NEPAL DARBAR MEMORANDUM.
131
NEPAL DARBAR MEMORANDUM.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS RELATING TO HEMP DRUGS.
The ganja of this part of the country is of two kinds, the stem of one is white and of
the other black: the latter is better than the former. Some of the plants of both kinds bear
flowers, and such plants are no good. The plant which does not bear flowers, and the fine
leaves of which get twisted together, is the ganja. The method of preparation is as follows:—
When the plant puts forth fine down, the tip of the plant is cut off and the big leaves
are plucked off, and the plant is shaken from time to time, so that the down
may fall off. This causes a large number of branches and fine leaves to be
produced and the latter getting twisted and stuck together are called in
Nepalese Lǎtǎ When it is found that the plant is in the Lǎtǎ state it is cut
down and kept in the dew for about a week, and after that each Lǎtǎ is
separately wrapped in a piece of fine plantain bark and being tightly tied with
string is put by. Some people flatten it by pressing it under pieces of tat
(gunny). Two or three days after this it becomes fit for use. The ganja plant
exudes a thin gummy water. That plant is squeezed between the palms of
both hands, and the gummy substance, which sticks to the bands, is scraped
into a vessel and is called charas. This charas is also of two kinds: the second
kind is here called Yarkan and is somewhat better than charas.
Near the Himalayas west of Katmandu, that is, in the hills from Mankamana to Redi,
the ganja grows somewhat more abundantly than in the other mountainous parts of Nepal,
and in the Nepalese Terai it is also somewhat more abundant than in the hills.
Ganja is known by no other name in this country; both the black and white stem plants
are called ganja. The plant which produces much seed is no good; that which produces little
seed is good.
It cannot be ascertained in what special kind of soil and at what elevations it grows,
because it grows here in different places.
Sometimes it grows densely and sometimes scattered. It has no particular habit in
this respect.
No one cultivates ganja in this country. Some persons in the hills plant a few trees
which are to be had growing wild. The leaves of the plants which bear flowers are bhang.
Particulars regarding charas are given in answer to question No. 2.
Ganja is not cultivated here, it grows wild, so no methods of cultivation can be stated.
By slitting the stem of the plant and inserting a piece of opium or clove or bhiroza wood
and tying up the part with string, the ganja becomes somewhat more intoxicating. This is
done by those who know about it and is not the work of any particular class.
No one sows the ganja seed in this country; the plant grows wild.
The male plant of the ganja is solid and the female one is hollow. The male plant is
more intoxicating than the female. When the plant has attained a height of two or two
and a half feet it is slightly slit, and ascertained whether it is a male or female.
There is no one in this country who cultivates only ganja, and it is not the custom to
cultivate it here, because it grows wild in different places. Therefore it cannot be stated in
what kind of soil it grows. There being no cultivators of it, there is no prohibition against
its cultivation. A small duty is levied simply to keep down consumption.