong
criminal tendencies.—These men usually follow
the custom of their tribe or caste in the matter
of the consumption of these drugs. In some of
these castes the habit of ganja smoking is
common; others are addicted to bhang. Others
are not addicted to either drug.
Their tendency to crime is the result of heredi¬
tary disposition and education, and is in no way
connected with the consumption of these drugs.
2nd.—Men of low and disreputable origin,
such as are common in towns, who, having no
social ties, often become criminals.—Men of this
class usually take to intoxicants in some form,
and some of them become habitual ganja smokers,
and when they do so they are prone to indulge
in the habit to excess, but it cannot be said that
the consumption of the drug has any special con¬
nection with crime.
It may be that some men of this class who
might otherwise earn an honest livelihood are
prevented from doing so by their partiality for
the drug, but in most cases I think men of this
class are criminals first, and ganja smokers after¬
wards.
3rd.—Men who are to all outward appearance
respectable members of society, who league them¬
selves with criminals, and commit or abet crime
for the purpose of gain.—Men of this class do
not usually consume these drugs.
4th.—Individual members of respectable fami¬
lies, who have been outcasted or who have cast
off social ties and taken to crime.—Such men are
often ganja smokers, but they usually adopt the
habit, after they have commenced to associate with
criminals and disreputable characters. The habit
is generally the effect and not the cause of their
fall.
My experience is that the consumption of these
drugs is not connected with crime in general or
with any particular class of crime. Sometimes
it may happen that habitual ganja smokers when
hard up commit theft to supply their wants, but
such cases are comparatively rare. I do not
believe that the interdiction of ganja would appre¬
ciably diminish crime.
53. No. In the case of ganja the immediate
effect is stupefying. There is none of that ten¬
dency to violence which is a characteristic of
alcoholic intoxication. When, however, excessive
indulgence causes actual mania, then violent
conduct may be expected. I cannot, however,
call to mind any particular case of homicidal
frenzy, though I think I have heard of such
cases.
54. I know of no authentic case of this. I
remember one case in which a murderer was stated
to have smoked ganja before committing the
crime. There was, however, a woman in the case
and the real facts were never ascertained.
55. Such cases do occur but they are not very
common. Complete stupefaction can be caused
by ganja alone. In cases of drugging by profes¬
sional criminals, it is usual to find dhatura used.
56. Tobacco is commonly mixed with ganja;
it merely moderates the effect. I am not aware
that other substances are mixed with ganja.
I have not heard of dhatura being mixed with
ganja for personal consumption, but I have heard
of it being used in the manner by professional
poisoners. Dhatura is a powerful and dangerous
narcotic poison. It produces complete stupefac¬
tion, which lasts for a considerable time. It often
causes death.
57. I have heard of ganja being eaten, but
the practice is rare. I have no information
regarding the effects.
58. I consider that the present system works
fairly well.
59. I do not advocate any radical change.
60. The defect of the existing system is that
by a no means inconsiderable quantity of ganja
escapes payment of duty. It is very difficult to
form any estimate of the amount so smuggled,