110
India, who, when they can manage it, bring bhang
from their own parts of the country. When
bhang is not procurable, an habitual drinker will
make his drink of ganja instead of bhang, but
this is rare.
Green leaves of the hemp plant are sometimes
made into bhajas, the preparation consisting of
hemp leaves, gram flour and spices mixed together
in water, formed into small roundish cakes and
fried in oil or ghi. Sometimes powdered ganja is
used in this dish instead of the leaves. Young
and tender hemp plants are also eaten as a vege
-
table.
Charas requires no preparation before its use.
It is simply made into small pills and smoked
either with ganja or tobacco, according to the
choice of the smoker.
Boja.—This is another intoxicating preparation
in which ganja is used, but it is not in common use.
It is prepared in the following manner : Two
seers of jawari (Sorghum vulgare), four seers of
dried roots of the jawari plant, one seer ganja, and
half a seer nux vomica are soaked together in water
for three or four days.
The water is then strained off from the mixture,
and the mixture is boiled with fresh water for
three or four hours. After careful washing the
mixture is dred in the shed and ground to fine
powder. The powder is stored for occasional use.
When wanted, the required quantity is dissolved
in water and the strained water is drunk. The
water is neither sugared nor flavoured. Some
drinkers prefer to make it stronger by the addition
of a pinch of dhatura or nux vomica seed ground
to powder.
16. Habitual drinkers who cannot afford to
prepare their own bhang at home resort to bhang
shops. As the Deccan bhang contains ganja dust,
it cannot be prepared everywhere from the plant ;
but the bhang, which wholly consists of leaves as
in Upper India, can be prepared anywhere. I
have no knowledge of the wild plant.
17. Ganja is not sold ready prepared for smok
-
ing, it being prepared by smokers themselves,
as stated above in reply No. 15. Bharg shops
for the sale of the ready-made drink are generally
kept by North Gujarat Brahmins. Yakuti
and other sweetmeats are generally prepared by
perfume-sellers who have obtained the necessary
license.
18. Ganja, bhang and charas deteriorate by
keeping. I have no knowledge as to whether
they quite lose their effect in time ; but this is
certain that the drugs are destroyed after a year
or two as being useless. They keep good with
ordinary care for a year. The cause of deteriora
-
tion apparently is the escape of some volatile
principle.
19. Ganja by itself is, as a rule, used for
smoking, and exceptionally as a substitute for
bhang in drinking. The use of ganja in sweet
-
meats as a vegetable have already been described
above in reply No. 15. Ganja-smoking is more
prevalent in towns than in villages, and yakuti
and other sweetmeats are prepared in towns only.
Charas is used in smoking only, and its use is
rare.
20. The proportion of ganja smokers is very
small, as stated above. The classes who generally
indulge in ganja-smoking are Hindu ascetics,
gosavis and bairagis, and Muha-mmadan fakirs.
Next to them come the artizan classes, both
Hindu and Muhammadan. Skilful artizans have
a bad name for ganja.smoking, and only a few
professional singers, artists, engravers and the like
are free from this vice. The use of ganja is so
common among such classes that if a master
-
worker is complimented on his skill, he will in
acknowledgment say—"That is only because
I prepared the ganja for my master for so many
years"— i.e., served so long an apprenticeship.
Peons and messengers are addicted to this habit,
but not as a class. The cultivating classes are
almost free from this vice. They do not use hemp
drugs as a stimulant, nor do they use them to sus
-
tain themselves under a stress of work. Their
belief is that a ganja smoker cannot be a steady
worker, and has not the hardness to undergo great
labour under heat and sun. An habitual ganja
smoker does not stand high in their esteem.
Charas is smoked by Pathans, Muhammadan fakirs,
ascetics and persons from Northern India, and
only occasionally by other people of the Deccan.
Ganja sweetmeats, yakuti and others are occasion
-
ally used by dissipaters of all communities.
21. In the Deccan the varieties of ganja are
not known. Whole ganja is preferred to ganja
dust sold under the name of bhang. Those who
have used Upper India ganja prefer it to local
ganja.
22. Very little charas is used, and such as is
used is brought from Bombay, where it is import
-
ed from Afghanistan, Northern India and Yark
-and.
23. Hard smokers, when they do not get ganja,
might be induced to smoke even bhang; but, as
a rule, bhang is not smoked.
24. The percentage of bhang drinkers or eaters
is insignificant in the Deccan. Habitual bhang
drinkers are generally met with among immi
-
grants from Guzerat, Marwar, and Upper India.
When they have no time to prepare bhang for
drink, they content themselves with eating the
paste. Jewellers are habitual bhang drinkers, but
they are very moderate in its use. They say it
clears their sight and steadies attention, clear
sight and steady attention being essential for
their trade. Hindu ascetics drink bhang to ex
-
cess, urging, if questioned, that it keeps them
contented and concentrates their attention in
prayer.
25. In the absence of carefully prepared statis
-
tical information, it is difficult to answer this
question either way. But it may here be observed
that, among educated classes, the use of bhang is
discredited, and more so of ganja A generation
or two ago bhang was sometimes served at pi
c -
nics and pleasure parties among the higher classes ;
but the place of bhang is now to a certain extent
being taken by spirits.
36. It is very difficult to give these proportions
It is said that there are among a hundred habitual
consumers of ganja or bhang about ten who
indulge to excess.
27. Marwadis may be said all to be occasional
bhang drinkers. Ganja smokers are recruited
from all classes. Sometimes people contract these
habits by using them first as remedies for certain
bodily ailments ; but among the generality of
smokers and drinkers the habit is the result of
association.
28. An habitual moderate consumer requires
about one tola bhang, worth half a pice, per day ;
while an excessive consumer may claim to require
from 10 to 20 tolas. For a moderate smoker one
-
t h i r d t o l a g a n j a , w o r t h a p i c e , i s s u f f i c i e n t f o r a
day ; an excessive smoker takes four times as
much.