BOMBAY
MEMORANDUM.
91
From the above it will be observed that local ganja varies from Re. 0-3-0 to Rs. 2-8-0
per lb., that bhang is considerably cheaper, but that in Khandesh local ganja runs as high
as Rs. 2-8-0 per lb., the same price as bhang imported from Ujjain, and that even the locally
made bhang is dearer there than ganja in most other districts.
13. Point (i).—The maximum quantity fixed for retail sale to and possession by one
person, consumer, is 40 tolas, throughout the province, and no minimum price is fixed
for the drug. That is a matter which is left to the natural law of supply and demand, and
few complaints have been made regarding excessive prices. Such complaints have not in-
frequently been made about the price of country spirit and toddy, and the absence thereof
with reference to hemp-drugs indicates not only that there is no dissatisfaction on this score,
but that there is, as a rule, so small a demand for these drugs that the general public are in-
different in the matter.
14. Point (j).—The reports I have received from all districts are unanimous in saying
that smuggling of these drugs is to all intents and purposes unknown. Illicit cultivation,
sale, and possession may also be said not to exist. There is no reason why there should be
illicit cultivation, and the crop itself is not a popular one with the cultivator as is shown by
the areas under cultivation. The Collector of Khandesh reports that the area so cropped is
declining and the reason is not far to seek. As the Collector of Surat puts it—"now that the
sale and transport have been brought under control, only wholesale sale is allowed, and that
to the licensed farmers. As ganja and bhang soon deteriorate if kept, the result is that no one
grows the plant unless he has a previous contract with a purchaser. The area under the plant
is confined to two or three villages, and does not extend to more than 15 to 20 acres. It
is said to have been much diminished since the arrangements of 1880." The general measures
taken to prevent smuggling and illicit cultivation have been indicated in previous paragraphs,
i.e., the growing crops are known and watched; the cultivator cannot sell his crop save under
permit and to specified persons; the Revenue, Abkari, and Police officers are entitled to exa-
mine consignments and passes for import, transport, and export; the article itself is so com-
paratively bulky that it could not easily escape detection by one or other of the establishments;
and finally there is no such great demand for it, or so heavy duty imposed thereon, as to
induce people to run the risk of detection in illicit practices.
15. Point (k).—I am not aware of any modifications of the present system in respect to
hemp-drugs being under consideration. I can not see that any are urgently called for. The
total revenue is small, mainly because the demand for these drugs is small, and it is easily
collected. No hardship is caused either to the wholesale seller, the cultivator of the crop,
the retail seller, or the consumer. No hindrance is put in the way of legitimately supplying
what is an undoubted want of certain classes, no encouragement is given for excessive pro-
duction, and no inducement is held out to smugglers or others to indulge in illicit practices
to meet the demand for the drug. So far as this presidency is concerned, the system which
was devised 13 years ago has been successful in every way as I have endeavoured to show
above.
As to Point (l) I have in the previous paragraphs shown the extent of cultivation,
and in some measure the sources of retail supply. The latter I may recapitulate as (a) the
crop grown in the districts mentioned in paragraph 7 so far as it is available, and (b) the
imports from the Central Provinces, small quantities from Palanpur and from Amritsar and
Hoshiarpur in Northern India. The other details called for, so far as I am able to give them,
will be found in the appended statement (5), under which I have entered explanatory remarks
to prevent misconception of certain of the figures.
17. Turning now to the list of questions under head (b) of my 2nd paragraph, I may note
that I have answered many of them in the course of this paper, and I propose therefore to
refer briefly to a few only of those in Chapter V and those in Chapter V.II.
Questions 23—28.—I do not gather from the information before me that bhang is
smoked either in the mofussil or in Bombay City, and it appears to me, with deference, that
the replies to Questions 24, 26, 28 must in the absence of a careful census be conjectural and
untrustworthy. This applies also in great measure to Question 25, and although the figures
of revenue from intoxicating drugs may show an apparent increase, they have to be taken
with caution, as the census of 1891 shows a considerable increase of population from 1881
and the percentage of ganja consumers as ascertained from the revenue is a very doubtful
factor on which to base increase or decrease. The answer to Question 31 is also purely a
matter of opinion, and personal experience, either of drug consumers themselves or of those
closely associated with them is necessary to answer it.
Question 32.—An interesting and curious, religious custom prevails in part of Gujarat
Kaira, and probably Ahmedabad, where there are many Nagar Brahmans, which is thus de-
scribed by Mr. B. E. Modi, the District Deputy Collector of Kaira: "On the Shivaratri
day (the last day but one of the month of Maha), sacred to the god Mahadev or Shankar,
bhang water is freely poured over the 'lingam.' Mahadev is an ascetic, and is fond of bhang,
and on this day it is considered a religious duty to offer him his favourite drink. From this
day until the 11th day of Ashad, on which day gods go to sleep, water is kept constantly