26
drugs. On the whole public opinion may be said
to be against the use of ganja, on account of its
intoxicating effects. There is no custom of wor
-
shipping the hemp plant.
34. It would be a very serious privation to
fakirs, gosains and similar classes, on account of
their being accustomed to the constant use of the
drugs. The number of persons to whom the p
r i -
vation would be serious would probably not exceed
at the most 1,000 in the whole of Khandesh.
35. It would be difficult to enforce such a
prohibition. There would undoubtedly be illicit
consumption. Illicit cultivation of the hemp
would be easy to check, but smuggling would
increase. There would undoubtedly be serious
discontent among the consumers, but it would not,
in Khandesh, amount to a political danger. The
prohibition would probably be followed by a slight
increase in the consumption of liquor and by a
decided increase in the use of tobacco.
3 8 . I a m o n l y a c q u a i n t e d w i t h f l a t g a n j a .
39. Smoking ganja is said to be less injurious
than eating majum, unless the latter is only
taken in very small quantities. Majum when
taken in large quantities has an instantaneous and
powerfully intoxicating effect.
40. Ganja is sometimes used by native doctors
as a febrifuge and sedative in cases of fever and
asthma. It is also occasionally used for poultices
and also used for the purpose of relieving pain
when performing operations. It is also used by
them to check diarrhœa. Bhang is used for cattle
when they are out of condition and off their feed
it has the effect of stimulating their appetite.
It is also given to horses for the same purpose.
41. The answer to ( a), (b) , and (c) is yes, as
regards the moderate use of bhang. The moder
-
ate habitual use is referred to.
42. The moderate use of bhang may be said to
be harmless, but the use must be very moderate.
43. Yes, as far as I have been able to ascer
-
tain.
44. The immediate effect of the moderate use
of bhang on the habitual consumer is refreshing
and invigorating. The effect of ganja is to
produce a feeling, which is said to be pleasant, of
laziness and absence of care. Both bhang and
ganja will produce intoxication, if the use of them
is excessive. The moderate use of bhang allays
hunger and creates appetite. The effect of ganja
lasts for 2 or 3 hours; that of bhang lasts some
-
what longer, depending of course on the quantity
consumed, excessive use of bhang may create an
intoxicating effect which will last for two or three
days. Majum and akhoti if taken in moderation
do not have an effect until about two hours after
consumption; the effect then lasts for three or four
hours. The want of subsequent gratification in the
case of habitual consumers produces longing and
uneasiness and produces a feeling of bodily weak
-
ness. Ganja is at times smoked in case of illness,
to relieve pain.
45. The habitual moderate use of bhang does
not produce any of the first five evil effects re
-
ferred to in the question ; but the habitual moder
-
ate use of ganja produces them all. Such a use
of ganja may produce insanity, which is likely to
be permanent unless the use of the drug is given
up, when there is a chance of the patient reco
-
vering. In the case of a temporary maniac the
symptoms may be reinduced by the use of the drug
after liberation from restraint. Insanes who have
no recorded ganja history do at times confess to
the use of the drug.
46. The excessive use of ganja, majum or
akhoti will have the same effects as are referred
to above, but in an aggravated form. Persons
who smoke, as some few do, as much as 20 tolas
of ganja per diem rapidly succumb to its effects.
47. The habitual moderate use is not heredi
-
t a r y a n d d o e s n o t i n a n y w a y a f f e c t t h e c h i l d r e n
of the consumer.
49. All these drugs, but especially ganja and
majum, are used as aphrodisiacs. They are also
used by prostitutes. The use of these drugs does
tend to produce impotence, and in so far that it
has this effect it is more injurious than when used
merely as a narcotic.
51. Bad characters in so far that they are often
persons with no fixed homes, or no regular means
of employment, are frequently habitual moderate
smokers of ganja. In my experience the use of
the drug has no other connection with crime.
53. Excessive indulgence in any of these drugs
or other preparations is apt to lead to unpremedi
-tated crime. A man intoxicated by such indul
-gence will lose his self-control and be likely to do
any act that occurs to him without considering
whether it be good or bad. I know of no case in
which it has led to temporary homicidal frenzy.
56. The admixture of tobacco with ganja lessens
the intoxicating effect. The admixture of dha
-
tura increases it. Gota, which I have referred to
in my answer to question 29, is much milder than
mere bhang. Majum is decidedly stronger.
58. I am acquainted with the present system
of excise administration in regard to these drugs
and consider that on the whole it works well.
There are however two points in which I think
there is perhaps room for improvement (see answers
to questions 59 and 60).
5 9 . A t p r e s e n t a m a n i s a l l o w e d t o h a v e i n h i s
possession 40 tolas of bhang or ganja. Possession
of bhang or ganja in excess of this quantity is an
offence. I think 15 or 20 tolas ought to be the
limit. Even with this amount a man can render
himself and 3 or 4 other people intoxicated to such
an extent as to lose all self-control. Forty tolas
is in my opinion too high. It is impossible to cut
the limit down very low, because doing so would
necessitate increasing the number of licensed shops
in order not to put habitual consumers to great
inconvenience, and an increase in the number of
shops would tend to cause an increase in the
number of persons consuming the drugs.
60. I am told that the cultivators storing as
they do their produce in their own houses and
selling it to the contractor, frequently sell the
drugs retail, which they are not allowed to do. It
has been suggested to me that the drug should,
when prepared, be at once taken charge of by
Government officers, so as to prevent this illicit
retail sale. As I am, however, not personally ac
-
quainted with the system of cultivation and
manufacture, I am not in a position to express
any very decided opinion on this point.. If any
action is to be taken in this direction an amend
-
ment in the law would appear to be required.
62. Bhang is on the same footing as ganja in
this respect.
63. No. The present system works well and
beyond the point raised in my answer to question
59 I can suggest no improvement.
6 4 . N o . T h e p r e s e n t s y s t e m w o r k s w e l l .
65. Ganja and bhang are not taxed separately
in Khandesh. The right a selling these is farmed