48
REPORT OF THE INDIAN
HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION,
1893-94.
[APP.
Hemp
Drug
cases admitted
in
1892—contd.
Name, race, occupation,
district, age, and register
number of lunatic.
Alleged
cause of
inanity.
(Statement
VII.)
Type of
insanity.
(Statement
VI.)
State of
health on
admission.
Facts ascertained from the papers.
Asylum history and facts ascertained from
registers and from enquiry from
Superintendent.
3. Baishmar Chandra
Saha— contd.
Ganja
Mania.
Indiffer-
ent.
being insane, that the lunatic "is
addicted to ganja and
ardent
spirits," and that he set fire to
his own house. He is also said
to be violent and dangerous and
disposed to suicide. It is dis-
tinctly stated that
"no
cause
could be assigned" for his in-
sanity.
great noise, went naked, destroy.
ing clothes when given him.
He
was filthy in his habits, constantly
knocked his head against
the
wall, had thereby made a sore on
his forehead."
"29th
January
1892.—Continued in a very ex.
hausted state as the result of his
excitement, and died to-day of
the exhaustion of mania.
His
body was made over to his friends
as they came to claim it."
4. Uzir Ali Sha; Mu-
salman;
Fakir;
Backerganj; 75;
No. L 161.
Ganja
Toxic
insanity.
Indiffer-
ent.
Admitted on the 31st January
1892, accused of murder,
but
found to be incapable of making
his defence on the ground of in-
sanity.
It is stated in his Des-
criptive
Roll signed by the "com-
mitting officer" that he has been
insane for about three months,
that it is "not known"
whe-
ther any of his relatives have
been insane, and that he was
"formerly addicted to ganja;"
said to be dangerous. He is said
to have killed a woman with a
dao and lathi.
"The accused,
who was staying in the house of
the deceased's father, entered at
night the room in which she was
sleeping, and having brought her
out killed her by repeated blows.
He professed to be a "fakir,"
and to foretell the future events.
He had many disciples, and used
to distribute medicines to people.
He did not live in the village, but
came to it occasionally, so no-
thing was known of him.
It is
distinctly stated that the cause of
insanity is "not known."
In this case the entry of
"ganja-
smoking" in the register as the
cause of insanity was made by
the Overseer on the man's admis-
sion to the asylum.
He was admitted on the 31st Jan-
uary 1892, became more and
more excited, and "died of ex-
haustion of mania" on 24th April
1892. In the post-mortem
examin-
ation Dr. Cobb
records
(inter
alia):
Head.—"There
was a small
quantity of serous fluid in the
cavity of arachnoid.
Brain heal-
thy.
Its ventricles contained a
small quantity of serous effusion."
5. Swarup Kaibarta;
Hindu; Cultivator;
Sylhet; 25; No. L
169.
Ganja
Toxic
insanity.
Fair
Admitted on the 19th February
1892, accused of (1) voluntarily
causing grievous hurt
by
a
dangerous
weapon; and
(2)
voluntarily causing hurt
by a
dangerous weapon. The
Descrip-
tive Roll
(signed by the Deputy
Commissioner) says: "On the
31st October 1891 the accused all
on a sudden wounded his mother
with a dao while in a state of tem-
porary insanity,
as
appeared
from the evidence of the wit-
nesses for the prosecution."
It
also shows the man to have been
insane since September 1891;
none of his relatives were insane.
"He used to take ganja some-
times, but not too much."
His
insanity is said to have been
caused "by sudden attack of
disorder in brain."
The entry in the register giving
"ganja-smoking" as the cause of
insanity was made by the Overseer
immediately on the man's admis-
sion.
The
first entry by the
Superintendent is on
9th
July
1892 as follows:—
"Has been very dull and melan-
cholic since his admission.
Can
hardly be got to answer a ques-
tion, and if he does, is irrational.
Mutters
to himself
frequently;
prefers solitude; will take his food
if it is given to him, but asks for
nothing."
In September 1893 he
is reported to be obstinate, and re-
fused to work, destroyed his cloth-
ing and remained naked, but was
not aggressive. There has been
no improvement.
6. Sheikh Waris; Mu-
salman; Cultivator;
Dacca; 28; No. L.
175.
Ganja
Not
insane.
Good
Admitted on the 22nd February
1892. Was tried for house-break-
ing with theft, but was acquitted
on the ground of insanity.
His
Descriptive
Roll
(signed by the
Joint Magistrate) says:
"On
the night of the 25th January he
broke the lock of a room of the
Dacca Judge's Court and stole
some papers, forms, and books,
etc."
It is further stated that
On the man's admission to the asy-
lum the Overseer entered "ganja-
smoking" as the cause of insani-
ty, but left the "disease" blank.
The Superintendent
afterwards
filled in this blank with "not in-
sane," as the man was
"quite
rational" from the time of his
admission.
He was made over
to his friends on 22nd May 1893.