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44. The immediate effect of the moderate
use of ganja on the habitual consumer is cheer-
fullness of mind. It is refreshing. It produces
slight intoxication. It does not allay hunger.
It creates appetite. The effect lasts for about
six hours. The consumer feels his body light
and dry. The want of subsequent gratification
does not produce any longing or uneasiness.
45. (a) The habitual moderate use of ganja
does not produce any noxious effects, physical,
mental or moral.
(b), (c), (d) No.
(f) It does not deaden the intellect or produce
insanity. I am of opinion that persons suffering
from mental anxiety obtain relief in smoking
ganja; but whether persons suffering from brain
disease get relief or not by smoking ganja I do not
know. I do not know of any instance of a person
who is deficient in self-control through weakened
intellect having ever become insane by indulgence
in the use of ganja.
46. The habitual excessive use of ganja pro-
duces effects contrary to those stated in the pre-
ceding replies.
47 and 48. The habitual moderate use of ganja
does not appear to be a hereditary habit. It
does not affect the children of the moderate con-
sumer.
49. The moderate use of ganja is practised as
an aphrodisiac. It is so used by some prostitutes.
I think its use for this purpose is not more injuri-
ous than its use as an ordinary narcotic. The use
of hemp (ganja) does not tend to produce im-
potence.
50. The excessive use of ganja produces effects
contrary to the above.
51. Among the habitual moderate consumers of
ganja, I think the proportion of bad characters is
not large. It does not appear to me that the
moderate use of ganja has any connection with
crime in general or with crime of any special
character.
52. I do not know that the excessive use of
ganja did ever lead any smoker to commit crime
of the above nature.
53. I think not. I do not know.
54. I have seen latials smoke ganja, perhaps
to fortify themselves to fight in an open affray
(danga).
55. I am not aware of any such case. I think
complete stupefaction cannot be possibly induced
by smoking ganja without admixture.
56. The effect of ganja is modified by the ad-
mixture of ingredients, viz., the admixture of
dhatura and other narcotics heighten the power
of the drug, whereas rose-water, etc., diminish the
power.
I have no knowledge of the admixture of dhatura
for personal consumption or for administration to
others.
57. I do not know anything about the effects of
eating and drinking ganja. I saw a man eat
ganja and get flatulency and purging after seven
or eight hours.
58. I am acquainted with the present system of
excise administration in respect of the ganja pro-
duced in Naogaon. I consider it is working well,
but it is capable of improvement.
59. The following are my suggestions for im-
provements:—
(1) That the wholesale vend of ganja may be
taken in hand by Government like opium,
if the results of the experiments of Dr.
Prain as regards making ganja cakes
prove successful. It will bring smug-
gling to the lowest ebb possible.
(2) That the limit of possession of 20 tolas of
ganja under section 15, Act VII (B. C.)
of 1878, may be reduced to 5 tolas as
regards the ganja mahal. The reduction
will cause no hardship on the consumers.
It will suppress consumption of unduty-
paid ganja, and increase Government
revenue.
(3) That the Assistant Supervisors may be em-
powered to make searches without police
assistance. The police stations at Maha-
devpur in Dinajpur and Adamdighee and
Nawabganj in Bogra lie to a distance of
about 20, 10 and 10 miles, respectively,
from the centre of the ganja mahal. It
is not easy to get timely assistance, and
the work of detection often suffers.
(4) That persons possessing any quantity of
unduty-paid ganja should be punished.
This being the ganja-producing tract,
blades of ganja lie scattered in chatars
and thereabout during the manufacturing
season. People pick up such bits, con-
sume, as well as sell. The consumption
of such ganja causes loss to Government
revenue as well as to licensed shopkeepers,
(5) That the Sub-divisional Officer of Naogaon
may be vested with the power of trying
excise cases detected by the Assistant
Supervisors in the Dinajpur and Bogra
portions of the ganja mahal. On detec-
tion of excise cases by the Assistant
Supervisors in the Dinajpur and Bogra
parts of the ganja mahal, the Assistants
are now required to take with them the
accused for trial to those districts, the
head-quarters of which are about seventy-
eight and twenty-nine miles from Nao-
goan respectively.
On each occasion
they are to remain absent from the ganja
mahal for about four days, and the work
suffers during their absence. The change
of the criminal jurisdiction will save the
Assistant Supervisors from the trouble of
going to Dinajpur and Bogra, and
enable them to utilize their valuable time
in supervision work. It will also save
Government from paying them travel-
ling expenses.
60. The cultivation and manufacture of ganja
are sufficiently controlled.
61. Charas is not produced in the ganja
mahal.
62. I think the cultivation of the hemp plant
for the production of bhang should in no way be
controlled. It would be feasible, but it would
not be necessary.
63. I have no objection to the present system
of wholesale/retail vend of ganja.
64. No.
65. The taxation of ganja, charas, and bhang
is reasonable with reference to each other.
66. In my opinion it is necessary that there
should be different rates of taxation between the