276
milk, ghee, sugar, reduced copper, silver, gold, and
musk, nux vomica and opium. Not known to be
so used by prostitutes.
50. Excessive use of hemp is said to lead to
dropsy.
56. The effects of moderate uses of subzi are
said to be very salubrious to the general consti-
tution by the cultivators. Dhatura is said to be
used for to be admixed with hemp by some thugs
in some parts of Upper India.
57. Ganja and charas are said to be eaten by
a sect of religious mendicants called Aghorees or
Agorpanthees. They are said to live in the
vicinity of Benares, the holy city of the Hindus,
and in the Girnar hills in Kathiawar. Some say
Aghorees eat charas prepared in human fat.
Ganja and charas are also eaten by a sect called
Nangas, who live somewhere in Cutch.
General remarks. --Though hemp is cultivated
as a cold season annual in many parts of Western
India, yet as a drug it is chiefly produced in a
limited area. In North Canara it is but sparing
-ly grown. In the Deccan it is also grown to
a small extent in rich black soil. It is largely
grown in Sind. It is sown in June or July, and
thrives remarkably when watered and manured,
and is ready for cutting in December. In North
Canara in the Deccan Concan the fibre of this
hemp is not extracted for economic purposes.
Dr. Stocks on the subject of Indian Hemp in
1848 wrote:—" The plant grows well in Sind,
and if it should be found advantageous, politically
or financially, to grow hemp for its fibre, then
Sind would be a very proper climate."
It is said that in some places hemp plant is
g r o w n r o u n d j o w a r i a n d b a j r i c u l t i v a t i o n s t o
prevent the jowari and bajri plants from being
attacked by certain insects. It is possible that
the strong smell of the resin exuding from the
leaves of the hemp plant may be acting as a ger-
micide. This point requires to be fully enquired
into.
One incident occurred during the course of my
enquiries which has led me to express my opinion
on the hemp drug question. Happening to come
across an elderly man, a cultivator, whom I asked
to give me some information on the subzi plant,
the answer I received was to the effect:—" Sir,
why is the Sirkar going to enquire into the subzi
plant; let the Sirkar first enquire into the whis-
kies and sodas consumed by sahiblogues." After
saying this, the man bidding good-bye to me went
away. Such a pregnant remark from the lips of
an illiterate man led me to think seriously about
the question of comparing the uses and effects of
subzi versus alcohol, and I have appended a sepa-
rate memo giving my opinion thereon.
The Indian hemp drugs problem has to be con-
sidered in their religious, political, financial and
medical aspects. The first three lie beyond my
province, and I will consider the question in a
medical point of view. In such an important
matter it is the duty of a physician as a practical
man to argue the pros and cons of the question
and give a candid opinion on the subject. With
due deference to the opinion which may be express-
ed by my medical brethren in various parts of
India, and with due respect to the opinion which
may be expressed by able and well-experienced
medical officers of that distinguished body of the
Indian and Army Medical Service who have done
s o m u c h t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e M a t e r i a M e d i c a o f
India, I humbly beg to say that I consider the
hemp plant to be a very useful one to the labour-
ing classes in Sind, but the use of it has been
much abused by some religious mendicants. In my
opinion what porter is said to be to the working
classes in England, subzi is to the working classes
in Sind. To the labouring and cultivating classes
in Sind who live in villages far away from medical
aid, it forms a household remedy in fact a mini-
ature dispensary to their families
Supposing the hemp plant is an evil, can it be
suppressed with the stroke of a pen? If so, what
will be the sufferings of those who already take it
in moderate doses, and what means will the State
take to give them an effective and equally cheap
substitute for subzi? If subzi is stopped, they
might take to alcohol (country liquor), which is
much dearer and worse than subzi. As to the
effects of alcohol, I cannot do better than quote the
following from the Hindoo Patriot
: —
" We have daily—nay hourly—evidence of the
ravages which the brandy bottle is making
upon the flower of our society. Wealth, rank,
honour and character, health and talents have all
perished in the blighting presence of this huge
monster. Notwithstanding the improved educa-
tion and resources of our higher classes, it is a
notorious fact that they can now save very little,
and this new feature of our domestic and social
economy is in a great measure due to the fell drink
craving. Families once flourishing have been re-
duced to absolute pauperism by the wreck brought
by it."
(Page 35 of papers for young men, Madras
Religious Book Society, S.P.C.K, Vepery, 1889.)
This was written some four years ago, and it is
doubtful whether this state of things has improv
-ed since then.
Has such a graphic picture ever been drawn
by any Indian or English
newspaper as regards subzi ?
What do our own Scriptures
say regarding wine and strong drink ? Solomon
the wisest, about one thousand years before Christ,
gave an account of the wine bibber, from which it
will be seen that with every dose of wine there is
craving for an increased quantity until the
individual goes into the state of seeking it yet
again when be awakes, and this remark stands
good up to this day.
The abuse of subzi can be checked by legisla-
ture fixing the minimum quantity to be possessed
by an individual as may be decided by a general
consensus of medical opinion in India.
As regards ganja and charas I think their
general use should be discouraged by levying
higher duties on these articles, and the increase in
revenue so obtained utilized in establishing dis-
pensaries in out-of-the-way places in Sind wher-
ever considered advisable.
In conclusion, I beg to say that the information
has been gathered during the few spare hours in
the midst of my arduous and responsible duties,
and during this short time I have attempted to
obtain as much information as I could, but it is
not so exhaustive as I would desire. Besides the
position of a Jail Superintendent, when appointed
to get information on such a subject where public
and State interests are involved, is a very delicate
one, and his making enquiries into such matters
is looked upon by some of the public with a certain
amount of apprehension.
Vide Prov. chapter
XXIII, v. 29 —35.