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REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94.
[APP.
MADRAS MEMORANDUM.
Introductory Remarks.—In September 1871 the attention of His Excellency the Gover-
nor-General in Council was drawn to the deleterious effects alleged to be produced by the
abuse of ganja and other preparations of the hemp plant, and the opinions of the authorities
were invited as to the expediency of restricting the use of the drugs or of even suppressing
the cultivation of the plant if such a course should be found necessary. On consideration of
the opinions collected, local Governments were directed to discourage, if possible, the consump-
tion of the drugs prepared from the plant by placing restrictions on its cultivation and on the
preparation and retail of the drugs. The Madras Government was of opinion that the best
way of meeting the wishes of the Government of India would be to pass a law prohibiting the
retail sale without license of the drugs, as the Madras Abkari Acts then in force contained no
provisions for regulating the traffic in them.
A Bill was accordingly introduced into the local Legislative Council in 1875, but nothing
appears to have been done in the matter until the passing of Act 1 of 1886, in which the pro-
visions and powers in the case of liquor were also made applicable to intoxicating drugs other
than opium which had specially been provided for in India Act I of 1878.
2. Even after Act I of 1886 became law, the provisions therein relative to hemp-drugs
were not brought into operation, probably because the use of such drugs was then considered
not to be particularly prevalent. With a view, however, to bring the traffic under some sort
of control, the Commissioner of Salt and Abkari Revenue issued in August 1886 a circular to
all Collectors calling for information as to the extent and nature of the trade in these drugs.
Amongst other matters inquiry was directed to the following points:—
(a) the extent of cultivation of the hemp plant and the purposes for which it was
grown;
(b) the several descriptions of drugs manufactured therefrom and the processes of
such manufacture;
(c) the import, export, and transport of such drugs; and
(d) the extent of the total consumption of the different preparations from the hemp
plant.
3. The general result of the investigation went to show that throughout the greater part
of the presidency the traffic in hemp drugs was unimportant, except perhaps in the Northern
Circars, where alone they appeared to be used somewhat extensively, the chief consumers of
the drug in the presidency being fakirs, byragis, and sojourners from Northern India. The
plant was reported to be principally grown in backyards for domestic consumption and not for
sale. The areas in which the plant was cultivated on any considerable scale were the Kistna
district and the Javadi hills of North Arcot. In South Arcot and Tinnevelly the plant was
reared solely for its fibre. Export and import of the drug as defined in the Abkari Act was
practically nil, the cases met with being only those of transport between districts. As it was
deemed necessary to regulate the traffic in a drug which was admittedly baneful to health, the
Board, as a preliminary step, made certain proposals calculated to procure accurate information
as to the extent of the trade with the least possible interference with it. They were briefly
as follows:—
(a) to prohibit cultivation except under license to be granted free;
(b) to restrict possession by persons other than licensed wholesale and retail
dealers;
(c) to grant free licenses to wholesale dealers;
(d) to put up to auction licenses for retail sale; and
(e) to impose a pass duty.
4. In view, however, of the indefinite and uncertain information obtained regarding the
extent of the traffic in the drug and the limited nature of the consumption, the Govern-
ment came to the conclusion that in most parts of the Presidency no restriction was called for,
but remarked that it was prepared to extend the provisions of the Abkari Act relating to
intoxicating drugs to limited areas on adequate cause being shown.
5. In reporting on certain alterations necessary in the pamphlet on hemp by Dr. Watt
referred to the Board for remarks, the opportunity was taken to suggest to Government that
the licensing of shops for the sale of ganja on fixed annual fees of Rs. 50 in Madras and Rs. 25
elsewhere might greatly facilitate the collection of accurate information as to the consumption
of, and traffic in, the drugs. The recommendation was approved, the license fees being fixed
at Rs. 30 and Rs. 15 in Madras and the mofussil respectively, but the Board's subsequent