268 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [CH. XIV.
arrived at: "Upon a consideration of all the opinions thus collected, it does not
appear to the Governor-General in Council to be specially proved that hemp
incites to crime more than other drugs or than spirits. And there is some evid-
ence to show that on rare occasions this drug, usually so noxious, may be use-
fully taken. There can, however, be no doubt that its habitual use does tend to
produce insanity. The total number of cases of insanity is small in proportion
to the population, and not large even in proportion to the number of ganja
smokers; but of the cases of insanity produced by the excessive use of drugs or
spirits, by far the largest number must be attributed to the abuse of hemp. In
Lower Bengal the circumstances have admitted of a system under which the
consumption of ganja has been reduced one-half, while the amount of duty levied
on it has been doubled. It would be very desirable to control the cultivation and
preparation of ganja and bhang elsewhere in the same way. But it is believed
that this would not be easy; indeed, it would probably be impracticable. More-
over, with the exception of the Chief Commissioners of British Burma and the
Central Provinces, the Local Governments are not in favour of altering existing
arrangements. His Excellency in Council, however, trusts that the various Local
Governments and Administrations will endeavour, wherever it may be possible, to
discourage the consumption of ganja and bhang by placing restrictions on their
cultivation, preparation, and retail, and imposing on their use as high a rate of
duty as can be levied without inducing illicit practices. As regards British Burma,
the Chief Commissioner has already been informed that the Governor-General
in Council concurs with him in thinking that the cultivation and consumption of
ganja should be absolutely prohibited, and it has been prohibited from the
beginning of the year 1873-74."
In 1877 the Bengal Government appointed a special officer, Babu Hem
Chunder Kerr, to make a full inquiry into the details of the cultivation of ganja,
the sufficiency or otherwise of the present safeguards, and the reforms which
it might be advisable to introduce. Sir Ashley Eden's conclusions on this
officer's report in regard to the effects of ganja and policy to be followed were
as follows: "The Lieutenant-Governor has himself no doubt that the use of
ganja in any form is injurious to the consumer, and that it is the duty of
Government to make the tax on this article as high as it can possibly bear.
Unfortunately it is habitually used by large numbers of the lower classes of the
population, who would, if deprived of it altogether, apparently find in the leaves
of the wild hemp plant and in other drugs narcotics and stimulants of equally
deleterious character. It does not seem possible, therefore, to stop the cultiva-
tion altogether. The policy of Government must be to limit its production and
sale by a high rate of duty without placing the drug entirely beyond the reach
of those who will insist upon having it."
The last important utterance on the subject previous to the appoint-
ment of the Commission is contained in the letter of the Government of
India, Finance Department, to Her Majesty's Secretary of State, No. 212,
dated 9th August 1892, in which the following remarks occur: "We are
inclined to believe that ganja is the most noxious of all intoxicants now
commonly used in India. But even if the absolute prohibition of the use of
the drug could be enforced, the result might be to induce the use of still more
noxious drugs. India abounds with plants growing wild from which drugs can
be procured which are more deleterious in their effects than ganja. One such