206 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [CH. XI.
Twenty-three assistant surgeons were examined. Assistant Surgeon
Devendranath Roy (witness No. 123), of over 20 years' service, and who
has had service in Rajputana, the North-Western Provinces, Behar, and Ben-
gal, where hemp drugs are used by a large portion of the people, is of
opinion that those who smoke ganja not more than twice or thrice a day do
not suffer in general health; bhang does not impair the digestion, whereas
ganja does. "Those of my patients," he remarks, "who admitted having
been habitual ganja smokers suffered from dysentery or diarrhœa, but they have
been exposed to conditions which produce these ailments. Hence I do not draw
any conclusion as to ganja being a primary cause of those diseases." Assist-
ant Surgeon Preonath Bose (witness No. 122), Teacher of Materia Medica and
Pharmacy in the Dacca Medical School, clearly has no personal knowledge of
the effects, as he remarked: "Evidence on these points is conflicting. Some of
the consumers maintain, others deny, that evil effects are produced." Another
teacher at the same school (witness No. 121) stated: "Evidence on these points is
conflicting. The general consensus of opinion is that the habitual moderate use
of bhang and ganja does not impair the constitution." Assistant Surgeon
Soorjee Narain Singh, of 28 years' service, now Teacher of Materia Medica, Patna
Medical School (witness No. 125), stated that "habitual moderate consumers
of bhang, ganja, or charas do not apparently suffer from any injurious effects."
Assistant Surgeon Narendra Nath Gupta (witness No. 120) as Deputy Superintend-
ent of Vaccination and as a Deputy Sanitary Commissioner and as Civil Medical
Officer has had considerable opportunities for noting the effects of the drugs. His
opinion is that the moderate use of ganja and bhang does not produce any noxious
effects. Durga Dass Lahiri,L.M.S. (witness No. 132),a private medical practitioner,
said: "I have not seen any evil results mentioned when taken moderately, but it is
very difficult to keep to moderation." Assistant Surgeon Taraprosanna Roy (wit-
ness No. 116) is Chemical Examiner to the Government of Bengal. He stated that
the habitual moderate use of the three drugs is not known to produce any noxious
effects. Assistant Surgeon Bosonto Kumar Sen (witness No . 119) has had service
in ganja producing districts. He stated that the use of ganja and bhang produces
noxious effects, and "generally produce dysentery, asthma, and bronchitis." The
cross-examination of this witness is of interest. "I have seen more than one person,
about half a dozen, in my village
suffering from dysentery, bronchitis, and
asthma who were also ganja smokers. They were all excessive smokers. These
effects do not follow the moderate, but the excessive, use. It is a mistake to have
put them under the moderate use
The fact that they were ganja smokers led
me to believe that these effects were due to ganja
I have no recollection of ever
treating any case of dysentery, bronchitis, or asthma caused by ganja. These cases
are the basis of my remarks. I do not remember any case of dysentery, bronchitis, or
asthma in a ganja smoker which I attributed to any other cause. In other words,
when I saw ganja smokers suffering from these diseases, I attributed them to ganja.
This was twenty years ago, before I was a medical student." Pyari Sankar Dass
Gupta, L.M.S. (witness No. 134), is a private medical practitioner, Secretary to the
Bogra Medical Society of ten members, and a member of a temperance associa-
tion founded by the late Keshub Chunder Sen. The witness is pledged against
the use of all intoxicants. This witness submitted three papers to the Commission
which seem to illustrate the development of tradition into opinion. In one paper
the witness states: "The smokers of ganja often suffer from hoarseness of voice