54
43. Yes, they are.
44. Benumbing them from all anxieties of life;
stimulates them to take to work; produces little
intoxication and creates hunger. The effects of
smoking last for a few minutes, but that of eating
or drinking last for several hours. It cannot be
said that it allays hunger. In moderate use there
are no perceptible after-effects.
45 and 46. Information on these points is not
within my knowledge.
47 and 48. This does not become a hereditary
habit, except in the case of gosavis and bairagis,
and in no way affect the children.
49 to 54. Not to my knowledge.
55. There are no such examples of its kind in
Khandesh.
56. When hemp is used in moderation by the
admixture of other medicinal substances, it serves
as a tonic; but when it is taken in excess, it has
its bad qualities like other narcotic drugs, and
proves injurious to the health of consumers,
though admixture might soften a little. Dhatura
is not used as an ingredient.
57. There are no instances of eating ganja to
my knowledge in Khandesh.
58. The excise administration in respect of
hemp drugs is working well in this district. The
Collector, under the control and direction of the
Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium and
Abkari, is charged with the carrying out of the
provisions of the Akbari Act. In this he is aided
by his assistants and other subordinate officers,
also establishment designated as district inspectors
and sub-inspectors specially employed for duties
under the Act.
The import, export and transport of these drugs
are controlled by passes issued by responsible
officers.
The sale of the drugs is permitted under certain
conditions of the license. The sale of drugs to
one man in one day is limited to a certain weight,
and the possession of the drugs over the given
limit is watched as an offence. Thus the burning
desire of the consumers is tempered down to
m oderation and the spread of the vice is checked.
Since the above good objects are gained by the
present administration, no improvement in it
appears necessary.
59. The present administration is not suggestive
of any improvement.
60. The Abkari Act, as it now stands, does not
lay any control on cultivation of the ganja-bearing
plant and the process of its preparation, and so
any modification in the present system is not
practicable. If, however, it is provided in the
Act—(a) that the cultivators of the ganja-bearing
plant shall obtain a pass for cultivation, - ( b)
warehouse the ganja and bhang in the manner
required of him, this will afford opportunity to the
officers to supervise the produce and consumption
of the drug efficiently. There being no provision
to this effect in the Act, the cultivator might, if
he chose, distribute the produce amongst his
friends and others, and, when it is not proved that
he sold it at a price, his action will go unpunished.
61. Charas is not produced in this district.
62. Ganja-bearing plant is only cultivated in
this district, and bhang is the tender leaves picked
of the same plant.
63. The present system of wholesale and retail
vend is unobjectionable, and no improvement in it
appears necessary.
64. The existing regulations satisfy the condi
-
t i o n i n a l l r e s p e c t s , a n d t h e r e a r e n o a p p a r e n t
objections to it.
65. Ganja and bhang are not differently treated
in this district. A form of both articles is given
in one lump sum, and so a comparison between the
two is not possible. Charas is not used in this
district. There is no direct tax on bhang and
ganja; but a sum is paid by a license-holder
—
(1) for a permissive right granted to him to sell
these articles, for which tenders are invited; (2) the
fee is levied for passes granted for importing ganja
from other districts; and if the amount so taken is
to be construed as a tax, the realizations on this
account, when compared with the revenue from
alcoholic or other intoxicants, is reasonable.
66. In this district flat ganja is only known,
and so one rate is preferable.
67. The incidence of the tax on the consumer is
so considerate that there are no objections to the
present method of taxing being continued.
68. There are no such shops in this district.
69. On the farmer applying to the Collector for
permission to open a new shop in any locality the
respectable people of the place are consulted. In
case they make a st atement that a shop
t h e r e i s
likely to spread vice, permission is not granted;
but, if found that a shop in that locality is a
necessity and would remove inconvenience felt by
the consumers, permission is granted, with the
sanction of the Commissioner of Customs, Salt,
Opium and Abkari.
70. There have been no instances of the import
-
a t i o n o r s m u g g l i n g o f s u c h d r u g s f r o m N a t i v e
States. The users of the drug have to pay its
price to the licensee, to whom the right of selling
ganja is farmed out for a fixed sum, and in this
light it might be supposed that duty is really paid
in respect to ganja and bhang used It is not
obtained without payment.
29. Evidence of KHAN BHADUR RATANJI ERDALJI KANGA, Parsi, Deputy
Collector and Magistrate, Dharwar.
1. I have obtained the information supplied
here from an experienced man who comes a good
deal in contact with ganja smokers, and from
vendors of ganja in the Dharwar district.
2. Ganja is not grown in the Dharwar district;
but the definitions given here may be accepted for
my district. Each of these products is locally
known by the names of ganji, charas, and bhangi.
Charas and bhangi or bhang are not made or sold
in the district of Dharwar.
3. In none of the districts of which I have
knowledge the hemp plant grows spontaneously.
4, 5 and 6. Cannot say.
7. There is no cultivation of the hemp plant in
the Dharwar district.