251
I know only of one case of temporary insanity.
In the year 1880, I was Head Clerk and Head
Munshi in the Office of Assistant to Agent, Gover-
nor General in Baluchistan, stationed in Jacob-
abad. One Havildar and a number of Police
sepoys guarded the office and treasure placed in
it. The Havildar was given to the moderate habit
of using bhang in its liquid form and smoking
chards. One day when I went to the office I was
informed that the Havildar had become mad ; I
saw him myself; he was talking incessantly and
quite incoherently, but was otherwise harmless.
I learnt that he had been indulging some days
previously in the excessive use of bhaug and charas,
which had produced the insanity.
Knowing hot and dry effects of charas, I
ordered some sepoys to seize him and pour over
his head a few vessels of cold water morning and
evening, as it was, I think, the month of July or
August. The process was repeated for two or
three days and the man became quite sane again.
47 and 48. Do not know.
49. The moderate habitual use of any of these
drugs is not practised as an aphrodisiac by males
or prostitutes, as its habitual use does not excite
the sexual powers. It is the occasional moderate
use of bhang which is used as an aphrodisiac in its
watery form both by males and females. But
male persons who wish to enjoy the pleasure of
sexual intercourse use bhang in its preparations
of majums. Bhang and majums are used also for
the cure of spermatorrhœa, and checking speedy
emission in sexual intercourse. Charas has no
such effects. The moderate occasional use of
bhang and majums is not injurious for these pur-
poses, and does not tend to produce impotence.
Even their moderate habitual use does not pro-
duce impotence, although it weakens the sexual
powers.
50. The excessive occasional use of bhang and
majums is also practised for the purposes stated
in paragraph 49, and is not more injurious than
the use of bhang as an ordinary narcotic. But
the habitual use of any of these drugs, viz., bhang
and charas, is certainly injurious, but drugs , d o e s n o t
produce complete impotence except in persons of
weak and sickly constitutions and indifferent
health, and who are not in affluent circumstances
to get substantial things for their food.
51. No. The moderate use of these drugs has
no connection with crime in general or with crime
of any special character.
52. When out of employment or without means
excessive habitual consumers of these drugs gene-
rally take to begging. Some proportion of them,
say, about 5 per cent, take to thieving habits also.
Such persons are well known for their timid and
cowardly habits, and seldom engage in the perpe-
tration of serious crimes, such as murders,
dacoity, robbery, housebreaking, theft in dwell-
ings, etc.
53. No. No.
54. No.
55. Yes. A bowl of thick preparation of bhang
or two or three strong puffs of charas placed in
the bowl of hukka with tobacco are said to produce
complete stupefaction in a person not used to
these drugs. But criminals invariably add some
dhatura with bhang before inducing their victims
to partake of these drugs.
56. People in affluent circumstances add almonds,
pepper, coriander seed, musk melon seed, sugar-
candy and other articles to modify the effects of
vol. vii.
hemp whether they use it in moderation or in
excess. But even these admixtures cannot prevent
the ill-effects of hemp in habitual excessive drinkers
for a long time. They suffer more or less from
one or more of the diseases and disorders stated in
Appendix A. I do not possess any information
regarding the admixture of dhatura for personal
consumption, but it is mixed in hemp and ad-
ministered to others in order to do them harm, as
the administration of dhatura produces temporary
insanity or stupefaction.
57. Do not know, as ganja and charas are not
eaten or drunk in this part of the country.
58. I consider the present system of excise ad-
ministration working well, and requires no im-
provement.
59. Requires no answer.
60.
Ganja is not produced in this province.
61. Charas is not produced in this province ;
it is imported from Amritsar and Lahore, where
it is brought from Yarkhand and Afghanistan.
62. Under the present Abkari Law, Bombay
Act No. V of 1878, there is no prohibition or re-
striction of any kind for the growth of the hemp
plant either for manufacture of bhang or for its
fibre. For the latter purpose solely the plant is
rarely sown ; it is for the production of bhang
that it is mainly cultivated. Cultivators of hemp
are at liberty to keep the entire plants within
their premises without a license, and under sec-
tion 16 of the Act no license is even necessary for
the sale by a cultivator or owner of any plant
from which an intoxicating drug is produced, of
those portions of the plant from which the in-
toxicating drug is manufactured or produced, to a
person holding a license for the sale of intoxicat-
ing drugs or to a person licensed under this Act to
manufacture or to export intoxicating drugs.
The process of manufacturing bhang being only
separation of the branches from the stalks of the
plants in the case of " ghundis," and separation
of leaves, flowers and seeds in the case of bhang
" kuto " or " churl," the cultivator or owner of
the plants runs very little or no risk in the so-
called process of manufacture, and its use by him
personally, in making presents to his friends or
in carrying on sales to others in outlying villages
where no licensed shops for its vend exist, and
persons addicted to its use get their bhang at a
nominal price. It is the entire absence of any
prohibition or restriction chat leads to smuggling
and unlimited consumption of the drug. I would
therefore suggest that the cultivation of hemp
should be restricted, and not allowed except
under a license, and its crop should not he reaped
except in the presence of a village officer, who
should see that if the plant has been grown for
its fibre only, the leaves, flowers, and seed are
separated in his presence and destroyed ; that if
it has been sown for the manufacture of Chang
the entire stalks are stacked in a place to which
the cultivator does not get access except for its
sale by the permission of the taluka officer, and
the sale to take place in the presence of the vil-
lage officer. These restrictions will prevent the
abuses which occur under the provisions of the ex-
isting law.
63. I have no objection to the present system
of wholesale or retail vend of ganja, charas or
bhang.
64. No.
65. I have no suggestions to offer under this
head.
2 M 2