10
REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94.
[APP.
40. As regards sites local opinion is not formally consulted, but attention is paid to any
reasonable objection raised against any particular site, though most of the sites being old
ones, it is seldom that they are objected to. Moreover, shops for the sale of hemp-drugs are
not considered a nuisance, and are often accommodated in the same room where other business
is carried on.
41. No rate is fixed at which any of the hemp-drugs must be supplied by wholesale to
retail vendors. The retail price of each of the drugs varies considerably in different districts.
The average retail price of each is shown below:—
Rs. A.
Ganja
20 0 per seer.
Siddhi
2 8 "
Charas
40 0 "
Majum
3 0 "
42. The retail selling price of each of the drugs in the following districts is shown
below:—
NAMES OF DISTRICTS.
RETAIL SELLING PRICE PER SEER.
NAMES OF DISTRICTS.
Ganja.
Siddhi.
Charas.
Majum.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
Dacca
16
3-12
40
3
Mymensingh
16 to 25
3
Rajshahi
25
Purnea
14 to 20
Bhagalpur
12-8 to 20
1-8
Calcutta
12 to 16
1-12 to 2
35 to 40
2-8 to 4
Burdwan
20
2-4 to 2-8
36
Patna
12
1
Muzaffarpur
15 to 18
1
Lohardaga
15
5
Cuttack
12 to 16
5 to 6
Chittagong
12 to 18
3
Section 15 of Act VII (B. C.) fo
1878.
43. Yes, a maximum amount is fixed for retail sales to, and possession by, the ordi-
nary consumer, as regards each of the articles as shown below:—
Rajshahi ganja, siddhi, and majum or any preparation or admixture of the same, one
quarter of a seer (20 tolas); Garhjat ganja (5 tolas experi-
mentally); charas or any preparation or admixture of the
same, 5 tolas.
No minimum price is fixed for any of these drugs.
44. A statement is given below showing the number of ganja cases during 1892-93:—
NATURE OF OFFENCE.
1892-93.
NATURE OF OFFENCE.
NO. OF PERSONS.
NATURE OF OFFENCE.
Arrested.
Convicted.
Smuggling of ganja or siddhi
90
83
Illicit cultivation of ganja or siddhi
86
71
Unlicensed sale of ganja
154
128
Illicit possession of ganja
77
64
TOTAL
407
346
Of the 90 arrests shown under the head of smuggling, no less than 80 were made in Puri.
Of the remaining 10, 5 took place in Bhagalpur, 4 in Dinajpur, and 1 in Shahabad. These
figures give a fair indication of the extent of smuggling as also of the localities where it pre-
vails. Some ganja is smuggled from Nepal into the districts bordering on that State, but
the evil is not widespread, and does not appreciably affect the revenue. The drug is of inferior
quality, so much so that considerable quantities of duty-paid Rajshahi ganja is annually export-
ed to Nepal from the North Gangetic districts.
Garhjat ganja, on the other hand, is largely smuggled into Orissa. The drug is in
great demand with the priests of the famous shrine of Juggernath, and is affected by the
attendants of other Orissa temples. It is usually brought in small quantities by pil-
grims, mendicants, and others as an acceptable offering to the priests. The offence is most rife
in Puri, and also prevails in Cuttack and Balasore, though no cases were reported from either
district in the past year.
There are thus two distinct sources of illicit supply—Nepal and the Garhjat States of
Orissa. The extent of smuggling from Nepal is small, and no special measures are taken