14
believe that their usual drink of bhang water
sharpens their faculties and enables them to work
better. Lastly, many resort to ganja smoking
as a cure for rheumatism, indigestion, and certain
other chronic diseases, and also to allay mental
depression. More than one-half of the consumers
belong to the poorer classes.
28. Ganja
—
Habitual moderates, ½ tola, costing ¼ anna.
Habitual excessives, 2 tolas, costing 1 anna.
B h a n g
—
Habitual moderates, 1 tola, costing 2 pies.
Habitual excessives, 4 tolas, costing 8 pies.
Some ascetics consume as much as 5 tolas of
ganja per diem.
29. Tobacco is invariably mixed with ganja
to mitigate the bad odour of the latter. The
ingredients ordinarily added to bhang water are
pepper and poppy seed to make it more digestible.
Occasionally sugar, milk, almonds, cardamoms
and other spices are also added to bhang water to
make it less intoxicating and also more palatable.
Dhatura is not known to he used. No other
preparation is sold for mixing in this district.
30. Women are scarcely known to consume
either drug ; but five to ten Hindu women in
Surat City are known to. Children do not, as a
rule, take them ; but some parents sometimes
give a little bhang water to make them sleep.
31. The habit is easily formed in a few days.
It is very difficult to leave off ganja ; not so
difficult to leave off bhang. No doubt there is a
tendency towards excess, specially in early life.
But many instances met by me seem to prove
that there is also a tendency to decrease the amount
consumed us age advances. A highly respectable
Brahmin assures me that he formerly smoked 3
tolas a day ; but now that he is getting old, only
one tola. Another man says that he used to
s m o k e 2 0 p i p e s p e r d a y , b u t g a v e i t u p o n a c c o u n t
of the intolerable asthma it gave him, A third
has smoked one pice worth a day without increase
or decrease for the last seven years. A fourth,
w h o h a s s m o k e d 3 0 y e a r s , n o w o n l y c o n s u m e s o n e
pice worth against two pice worth formerly.
32. Bhang is sacred to Shiva and is called the
batti of Shiva. On Shivratri it is necessary for his
worshippers to offer bhang to Mahadev. On Lim
-
ochhav or Gorepadoa day many Hindus drink the
juice of the leaves of the nim tree grounded with
bhang and water. This use of the drug is tem
-
perate and not likely to lead to the formation of
the habit.
33. Among respectable persons the consump
-
tion of the drugs, especially of ganja, is undoubt
-
edly held in some disrepute. In the case o
f
M u h a m m a d a n s t h i s i s s t r e n g t h e n e d b y r e l i g i o u s
feeling, and they use the drugs secretly. The feel
-
ing of the rest of the community is based, I ap
-
prehend, on disapproval of intoxicants generally.
It is not very strong. There is no custom of wor
-
shipping the hemp plant in this district.
34. It would be most reckless and unwise to
think of such a thing. All habitual consumers
would suffer for some time from want of sleep, loss
of appetite, griping and indigestion. Most of
them belong to the most ignorant and fanatical
classes in the country, and would bitterly resent
being deprived of a protective against all their
bodily ills.
3. It would be wantonly causing the most
serious discontent. As to the last question, I can
only say I have met one or two cases where a
ganja smoker has given up the habit and taken to
opium.
36. I do not think so.
3 7 . N o c h a r a s i n t h i s d i s t r i c t .
38. No round ganja is consumed in this district.
The effect of chur or kani is generally the same as
that of unbroken ganja ; but it is held to be more
injurious if it is much broken.
40. They are prescribed by native doctors for
venereal diseases, etc. Bhang and ganja are
said to be used sometimes for cattle diseases.
Bhang is given to horses along with other spices,
and often to cows and buffaloes to make them
yield more milk.
41. Ganja is believed to assist digestion, also
bhang. Both give staying-power, etc., and whet
the faculties. They are not much believed in as
febrifuge. They assuage rheumatic and other
pains and mental distress. But great stress is
laid on not consuming them with an empty
stomach and on the accompaniment of a full and
generous diet, such as ghi, wheat, milk and sugar.
Many of the moderate consumers ( vide answers
20 and 27).
42. Some of the healthiest looking men in the
district are moderate consumers. A robust-look
-
ing active man of 50 was talking to me yesterday
who had smoked ganja for 30 years.
43. Quite so.
44. Bhang is refreshing. It produces intox
i - c a t i o n m o r e o r l e s s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e h a b i t s o f t h e
consumer. It creates a ravenous appetite. Dur
-
ing the period of elation, which lasts about four
hours, the man goes about his business with
heightened faculties. The effect of ganja is
similar.
45. The habitual moderate use of bhang and
ganja is not believed to be injurious, as a rule, if
accompanied by sufficient nourishing food. I
have met several habitual consumers, who are
none the worse for it. On the other hand, ganja
has induced asthma in some. Without good food
it causes also loss of appetite and indigestion.
I have not myself come across any cases of
consequent insanity.
46. Excessive use of ganja is believed to cause
asthma and indigestion in a more marked degree,
also consumption and impotence. The excessive
use of bhang is believed to cause rheumatism and
indigestion.
47 and 48. No.
49. As already stated, an excessive use of
ganja, without good and sufficient food, tends to
cause impotence.
51. No significant proportion of bad characters.
No special connection with crime has been noted.
62. The present control is quite sufficient. An
addition might be made to Government Notifica-
tion No. 4421 of 23rd August 1880, requiring the
cultivator to keep an account of his production
and sales. The orders above referred to have
already had an effect in restricting the production
of bhang in this district.
68. There are only three such shops in Surat
City. They undoubtedly make the consumption
of bhang more easy, because the consumer is
saved the trouble of preparing his bhang water.
It has yet to be seen whether the experiment of
closing similar opium shops is successful or not.