89
drinking, is, according to my experience, mainly
confined to the male sex and to manhood.
Children seldom use ganja and bhang.
31. So far as I can judge, the habit of ganja-
smoking is easily formed, bat not that of bhang-
drinking. In the former case there is a tendency
for the moderate habit to develop into the exces¬
sive.
32. The only custom I am aware of is in res¬
pect of the drinking of bhang on the Bijaya
Dasami, or the last day of the Durga Puja. It is
a religious custom for the worshippers of the god¬
dess in certain localities to drink bhang on that
day; but the use of the drug on that occasion is
not regarded, so far as my experience goes, as
essential. The use is generally temperate, and,
being confined to one day in the year, is not at all
likely to lead to the formation of the habit.
33. Ganja-smoking is looked down upon as a
vice. There is a strong social public opinion
against the smokers of ganja, who are regarded
as a degraded class There is a common nick¬
name, "ganja-khor," by which the consumers of
ganja are generally known among sober people.
The epithet "ganja-khor" is so suggestive that it
is often applied to fools, though they be free from
the vice of ganja-smoking. The sentiment is so
deep-rooted and ancient that it is hard to trace it
to its original cause. But I should think that the
injurious effect of the habit on the intellect, and
through it on the general usefulness of the smoker,
was at the root of the sentiment. The habit not
only impairs the intellect, but makes the smoker's
temper irritable. This also accounts for the sen¬
timent.
34. From what I know, I don't think it would
be a serious privation to the consumers of any of
these three drugs—namely, ganja, bhang, and
charas—to forego its consumption. It would cer¬
tainly be inconvenient to go without the drug,
but the privation would be nothing compared to
what it would be in the case of opium or even
alcohol. I have witnessed the distress felt by
opium-eaters and confirmed alcohol-drinkers when
compelled by any accident to go without the daily
allowance. I have also seen ganja-smokers and
bhang-drinkers similarly compelled to forego their
drug, but the distress has not been nearly so great
as in the case of either opium or alcohol. I am
not in a position to give any idea of the probable
number of each class.
35. In my opinion it would not be feasible to
effectually prohibit the use of any of these drugs,
with the exception, perhaps, of charas, as the
hemp plant grows wild in many parts of the
country, and its illicit use it would be hard to
prevent. I have already said above that the pro¬
hibition could scarcely be enforced. If it were
possible to enforce the prohibition, it would cer¬
tainly occasion discontent among the consumers,
but not to such an extent as to amount to a poli¬
tical danger. Most probably the prohibition, if
effectual, would in some cases be followed by re¬
course to alcoholic stimulants, and in others to
opium. I have said in some cases because reli¬
gious prejudice would stand in the way of a certain
class of consumers to resort to alcohol. This
applies to religious mendicants, the "Pandas"
of Muttra, Brindaban, and other sacred places;
in short, to persons of the Baishnav faith,
who, to a man, abhor alcohol as an abomination.
The prohibition of the use of bhang in particular
would be looked upon as an interference with the
religious rites of a certain class of occasional con¬
sumers, who, as stated in answer to a preceding
question, indulge in its use on certain religious
festivals, e.g., on the Bijaya, or last day of the
Durga Puja. The prohibition of bhang, again, if
absolute, would cause serious inconvenience, as it
often forms an ingredient of valuable medicines
under the Hindu or Ayurveda system of medicine
practised by the kabirajes.
36. When I was in charge of the Excise De¬
partment, it was my information and belief that
with the rise in the duty of ganja certain lower
orders of consumers of the drug betook themselves
to toddy and to cheap liquor of the outstills when
the latter were introduced on a large scale. The
causes are dearness of ganja and cheapness of toddy
and liquor. I cannot at this distance of time (my
connection with the Excise Department ceased in
1880, when Sir Ashley Eden selected me for special
duty at Arrah under the Public Works Depart¬
ment, Irrigation Branch, whence I was transferred
in 1885 to my present appointment as Personal
Assistant to the Commissioner, Bhagalpur) under¬
take to prove that the substitution really took
place.
37. Yes; there is, so far as I have been able to
observe, difference between the effects of charas-
smoking and ganja-smoking, in that the effect on
the system of the former is not nearly so marked
and injurious as in the case of the latter.
38. I think the difference is only in degree,
chur being stronger than the rest, and round being
stronger than flat.
39. I think ganja and charas-smoking is a less
injurious form of consumption than drinking alco¬
holic liquor. Ganja and charas-smoking, espe¬
cially the former, does no doubt make the smoker
stupid and irritable, and in a very few instances
even insane; but in the long run its effect is not
so injurious physically and morally as that of
alcohol-drinking. Ganja-smoking does not make
one so turbulent and riotous as indulgence in alcohol
does. It does not lead to so many accidents as
are the result of indulgence in alcohol. In short,
ganja-smokers do not make themselves so promi¬
nent and obnoxious as alcohol-drinkers do. It is a
very common thing for drunkards to be bois¬
terous, occasionally to fight in the streets and
disturb the public peace, not only close to liquor
shops but even away from them; whereas such
demonstrations on the part of ganja-smokers are
seldom noticeable. One who has witnessed the
revelries in a Behar town on the occasion of the
Holi festival can only realize to what extent free
use of alcohol excites a crowd. The habitual in-
dulgence in alcohol, moreover, shortens life,
whereas ganja-smokers seldom kill themselves by
even excessive indulgence.
40. Bhang is often an ingredient in medicine
prescribed by the native kabirajes. I do not
know if any of these drugs, i.e., ganja and bhang,
is used in the treatment of cattle disease.
41. Bhang is sometimes used, either alone or
mixed with other articles, as an aid to appetite
and digestion. I think it often answers this pur¬
pose, especially when taken under medical advice
in the prescribed quantity. I have no experience
of the beneficial effect of ganja as a food accessory,
or as a febrifuge, or in any other way. Its use is
deprecated by enlightened society.
42. I think the moderate use of bhang is
harmless both in its effect on the consumer him¬
self as well as in relation to society. I have seen
moderate consumers of this drug not only retain-
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