225
number addicted to ganja and bhang would not be
less than 20 per cent. in this district.
35. Ganja and bhang cannot be prohibited
easily. Serious discontent among the consumers
would be the consequence. Still no political dan-
ger need be apprehended, at any rate in Southern
India, as most of the consumers are poor people
having no influence in society. They will proba-
bly take to drinking.
36. So far as I have known, no such person can
be found. A person addicted to either ganja or
alcohol may contract the habit of the other and
continue both. A person having both the habits
occasionally substitutes ganja for liquor for want
of sufficient money, but he then tries to get liquor
as soon as possible. Liquor is a more costly luxury
than ganja, and this explains why one addicted
to ganja would not take to liquor. The influence
of liquor is stronger, but of a shorter duration,
while that of ganja is milder, but of a longer
duration. This also explains why a person addicted
to either would not leave it in favour of the other.
37. Charas is believed to produce narcotic
effect about twenty times more than common
ganja. See answer to question 19.
38. I have stated under question 21 that chur
is much more effective than flat ganja,
39. Smoking is more injurious than drinking
any preparation of hemp ; and eating the same is
least injurious of all. Inordinate smoking makes
the eyes smoky or red and the lips black, burns
the blood and causes cough and constipation.
Moderate smoking with nourishing food is least
injurious, and proves tonic in some cases. Drink-
ing is not known to cause any of these in-
juries, even though the food is not nourishing.
Eating ganja or majum is equally harmless. All
smokers of ganja are required to take a prepara-
tion of fowl's meat at least once in six months
to avoid these diseases. Those who do not take
animal food take butter, milk, or ananas for the
same purpose.
40. The properties of hemp or vijoya given in
the Vidya Nighantu are as follows :—
Vijoya or hemp is bilious, strong, bitter, hot,
constipating, light for digestion ; it increases appe-
tite, creates taste in the tongue, causes stupor,
gives tone to speech or makes one talkative, causes
swoon (when excessively used) and is an antidote
to phlegmatic and rheumatic affections. Hemp
is further believed to make the attention steady ;
and for this reason it is smoked or drunk by learned
shastries in the north when they attend to their
studies. They call hemp plant dnyanavalli, or
plant of knowledge. With regard to cattle dis-
ease, see the last paragraph of answer to ques-
tion 15.
41. Ganja and. bhang especially are believed to
be digestive and tonic when moderately used.
In medicine ganja is used as an antidote on the
loss of manly power and on all varieties of diar-
rhœa. I practice in native medicine, and give
ganja on diarrhœa as follows :—Wash good ganja
in clean fresh water by rubbing with hands till
clean water instead of green issues from it. Then
after drying in the sun mix it with a little fresh
ghee (about one-tenth of its quantity) by rubbing
with the hands. Bake the whole on fire and
reduce it to a fine powder by pounding and strain-
ing through cloth. Mix the powder with an
equal quantity of red or raw sugar. The medicine
is ready. This taken from ¼t o ½ t o l a ( a c c o r d i n g
to the patient's strength) at bed time effectively
vol. vii.
checks all sorts of diarrhœa including long-stand-
ing sangrabani, in which undigested matter is
accumulated and discharged alternately for short
periods of about two or three days.
42. I consider so. I have seen persons who smoke ganja once or twice a day and keep excel-
lent health. They devour food like brutes. But
they become easily irritable and rather quarrel-
some.
43. They become somewhat hot-tempered and
quarrelsome. " Bhangat" and " ganjekas " are
terms used as other words for quarrelsome. But
these generally apply to those who indulge exces-
sively in bhang or ganja.
4 4 . M o d e r a t e u s e i m m e d i a t e l y p r o d u c e s a s t a t e
of drowsiness which is not unpleasant ; excessive
use stupefies or produces delirium, but never in-
toxication. Moderate use is refreshing, creates
appetite and makes the attention steady, thinking
on the uppermost subject in the mind and per-
formance of the work in hand, continuing without
deviation till the effect lasts. Majum moderately
taken at bed time gives good sleep. None of the
drugs are known to produce any after-effect, but
the want of gratification at the appointed time
makes one dispirited or dejected.
45. (b) Yes. See under question 39.
(c) No. It increases appetite.
(d) It causes bronchitis, but checks dysentery
and diarrhœa. See under questions 39 and 41.
(e) It induces laziness and makes its consumers
quarrelsome.
(f) See under question 40. But habitual
excessive use produces permanent insanity. I
have seen in my youth a Brahmin aged 50 who
had become insane by the use of ganja and bhang
from youth. At the time seen by me he ate no-
thing but grain boiled with a handful of ganja or
bhang, whichever he could get. He did not sep-
arately smoke ganja or drink bhang. The gram
was once boiled in the morning and consumed till
evening. He never shaved his head or beard and
appeared like a bairagi with sunken and smoky
eyes, dried face and black lips, though lie was very
healthy. He walked always bare-bodied and
bathed daily in cold water. He behaved like a
simpleton or a fool, and was perfectly harmless.
His wife had expelled him from her house, and he
importuned everybody he met to advise her to
accept him.
46. See the above answer.
47. I cannot answer this question with certain-
ty, but can tell something more about the same
man of whom I have spoken above. He was the
son of a sage who is still remembered with respect
and regard in the Southern Maratha country, and
is said to have worked miracles. The insane son
has left two daughters who are perfectly sane,
and the son of one of them is now a mamlatdar,
though very young.
48. See the above answer.
49. See under question 41. I know nothing
about its use by prostitutes. So far as I have
known, a moderate use of hemp for a short time
to stimulate sexual desire is not at all injurious.
I have known no case of impotence produced by
hemp.
50. Exccessive use of hemp may give rise to
impotence as the consequence of constipation,
which is its immediate effect.
2 I