CH. XII.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 239
Out of 1,344 admissions to the asylums of British India during 1892, there
are shown to be only 98 cases (or 7.3 per cent.) in which the use of hemp drugs
may be reasonably regarded as a factor in causing the insanity. If the "mixed"
cases in which the hemp drugs have only been accepted as one of several
possible causes are omitted, the percentage falls to 4.5. It must be
borne in mind, however, that there were 42 per cent. of the admissions for 1892
in which the cause of insanity was shown as "unknown." Among these "un-
known" cases there may, no doubt, have been some in which hemp drugs may,
as in the accepted cases, have played some part in causing insanity. If it had
been possible to ascertain the history of these "unknown" cases, it might have
been found that there was in a considerable number of them a history of the use
of hemp drugs, and perhaps that in some of them these drugs had played some
part at least in causing the insanity. It might appear at first sight to be more
correct to take the percentage, not on the total admissions into the asylums, but
on the "known" cases among these admissions. The total number of "known"
cases (i. e., cases in which the cause was supposed to be known) among the
admissions for 1892 was 775. This would give a percentage of hemp drug cases
at 12.6. But the Commission do not see their way to accept this method of cal-
culation as accurate. For they consider that both experience and the whole his-
tory of this inquiry have shown that there is little difficulty in ascertaining the
existence of the ganja habit among persons such as are sent to the asylums, and
also that there is no hesitation in ascribing insanity to that habit. They are
therefore of opinion that it is safe to presume that in the great majority of the
"unknown" cases no ganja habit did exist, and that they would be further from
the truth in taking the percentage at 12.6 than at 7.3.
Mixed cases.
522. On the other hand, it would be far from accurate to say that it has
been ascertained that the insanity was in all these 98
cases due solely to hemp drugs. In the first place,
there are 37 of them (or nearly 38 per cent.) in which there is a clear history of
some other cause. The causes which are shown thus to have possibly co-oper-
ated with hemp drugs in inducing insanity (with the number of causes for
each) are as follow:—
Heredity
4
Grief
3
" alcohol and vice
2
" hard life and liquor
1
"
and business losses
1
" and opium
1
Fever
1
Madak
1
Sun and malaria
3
Acholol
11
Syphilis
1
"
and opium
1
Sexual excess
1
" and vicious habits
2
Dhatura
3
" and epilepsy
1
Heredity.
523. Only a few remarks need be made regarding these "mixed" cases. So
far as the inquiries have established the real facts
regarding these cases, there are seven into which
heredity enters as a predisposing fa ctor. The number of cases attributed to
heredity throughout India in 1892 was 51, or 3.8 per cent. of the admis-
sions (1,344). These seven cases may perhaps be added to this number, giving
a total of 58, or 4.3 per cent. In England the percentage of cases attri-
buted to heredity is 19.0 for males and 22.1 for females. These percentages
are based on statistics for ten years, dealing with 136,478 patients (vide