CH. III.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 25
The limits of the submontane belt
of wild growth.
46. The growth decreases in frequency very rapidly as the Himalayas are left
behind. It appears, however, from the evidence to
maintain its hold in the Amritsar, Lahore, Karnal,
and Shahpur districts further south than in others. As regards three of these
districts, special reasons for this persistence may be suggested. Shahpur is
watered by the Jhelum, which appears to carry an exceptionally heavy growth
on the banks of its upper reaches. Amritsar is not only the great market for
bhang as well as charas, but it is the head-quarters of the Sikh religion, and the
former drug is largely consumed by the followers of that faith. It seems to be a
regular drink or refreshment with the visitors to the Golden Temple. When
members of the Commission visited the city, a dense growth of bhang flourished
over a large area in the outlying parts of the public gardens and countless plants
in the hedgerows surrounding the city. The seeds discarded from the large
quantity of bhang that is daily consumed in the city sufficiently account for this
growth, and it is probable that the ways leading to Amritsar from the country
round are sown with hemp in the same way. The plant is probably propagated
in the same manner, but to a less degree, around Lahore, the capital town of
the province, and the head-quarters of the Administration. East of Umballa and
Karnal the bhang-bearing belt appears to widen out, and its southern boundary
would probably pass across the Karnal district.
The supposed wild hemp of the
Suleiman Range.
47. The Excise Commissioner reports that "the supply of bhang is derived
from the wild hemp plant which grows within the prov-
ince in the submontane tracts under the Himalayas
and the Suleiman Range." The evidence, it has been seen, corroborates the state-
ment as regards the Himalayan tract. But it does not do so for the Suleiman
region. The existence of the wild growth is not mentioned in Kohat or the Derajat
Division. Witnesses (60) and (19) make statements which need explanation.
The former says, speaking of the Dera Ghazi Khan district: "In the hill tracts
of my ilaka the wild hemp grows here and there to a small extent, but no one
consumes it. Sometimes budmashes, however, administer it from evil motives to
another person without his knowledge." And again—"The wild hemp is known
in this country by the name of 'kohi bhang,' and cultivated hemp is called bhang
only." The statement itself is open to doubt for two reasons: it is unlikely that
the true hemp, though growing wild, should not be consumed, and the uses to
which the kohi bhang is alleged to be put point to a much more potent drug.
The explanation will be found in the answer of Mr. Dames (9), whose experi-
ence has been gained especially in the Derajat. He writes: "There is a plant
known as kohi bhang found along the beds of torrents in the Suleiman Hills, the
leaves of which are said to possess strongly intoxicating properties. This plant is
certainly not a Cannabis, but I am unable to state what its genus is. It looks like
a solanaccous plant. Its growth is scattered, and it is not found in great abund-
ance anywhere." There can be no doubt that this is the plant to which witness (60)
refers. It is in all probability the same as the akoe of Sind, which is proved to
be Hyoscyamus muticus of the solanaceous order. The same plant is referred to by
witness (36) in his oral evidence as kuyi, growing in a valley 50 miles west
of Dera Ismail Khan. Witness (19) is not a very exact observer, and when
questioned in detail about his knowledge of the wild plant travels away to the
Umballa district. Witness (24), an Excise officer, mentions the kooi (i.e., kohi),
doubtless the same Hyoscyamus, as being imported from Kabul and Kandahar.
7