119
41. Yes.
(a) Digestive.
(b) Gives staying-power under servere exertion
or exposure and also alleviates fatigue.
(c) Preventive of disease in malarious and
unhealthy tracts.
The agricultural people and the ascetic classes
use the drug for the above purposes. I refer to
the moderate habitual use of the drug.
42. Yes; for the reason stated in Answer 41.
43. Yes.
44. It is refreshing. Yes; it produces intoxi¬
cation at first. It creates appetite. The want of
subsequent gratification produces longing or un¬
easiness.
45. The habitual moderate use of any of the
drugs produces, in some cases, noxious effects on
our physical, mental or moral systems, but in the
cases of the lower people and the sanyasis it does
not. It slightly impairs the constitution in many
cases. It sometimes injures digestion or causes
loss of appetite. In some cases it causes dysentery,
bronchitis, or asthma. It induces laziness, but
does not impair moral sense or induce habits of
immorality or debauchery. In some cases it dead¬
ens the intellect or produces insanity.
47. There are not numerous instances in which
the habitual moderate use of these drugs appears
to have descended to children.
51. A certain proportion of bad characters are
habitual moderate consumers of these drugs, but
the proportion is not very large.
52. But the persons, who are addicted to exces¬
sive use of any of these drugs, are generally of
bad character.
53. An excessive indulgence in any of these
drugs incites to unpremeditated crime, violent or
otherwise.
54. Such examples are very rare.
55. In very rare cases, criminals induce their
victims to partake of any of these drugs, and so
stupefy themselves. A complete stupefaction can¬
not be induced unless dhatura is admixed with it.
58. An increase in the license fees may reduce
consumption of the hemp drugs,
66. It is necessary that there should be different
rates of taxation for different kinds of ganja as chur
is better in quality than round or flat, and round
is better than flat.
68. No.
69. In the case of an opening of a shop for sell¬
ing these drugs, the wishes of the people are not
consulted or considered at present. But in my
opinion, local public opinion should be consulted
and considered before a shop is opened.
70. There are no cases of importation or smug¬
gling of hemp drugs from Native States into our
Division. Duty is really paid in respect to the
ganja and other hemp drugs used, but by the sel¬
lers directly and by the consumers indirectly.
Untaxed drugs are not generally used.
51. Evidence of BABU JAGA MOHAN BHATTACHARJYA, Deputy Magistrate and
Deputy Collector and Personal Assistant to Commissioner, Chittagong.
With remarks by Mr. W. B. Oldham, C. I. E.,
Commissioner of Chittagong.
1. I was Excise Inspector of the Dacca Divi¬
sion for five years, and Excise Deputy Collector
for the same period at Burdwan and Monghyr.
(I have never had to specially study the ganja
question.—W. O.)
2. Yes; the same local names as above.
3. In Dacca, Mymensingh, on the banks of
rivers, and in Monghyr at the foot of the hills
near Baha Chowki, a village about 14 miles from
the town.
( Also in Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts,
Noakhali, Tippera and Hill Tippera. In the
Darjeeling District it is abundant—W. O.)
4. Siddhi and bhang plants.
5. Not known. But a damp soil apparently
encourages the wild hemp.
(I have only seen it in valley and sub-montane
tracts.—W. O.)
6. Generally dense.
7. (a) In Rajshahi.
8 to 11. Not known.
12. Not known.
(No. In Hill Tippera manufactured ganja is
imported; also into the Hill Tracts where Hin¬
dustani workmen and artificers require it.—W. O.)
13. Yes, to Rajshahi. The rest not known to
me.
14. Yes.
(a) In Rajshahi.
(c) In Monghyr to a large extent, most of the
bhang consumed in the province being prepared
there.
15. There is no particular method adopted in
preparing bhang. The leaves are plucked and
dried in the sun, and then stored as bhang.
16. Yes; in Dacca and Mymensingh the wild
hemp plant is cut down and left on the thatch
of the house to dry, and then kept stick and leaves
together for use as bhang. I have seen wild
ganja plants, but not in flower.
(I was told in Darjeeling that ganja could be
prepared from the wild hemp, but the preparation
was unattractive.—W. O.)
17. Not known.
18. Gauja and bhang deteriorate by keeping,
I do not know anything about charas. They do
not quite lose their properties. With ordinary
care they keep good about two years. Damp is
the cause of deterioration. This might be pre¬
vented by keeping the drugs in tin-lined boxes.
19. Yes; that is my experience.
20. In the districts where I served the use of
charas was almost unknown. The majority smoked
ganja.
(In the Sonthal Parganas the reformed or
Hinduized Sonthals, who call themselves Kharwars
and who eschew alcohol, have taken to ganja. In