270
use generally. I believe that the habit of using
ganja moderately is absolutely harmless; but I
think even the moderate use of alcohol is liable
to produce tissue changes in the long run.
Further, I here refer entirely to the native com-
munity; and it is my observation that when a
native takes to alcohol it is extremely difficult for
him to remain moderate; and in life assurance
work, of which I have a good deal, I always advise
an extra premium in the case of any native who
indulges in alcohol even in the most moderate
way, and utterly refuse to accept a native life if
there is evidence of the consumption of alcohol to
any considerable extent, which would still be con-
sidered moderate in the case of Europeans. This
of course refers only to the upper classes who
come for life assurance. But my experience leads
me to hold the same view of the effects of alcohol
on the lower classes. A native who takes to liquor
is lost. This is founded on my hospital experience
and my experience as a medical practitioner. I
am decidedly of opinion that in Bengal alcohol is
absolutely evil. I am aware of the large extent
to which alcohol is used in Bengal. It is used
probably more than ganja. It is difficult to say,
because ganja is so much cheaper.
As regards the excessive use, I would still place
alcohol first. I regard it as most deleterious.
This is a comparison of evils; and I think that the
evils of alcohol seem to me to over-balance al-
together the evils of ganja. I would instance my
own darwan, who takes ganja or bhang in excess, but
is always at his post and capable of doing his duty.
If he took alcohol in excess to the same extent he
would be useless to me and utterly untrustworthy.
Then I think also that the social evils of alcohol in
excess are much greater. The excessive use of
ganja in this country would never lead to the
misery produced by the excessive use of alcohol,
say, in Scotland or London. The effect of the
excessive use of ganja may be to produce a sudden
outburst of violence which would naturally lead
to the incarceration of the man in an asylum. This
is not the character and result of alcoholic excess.
It leads to more chronic misery. Alcohol also
produces disease of almost every internal organ
and premature death. Dysentery is attributed to
ganja; but I do not know of any good ground
for that belief. There is no reason that I know
of in the known physiological action of the drug
to believe that it should cause dysentery. Chest
affections are also attributed to ganja; but I have
no reliable information to give on that subject.
I know of no other disease which the drug
causes.
In regard to opium, I would distinguish be-
tween opium-eating and opium-smoking, taking
first opium-smoking.
Like ganja, opium is
smoked in company, and it is therefore an incen-
tive to idleness, dissipation, and bad company,
with all its results; and I believe that the habit
of smoking opium obtains a firmer hold on the
smoker than in the case of ganja. It is also very
expensive, which ganja is not, and leads sooner
to the ruin of the individual and his family. On
the other hand, opium-smoking does not lead to
the commission of violent acts, and apart from the
individual and his family, leads to no general evil
as regards the community at large. After his
smoke he walks quietly home and does no harm.
But the ganja smoker is liable to sudden outbursts
of violence, which may lead to murder sometimes of
a wholesale kind. My experience leads me to
believe that ganja is generally smoked in com-
pany. And my statement regarding outbursts
of violence from ganja is based on my knowledge
of cases which have been before the criminal
courts. In regard to opium-eating, the opium-
eater is as a rule a respectable, well-doing member
of society, who takes his opium pills before leav-
ing his house in the morning, goes about his busi-
ness, and returns without any apparent effect from
the drug. I think there is a respectable use of
ganja corresponding to this—the moderate use.
But I am told that ganja is more commonly taken
in company than privately.
My personal experience has been chiefly of the
excessive use of ganja; and I set this down as
more deleterious than excessive opium-eating,
which is essentially the habit of elderly people,
but not more deleterious than excessive opium-
smoking. I think that the effects of excessive
opium-smoking are worse to the individual,
though not so dangerous to the community.
Question 49.—I am not prepared to give any
personal opinion on the subject of the aphrodisiac
properties of the drug.
Question 51.—I draw no distinction between
cases of violence due to ganja and cases due to
insanity attributable to ganja. I regard object-
less crime resulting from ganja as a form of
insanity, as it would be regarded in the case of
delirium tremens. It is so regarded medically.
The ganja habit, no doubt, gives rise to an iras-
cible state of mind, which state of mind renders a
man more likely to commit acts of violence even
when he is not under the immediate intoxicating
influence of the drug. Cases arising from such
irritability would come before me as attributed
to ganja. But when I wrote my answer to ques-
tion 51, I had also in my mind a second class of
cases due to the maniacal excitement produced by
ganja intoxication. I did not distinguish between
these two classes. This maniacal excitement is
insanity—temporary insanity produced by intoxi-
cation. My answer is based on my Dacca Asylum
experience, though I cannot specifically state any
other than the case mentioned in the end of my
supplementary memorandum, and I have a recollec-
tion of one other. The Dacca Asylum books
would show these cases. I have also had cases
before me in connection with the Standing Com-
mittee on insane criminals. The cases that come
before this Committee are about forty per annum,
and about ten would have a history of ganja, more
or less reliable. If there is a history of ganja, the
period of detention is longer, and the criminal
also has a period of probation (with access to the
bazars) to see if he has overcome the habit.
Therefore the matter is carefully considered.
These special measures would have to be taken
if the man had a ganja history. Whether his
crime was due to ganja or not, that would not
affect our procedure. The question with us is
whether the man ever took ganja; not whether
the crime was due to ganja. I cannot tell at all
in what proportion of cases the crime was attri-
butable to ganja.
Question 45.—I have described certain symp-
toms of hemp drug insanity. Cases of insanity
from hemp drugs may be divided into three classes,
as shown in my paper.
(1) Acute mania.—As to duration, it varies
very much. In some it is over in two days; in
others it lasts ten days. The symptoms do not
suddenly cease. There is gradual subsidence. I
do not think there is any positive statement to be
made regarding the pupils. My recollection is
that the pupils tend to contract, but they are not
stable. They dilate in the dark and contract in
light. This is my recollection only, and it must