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Superintendent of Vaccination, Eastern Bengal
Circle; Deputy Sanitary Commissioner, Western
Bengal and Presidency and Eastern Bengal
Circles; as officiating Civil Medical Officer, Pabna,
and Assistant Surgeon in Civil Medical charges
Rangpur, and also during my halts at head-quarters
of districts.
These products are known in Rangpur by
the names of ganja, charas, bhang and siddhi.
3. Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna,
Dacca and Mymensingh. It is abundant in
Rangpur.
4. Ganja and bhang. Ganja and bhang are of
different species.
6. Generally dense.
7. No cultivation for any purpose.
10. I have no knowledge.
11 and 12. Not known.
13. There is restriction for the cultivation of
hemp plant for ganja in this district.
The other parts of the question not answered.
14. (a), (b) and (c) No.
15. No knowledge.
16. People prepare bhang in their houses. It
can be prepared from the hemp plant grown
anywhere. Ganja or charas cannot be prepared
from the wild plant grown anywhere.
17. Not known.
18. Ganja, charas and bhang deteriorate by
keeping. They perfectly lose their effects in
time. They keep good for about two years. Rea-
sons of deterioration being the destruction of
resinous substances. The deterioration of the
drugs can be prevented to a certain extent by
keeping them hermetically sealed in tin-lined
boxes.
19. Ganja is used for smoking in this district.
Charas is not used here.
20. Generally low classes of people smoke ganja
here, such as palki-bearers, coolies, dhobies,
Bedias, fishermen, up country cooks and servants,
etc.
21. Flat and chur ganja are used for smoking
indiscriminately in this district.
22. Charas not used here and hence no import.
23. No.
24. Bhang is occasionally used as drink by the
people here, specially by the up-country men, and
it is rarely eaten by some prepared with luchis
and kachuris.
25. The use of ganja is on the decrease owing
to its increased price.
26. Most of the ganja-smokers fall under the
head (a), i.e., habitual moderate consumers. A
few fall under head (c), i.e., occasional moderate
consumers.
27. Ganja is generally used by the low classes
of people who are subject to excessive labour and
exposure.
28. From 2 to 4 pice worth ganja being taken
by each individual here among the habitual
moderate consumers every day, morning and
evening.
29. Dried tobacco leaves are mixed generally
with ganja by the ganja-smokers here. Dhatura
is not used. Tobacco leaves are mixed with
ganja in order to remove its pungency. While
bhang is drunk, it is generally mixed with milk
and sugar. Dhatura seed is occasionally mixed
with bhang for drink.
30. People generally consume ganja in solitude.
Its use is chiefly confined to male sex and generally
from adult age. It is not used by the children
here.
31. The habit of consuming ganja is easily
Formed. It is not difficult to break off the habit.
The moderate ganja-consumers may turn to be
excessive ones.
32. No custom either social or religious in
regard to the consumption of any of the drugs
in question here.
33. People generally regard the ganja-smokers
with some degree of hatred. There is no concern
with the religion here. The ganja-smokers are
generally of peevish and hot temperament, so they
are disliked by the people. No custom to worship
hemp plant here.
34. It would certainly be a serious privation to
habitual moderate ganja-consumers to forego the
use of the drug. They lose their energy and
appetite and get flatulence.
35. It would not be feasible to prohibit the
use of the drug at once. If it be prohibited, then
the ganja-smokers will resort to illicit dealings.
Prohibition is therefore not desirable, as it will
render serious discontent among the consumers.
No political danger is apprehended if the use of
the drug is discontinued. The prohibition of the
ganja-smoking is very likely to be followed by
recourse to alcoholic stimulants or other narcotic
drugs.
36. I don't think.
37. I have no knowledge of charas-smoking.
38. No difference in effects.
39. Smoking of the preparation of the hemp
plant is more injurious than drinking the same,
because the smokers generally possess diseases of
the lungs and air passages, such as bronchitis,
hœmoptysis, asthma and chronic catarrh.
40. Yes; bhang and ganja are prescribed by the
kabirajes for medicinal purposes. Yes; bhang is
used for the disease of the cattle.
41. The moderate use of bhang and ganja is
beneficial to health to a certain extent:
(a) as a digestive;
(b) to alleviate fatigue under severe exertion
and exposure;
(c) as a preventive of disease in malarious and
unhealthy districts;
(d) as aphrodisiac.
This drug is generally used by the low classes
of people such as palki-bearers, Domes, dhobies,
Bedias, Chamars, fishermen, etc., in order to
escape from the influences of malarial diseases and
from the effect of fatigue. I refer the above to
habitual moderate consumers of ganja and occa-
sional moderate consumers of bhang. Higher
classes of people occasionally use ganja and bhang
for their aphrodisiac properties.
42. The moderate use of the drugs, ganja and
bhang, is beneficial to health.
43. Yes.
44. The immediate effect of the use of ganja is
to exhilarate the nervous system. It is refreshing
to some extent. It produces intoxication. It
does not allay hunger. On the contrary it increases
the appetite. The effect lasts from two to twelve
hours, according to the dose and the nature of its
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