353
Generally excessive. As far as my experience
goes, I have seen all habituated. Sanyasis are also
habitual excessive smokers.
33. The consumption of ganja is regarded to
be heinous. Charas is not consumed in this
district. People do not regard bhang-drinking
to be so heinous as the other two. The use of
any form of the narcotic is in disrepute, simply
because people have understood, by the light of
education and experience, the evil effects they
produce and bring on over the human frame. The
custom of worshipping the hemp plant is not
prevalent in this district.
34. Yes; it will be a serious privation to
habitual excessive smokers to forego the con-
sumption and little privation to habitual moderate
smokers, and it will be no privation to the other
two classes.
35. Yes; the prohibition of all these drugs
is feasible, and that would be doing great benefit
to the people of India. There cannot be any
political danger, because the use of the narcotics
is chiefly confined to the lower and the poorer
classes of the land. The consumers are mostly
illiterate and of unsound mind. To prohibit
the use of the narcotics one easy plan would be
if there be a notification to the effect that no
vendor will be able to sell ganja, bhang and
charas for any other purpose except medical. Of
course there are consumers who will suffer much
for the first few months. In that case they will
procure a medical certificate to the effect that
such a man requires such a quantity of ganja,
etc., for such a length of time. Within a year
at least most of the consumers will give up the
practice for the difficulty of procuring medical
certificates, and then all will be in peace.
36. Alcohol is not substituted for ganja, charas
or bhang, because alcohol is dearer, and the smok-
ers being the poorer classes of the land.
38. The difference is in degree and not in kind.
40. Ganja and bhang are used as medicine by
kabirajes. I have seen ganja used in cattle
disease.
41. (a) Bhang and ganja are digestive if
taken internally in medicinal doses.
(b) Yes; to some extent.
(c) Yes; may be used in a very mild form.
The labouring class mostly use for the purpose.
(d) I refer to moderate occasional use.
42. I think moderate use is not injurious, if
taken internally for medical purposes.
43. No; even they also sometimes prove offen-
sive.
44. They feel a little enervated. Yes; it is a
refreshment to them. I think it does not pro-
duce intoxication; if so, very little is used.
45. (b) Yes; it impairs constitution.
(c) Yes.
(d) Yes.
(e) Certainly it does.
(f) Yes: they deaden the intellect and produce
temporary insanity.
46. The children do not inherit, but they learn
by example. The children become weak in in-
tellect.
48. The majority of the children born become
weak in intellect, and some insane.
49. Yes; they are used by the prostitutes as an
aphrodisiac. Hemp, if taken for a long time,
produces impotence.
51. Yes; most of the bad characters are con-
sumers of hemp drugs.
53. I know there was a Muhammadan in this
district some twenty years ago, who was an
excessive habitual ganja-smoker. All the Muham-
madans of the district would call him a fakir and
had great respect for the man. They believed
that the man had some superhuman powers. He
had consequently lots of disciples, who would
supply him with ganja and food. One day one
of his disciples was late in bringing him his usual
smoke. He got annoyed and in his frenzy gave
one or two cuts with his dhaw (an instrument of
cutting), of which he died instantly.
55. I don't think complete stupefaction can be
induced without admixture.
56. I have heard of dhatura leaf mixed with
ganja and seed mixed with bhang and given to
smoke and drink to induce complete stupefaction.
63. With regard to the wholesale vend of ganja,
I propose the improvement as follows:—Ganja is
cultivated in Rajshahi under Government super-
vision. The wholesale vendors bring ganja from
that place, say at one rupee a seer. In the
district they (the wholesale vendors) sell, say at
10 rupees a seer to the retail vendors, who in their
turn sell at a very exorbitant rate. If Govern-
ment would supply the retail vendors with ganja,
as in the case of opium, the consumers would have
been saved from lots of money.
With regard to the retail vend of ganja, I beg
to propose as follows:—Let the system of auction
be stopped, and the Government duty be in-
creased proportionate to the sum Government
loses by the stoppage. The smuggling will cease
altogether. As, for instance, supposing in Chit-
tagong there are two retail vendors, one at town
and another in mufassal, say 10 miles off.
In
auction the town one is sold for Rs. 100 a month
and mufassal one for Rs. 10 a month. The
mufassal one can therefore supply ganja on a
cheaper rate.
143. Evidence of TARA NATH BAL, Kayasth, Medical Practitioner,
Mymensingh.
1. As a medical practitioner I have had to come
in contact with different classes of people from
highest to lowest, from Raja, Maharaja, to the
meanest cultivator, with whose habits and customs
it is essential on my part to become thoroughly
acquainted. Moreover, in going out of town, I
have had to come in contact with mahuts of ele-
phants, coachmen, boatmen, palki-bearers, etc.,
among whom the habit of ganja-smoking is most
prevalent. As a student of medicine and as a
votary of the healing art I am necessarily bound
to know its uses and effects on human economy.
These are the opportunities afforded me to obtain
information regarding the matters connected with
hemp drugs, in regard to which I shall have to
give replies to questions put to me.
2. For my province, I mean Bengal, and parti-
cularly for this district, I hesitate to accept these
definitions to be strictly correct. Here bhang or
siddhi is known to be leaves of a different plant
3 B