39
member of the community in general, and as a
magistrate in particular, in the several districts in
which I have had to move in my official career
during the last 27 years, I can safely assert that
the habitual moderate consumers of any of these
drugs do not form even the smallest proportion of
such bad characters, and that the moderate use of
such drugs has not been found in any way con
- n e c t e d w i t h t h e c o m m i s s i o n o f c r i m e , w h e t h e r o f a
general or special character. The habitual moderate
consumer uses the drugs under a certain religious
belief of a supposed spiritual benefit therefrom, but
more for the temporary beneficial effects which a
moderate use of them produces, namely, the stay
- i n g - p o w e r w h i c h i t g i v e s u n d e r g r e a t e x e r t i o n , t h e
relief which it affords from fatigue and cares and
anxieties, and also the indirect assistance which it
is supposed to render as a food digestive. The
habitual moderate consumer is, therefore, neces
- s a r i l y a n i n n o c e n t m a n , a n d h a s n o o b j e c t o r m o t i v e
to commit crimes of any description, and so does
not fall under or is not included in the class of bad
characters.
52 and 53. My answer to these two questions is
the same as that given to the preceding question,
but is qualified with this observation, that the habi-tual excessive use
of these drugs necessarily creates
noxious effects on the consumer, not only physically
and mentally, but also morally, and the consumer
is, in course of time, so much affected by their ex
-treme use that it leads him sometimes to commit
unpremeditated crimes in the same manner as an
excessive use of liquor, opium, and other narcotic
drugs, but certainly not to a crime of a violent
nature. But generally the man who is addicted
to excessive indulgence in these drugs becomes a
victim of his own folly.
No case has come to my notice or under my
knowledge in which an excessive indulgence in
these drugs had led to temporary homicidal
frenzy.
54 and 55. My answer to these questions is also
severally in the negative. I have not found, in
the course of my experience, gained by me as a
visitor of criminal jails in different districts during
the period of about 27 years as to the conduct and
habits of criminals, that any such drugs are used
by them to fortify themselves to commit a preme
-ditated act of violence or other crime, or to induce
their victims to partake of the same to get them
stupefied in order to further their designs.
24. Evidence of RAO BAHADUR BHIMBHAI KIRPA RAM,
Brahmin, Huzur Deputy
Collector of Surat.
1. A copy of my paper on the narcotics and
stimulants of Gujarat which was written for the
Bombay Gazetteer is annexed.* During my thirty
years' service in the Revenue and Agricultural
Department of the Bombay Presidency, I had op
- p o r t u n i t i e s t o s t u d y t h e q u e s t i o n f r o m d i f f e r e n t
points of view. My remarks are confined to Guja
- r a t .
2. Three preparations from hemp, Cannabis in
- d i c a , v i z . ,
( 1 ) b h a n g , s a b j i o r m a y a p a n i ; ( 2 ) y a k u t i ,
and (3) ganja are used in Gujarat. Charas is
neither manufactured nor used.
(1) Bhang, sabji or mayapani is made from the
flower leaves and the seed of the plant. These are
first baked over a fire, then well washed in cold
water, and ground very fine, the intoxicating power
depending to a considerable extent on the fineness
of the powder. According to the taste and means
of the consumer, dry rose leaves, almonds, carda
- m o m s , p e p p e r a n d o t h e r s p i c e s a r e p o u n d e d a n d
mixed with the powder. The whole is then again
ground, mixed with water, or sometimes with milk
sweetened with sugar, and strained through a
cloth. The preparation is now ready to be drunk.
Bhang is a very-cheap luxury, one-sixteenth of a
pound is enough to last an ordinary man for three
days, costing only half penny or four pies. A poor
man, as a rule, drinks his bhang mixed only with
black pepper; on festivals and holidays many kinds
of spices are added, and in this way the mixture
becomes costly. A few Parsis and Musalmans
drink bhang, but it is chiefly consumed by the
higher classes of Hindus, viz., Brahmins, Banias,
Kayasths, Sonis, and others who drink no other
intoxicating liquor and do not eat opium. None
of the preparations of hemp are taken by women
except low-caste prostitutes. In the hot season
and throughout the year on holidays and festivals
bhang is very generally drunk, but only a few
people take it regularly. As a rule it is drunk in
the afternoon before sunset. In small quantities it is cooling and slightly intoxicating, causing at
the same time a keen feeling of hunger. Under
its influence goldsmiths and jewellers are prover
-bially clever; it soothes rather than stimulates the
brain; its appetising powers are of great value to
begging Brahmins, who under its influence can,
a t a c a s t e f e a s t , e a t e n o u g h t o l a s t t h e m f o r 2 4
hours.
(2) Yakuti or majum is bhang boiled in clarified
butter. The clarified butter is flavoured with sugar
and spices and is often coloured with vermillion
and saffron. As a conserve, yakuti is generally
eaten before sunset, chiefly by well-to-do Hindus
and Musalmans. A man who drinks bhang may
also take yakuti and smoke ganja. Yakuti is
an expensive article, and when regularly taken
costs from Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 a month. This drug is
prepared by professional dealers called
m a j u m - w a l a s , c h i e f l y B a n i a s b y c a s t e . I t i s a l s om
a d e
by Hindu physicians.
(3) Ganja is the dried hemp plant which has
flowered and from which the resin has not been
removed. This is generally brought in its rough
state and made ready by the consumer. To pre
- p a r e t h e g a n j a f o r s m o k i n g , a s m a l l q u a n t i t y i s
taken on the palm of the hand, and the seed, if
the flower contains any, is removed. The ganja
is then washed four or five times, dried, and
mixed with tobacco. The classes chiefly addicted
to smoking ganja are religious mendicants, the
lower order of Brahmins, and a few artizans.
As a rule ganja smokers are found at shrines or
temples and mosques. But some of them resort
to special houses called Akhada, where bhang and
ganja are prepared. Men addicted to the
practice keep taking whiffs of ganja about every
half hour. Its effects are sudden and strong.
Three or four pulls at a ganja pipe will prostrate
a man not accustomed to smoke it. Especially
among the weakly and ill-fed the use of ganja is
said to harm the mind and nerves and even in
some cases to cause death. Ganja trodden under
foot is generally used
. * N o t p r i n t e d .