373
the insanity produced by ganja are the follow-
ing:—
(a) The patient makes much noise and asks for
ganja every now and then. (b) Secretion of tears
passes out of the eyes. (c) Becomes a man hater
and peevish. (d) Feels less sleep than one whose
cause of insanity is something else. (e) The lips
get dry.
46. From what has been observed above, suffi-
cient answer has been given to this question.
47. It is not necessary that a person whose an-
cestors were moderate consumers must get this
habit. The habit is not hereditary, rather it has
been observed that children of consumers of these
drugs have grown into temperance observing
young men.
The children of a moderate consumer even are
mostly lean and weak.
48. The habit of excessive use of these drugs is
not hereditary, but the children of excessive con-
sumers are weaker than those of the moderate con-
sumers, and their complexion is mostly very dark.
49. There are persons who use these drugs as
an aphrodisiac, and such people are of vicious
habits and of bad morals. The habitual consumers
do not use it for that purpose. Prostitutes often
use it for that purpose. The use for that purpose
is more injurious than ordinary use. The reason
is clear. The semen becomes dry and heated, and
by much exertion the principal nerves of the organ
become loosened, and the person gradually becomes
impotent. Besides such persons become devoid of
energy and health very soon.
50. The difference between the excessive use
and the moderate use from the standpoint of in-
jury regarding the practice as an aphrodisiac is
this, that the excessive use is at least five times
more injurious than the moderate use.
56. The answer of this question has been suffi-
ciently given above.
57. The answer to the first part of the question
has been given above. Ganja sometimes has
caused instant death. I have personally observed
two or three persons dying instantly after one
hard pull of smoke. It has come into my observa-
tion that once a person smoked ganja and be-
came senseless, no medicine could produce any
effect. At last a sharp pointed needdle was prob-
ed into the skull, and a volume of smoke blew
out and the man came to his senses. I have
treated patients who got the following affections
on account of ganja smoking:—
(a) Passing of blood from nostrils. (b) Convul-
sion. (c) Contraction of the eye-balls.
Oral evidence.
Question 1.—I have never attended any
medical college, but was trained in the Baidack
system at Benares. I am 33 years old, and have
been practising five or six years.
Question 45.—There have been four or five
cases of insanity treated by me. One or two
would occur in a year. The last was eight or ten
months ago. The duration would be one month
or two or three months. Besides these one or
two remained for a day or two and went off
uncured. But the four or five men whom I
treated were treated for periods varying from one
to three months and were all cured. They were
in their own houses, but were under restraint.
I visited them. I treated them with cooling
applications to the head and the exhibition of
cooling draughts.
The ganja was stopped.
Without that cure would have been impossible.
I have had no experience of any case of a per-
manent nature. All were cured; and my belief
therefore is that the insanity due to ganja is of
quite a temporary character.
I do not give hemp for cases in which the
brain appears affected; but I do give it for colds
in the head. I do not know whether people
troubled in brain take it for relief. In my books
there is no special mention of treatment of dis-
eases due to ganja and bhang; but there is
mention of diseases due to intoxicants. Dr. Flood
Murray asked me to show him cases of insanity
due to hemp drugs. I could not. But I said I
had two cases of asthma, and I showed them to
him.
158. Evidence of MADHAB K. DAS, Kayasth, Private Practitioner,
Calcutta.
1. Having treated several patients suffering
from bowel complaints I have had opportunities
of obtaining information of the hemp drugs.
Besides treating patients as a medical practitioner
I gathered information from persons who are re-
gular long-standing ganja-smokers.
2. The definitions of the three varieties of ganja,
viz., ganja, charas, and bhang, as given in question
2, are universally accepted, though some are alter-
natively known by different names in different
localities. Thus flat ganja is known in Calcutta and
in its vicinity by the name of baluchar ganja, and
round ganja by the name of Jessore ganja. As to
quality, habitual smokers say that round ganja is
more closely adherent than the flat one. Chur or
broken ganja is locally known by the name of
rora ganja or mohini buti.
19. Ganja is used sometimes with siddhi as a
drink to increase the action of the latter drug.
It is applied as a remedy for itches, being boiled
with mustard oil. In particular cases smokers
take to swallowing ganja to have the action of
smoking.
23. In absence of ganja, smokers sometimes
smoke siddhi, though with less effect. This recourse
is adopted very rarely and by low class of men.
28. (a) A habitual moderate ganja-smoker is
satisfied with two chillums daily, and the daily
cost would be six pies only. A siddhi drinker is
satisfied with a pie worth of it.
(b) But a habitual excessive ganja-smoker is
satisfied with not less than twenty chillums; and
the daily cost would be five annas or more. Ex-
cessive siddhi drinkers are very rare.
Charas-smoking now-a-days is also rare.
29. Ganja is ordinarily used by smokers with a
bit of tobacco leaf. But exceptionally it is mixed
with dhatura, opium, nux vomica, cantharides,
and yellow arsenic to make the action more
strong. Such admixtures are generally had re-
course to by inveterate smokers, such as Hindu
ascetics and others.
The ingredients of the bhang massala, as sold
in the bazar, are simple things to make the pre-
paration cool. These are black-pepper, cucumber,