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Question 45.—It
is the excessive use that
deadens the intellect and produces insanity. The
habitual moderate use has not these effects.
The one case I give is a case of excessive use.
By saying that ganja was the "sole exciting
cause," I mean that there was no other cause
whatsoever. I treated the case for four or five
months. The man was not cured.
He was
then removed from Calcutta. It was four or
five years ago. He was a Birbhum man, and
was about 24 or 25 years old. I did not know
him until he was brought to me. But I had
seen him before several times when he came as
a visitor to his uncle in Calcutta, whose family
I attended.
I did not know the youth's own
family before he came down here.
He told me
he had indulged in ganja for three or four months
only. He was a lunatic when he told me. I
ascertained nothing about his habits of life, be-
cause I had no idea then that I should be called
here as a witness. I cannot say whether he had
indulged in drink or in excessive sexual inter-
course. I cannot say whether any of his rela-
tions were insane.
I say that ganja was the
sole cause becauase he was quite sane when I
previously saw him visiting at his uncle's, and
because he smoked to excess. He told me that
he smoked "often," and therefore I concluded
that it was to excess. This is the only case of
insanity of any kind that I have ever had under
treatment.
So all my remarks about ganja
insanity are based on my experience of this
case.
I know that there may be a hereditary pre-
disposition to insanity; that is, that a man may
be sane up till a certain period of his life and
then become insane simply because his father was
insane. In this case I made no inquiries as to
cause, because it would not have affected my
treatment of the case; I did not expect at that
time that I should ever be asked about the
cause. In this case I know that the father and
mother were sane when they came down to take
away their son.
159. Evidence of the HON'BLE THE MAHARAJA OF GIDHOUR.
1. Very few.
2. Yes, by the same name.
4. Vide answer to question 2.
7. No.
13. Vide answer to question 7.
16. Generally purchased from licensed vendors.
19. Yes, as far as known.
20. The lower classes use ganja. Bhang is
used by many Brahmins in Benares, Muttra, and
Deoghur.
21. Only the flat sort is known here.
22. Charas is not used here.
25. It is believed that ganja-smoking is on
the increase, reasons not known.
40. Yes, sometimes.
41. It is the popular belief that it is so.
44. The popular belief is that ganja and
bhang are
intoxicating; they create ap-
petite and are refreshing. The effects last with
ganja about one hour and with bhang about
six hours.
58. Yes; it needs no improvement.
68. Yes; they are carried on in a quiet manner.
69. No. None. Yes; local option should be
put in force.
N.B.—Where
unacquainted with the informa-
tion sought, I have refrained from answering,
leaving the spaces blank.
160. Evidence of RAJA PEARY MOHUN MUKERJI, C.S.I., Zamindar, Uttarpara, Hughli.
1. As a landholder who has opportunities of
getting information regarding the extent and effect
of the use of hemp by people in my estates, and as
an amateur homœopathic practitioner who has
frequently used hemp as a remedial agent and
watched the evil effects of its excessive use for the
purpose of administering antidotes.
2. Dr. Prain's definition of the drugs and the
names given by him may be accepted as correct.
The drugs are known in and about Calcutta as
siddhi or bhang, charas and ganja.
3. The hemp plant grows abundantly in Raj-
shahi, Dinajpur, Bogra, Tippera, Bharatpur,
Mirzapur, Ghazipur, and other districts.
Although quite uncared for, the plant grows
wild in all places in Lower Bengal, wherever the
seeds have been thrown by those who do not care
to eat them with the leaves.
4. In and about Calcutta the plant is known as
siddhi, and the leaves as sabji or bhang.
5. It easily strikes one that a damp soil is
favourable to the growth of the plant. In places
where the soil is laterite, stray plants are not so
common in Lower Bengal as in moist alluvial
soils.
6. The plant grows well both densely and
scattered.
7. In the district of Rajshahi hemp is culti-
vated for all the purposes mentioned in this ques-
tion. Nowhere else in Bengal is it so largely
cultivated.
10. My information is that cultivators of hemp
do not form a special class.
14. All the products of hemp are prepared in
the district of Rajshahi.
15. Sir William O'Shaughnessy's description
of the process for making the preparations for
smoking, eating, and drinking appear to me to
be fairly correct. The quantities used at a time
are, however, much
smaller in Bengal than
what are mentioned by him.
16. Bhang is usually prepared by the people
in their own houses. The leaves of plant wher-
ever grown can be used for the purpose. Ganja
and charas, however, cannot be prepared from the
wild plant wherever grown.
18. All the three drugs deteriorate by keeping
for more than about six months. They become
mildewed, and lose not only their flavour, but also
their active properties. Preservation in well-stop-
pered bottles and exposing them to the sun for
several hours from time to time prevents deteriora-
tion.
19. Ganja and charas are used only for smoking.