66
65. Seems unreasonable.
66. Yes; on the principle of their different
intoxicating power.
67. No.
68. There are none in the district.
69. Yes; as far as practicable.
70. I have made enquiries into the question of
hill ganja. I have questioned several people of
the locality, and also some "Tipperahs" who had
come down to Amlighata from the hills. There is
a consensus of opinion that no hill ganja is grown
within a day's journey from the British frontier.
I find that in 1870 a specimen of hill ganja was
procured for examination, and the Civil Medical
Officer reported that hill ganja is much inferior to
the Rajshahi ganja in respect of its power of
intoxication. The Minister of the Maharaja of
Tipperah also stated that ganja was not grown in
the Maharaja's territory, except in a very small
quantity, which is far from sufficient to meet the
local demand.
26. Evidence of MR. L. P. SHIRRES, Magistrate and Collector of Midnapur.
1. Deputy Collector, Sub-Divisional Officer, and
Collector in several districts; Junior Secretary to
the Board of Revenue; Under-Secretary to the Gov¬
ernment of Bengal in the Excise Department;
Under-Secretary to the Government of India,
Excise Department.
2. Yes; ganja, ganjika, turitananda, bora-
tamak, sul fa, and suka-tamak.
3. The plant grows spontaneously in this dis¬
trict, but not abundantly. No doubt it might
be easily cultivated, as a few cases occur of
Kabirajes growing it illicitly for medicine.
4. See answer to question 2. The Cannabis
sativa is the plant referred to.
5. The soil of this district is partly alluvial,
partly laterite, and the plant grows on both. It
is well known that the plant grows all along the
Himalayas, in the uplands of Central Asia and all
over India, although it is greatly affected by
different conditions of climate. In the uplands
the resin in which the narcotic principle resides
exudes and is collected as charas; in the plains,
where cultivated, it is found in the virginal
female blossom, and when allowed to run to seed
in the plains, it is found in the leaves, whence it
is extracted in the form of bhang. In the Excise
Manual, however, Section XIX, paragraph 3,
page 152, siddhi is defined as the dried leaves of
both sexes, whether cultivated or uncultivated.
The preceding statement is, I believe, to be found
in Babu Hem Chunder Ker's report, the only book
of reference on the subject until Dr. Prain's recent
report. Considerable quantities of charas are im¬
ported into the Punjab and the North-Western
Provinces from Samarcand and other places, and
probably some of this finds its way into Bengal.
But all the statistics relating to this will be before
the Commission. It used to be cultivated in the
Jessore district, but the cultivation there was
given up many years ago; I do not know for
what reason; and the cultivation in these provin¬
ces is now confined within a ring fence in Northern
Bengal. Rajshahi used to export a large quantity
to the North-Western Provinces, but the export
has fallen off, as that province now gets its sup¬
plies from the Central Provinces, where it is more
lightly taxed. It is believed to be cultivated in
the Tributary States of Orissa, whence it is
imported into Orissa under the name of Gurjat
ganja. It is also, I believe, cultivated in Assam,
and I have known good ganja smuggled into
Noakhali from the neighbouring hill tracts, where
it has apparently been grown. In Madras it
appears to grow wild freely, but is not cultivated,
taxed, nor consumed. That province consumes
opium instead of ganja.
6. Scattered.
7. Not in this district (as above noted, a few
plants are sometimes illicitly grown by Kabirajes).
8 to 10. I have no knowledge beyond what is
to be found in published reports. There is no
cultivation in this district.
11 and 12. So far as I know, there has been no
such special selection in the case of ganja as has
made the cultivated fruits of Europe different
from the corresponding wild fruits. That there
is a marked difference, however, between the cul¬
tivated and the uncultivated plant is clearly shown
by the fact that the Excise authorities are able
to tax the wild plant (siddhi) on an altogether
different scale and to allow it to be freely circu¬
lated. Probably this is due as much to the soil
being properly prepared and the plants allowed
free room as to the removal of the male plants.
13. See above.
14, 15, 16. Ganja, charas, and bhang are
imported and not made in this district; that is to
say, the dried leaf from which the decoction or
infusion called bhang is made is imported. Bhang
could be prepared from the leaves of the wild
plant, and in fact, as will appear from the section
of the Excise Manual quoted above, it ordinarily
is so.
17. The consumers of bhang are chiefly men
from up-country. It is also mixed with milk,
spices, etc., and used as a medicine for dyspepsia.
Charas is mixed with tobacco and smoked by a
few of the well-to-do people. Ganja is used by
the fishermen and the lower classes generally,
partly, no doubt, because it is a less expensive habit
than liquor or opium.
18. The drugs lose their narcotic properties, as
ordinarily kept, in little more than a year. Ganja
is kept in tin-lined chests in dry golas, but the
Board of Revenue are conducting experiments to
see if it will keep better if hermetically sealed.
19. Yes.
20. See above. There is hardly any charas
consumed in this district. The consumption of
ganja is 71 maunds a year, which, if all be taken
by moderate habitual consumers, would supply
about one in two thousand of the population.
21. Only round ganja is used in this district.
22. Foreign. Last year the charas used was
imported from Amritsar. Eighteen seers were
imported, of which seven were consumed and
eleven re-exported. There are no habitual cousu-
mers. Seven seers would be enough for about
fifty habitual moderate consumers in a year.
23. No.
24 Bhang is largely used by up-country men,
and a few of the Bengalis also use it.