Drug Abuse

10. Evidence of MR. F. H. BARROW, Magistrate and Collector of Bankura.

1. The answers are prepared chiefly by Babu Bhubau Mohan Raha, a retired Deputy Collector, who long held charge of the Excise Department in this district.

2. The definitions of ganja, siddhi or bhang and charas given in the question apply to this district. In this district only two kinds of ganja, viz., round and chur, are consumed.

3. The spontaneous growth of the hemp plant is not allowed in this district; sometimes it grows spontaneously if seeds fall in moist places ; but such instances are very rare. It grows wild and abundantly in the districts of Dacca and Faridpur, and similar districts of which the soil is damp.

4. The wild plant which grows here is called siddhi. Only one kind of wild plant grows.

5. A damp climate and moist soil are favourable to the growth of the wild hemp plant.

6. Ordinarily the growth of the wild hemp is dense. This remark applies to the districts where it grows. Not of course to this, where it grows only sporadically.

7 to 13. Do not apply to this district. The hemp plant for ganja is not cultivated in this district; but in some places it grows wild and the leaves are generally used as bhang. Wild hemp is not cultivated in this district for the production of ganja. It would be penal to do so.

14. Ganja and charas are not prepared in this district. It is suspected that in a very few instances leaves of wild hemp plant are used as bhang. But the consumption of the so prepared bhang is very inconsiderable.

15. The leaves of wild hemp plants are con- ° sumed after being ground into a paste and then dissolved in water and drunk.

16. Here bhang is not generally prepared by the people in their houses. It can be prepared from the hemp plant wherever grown. On enquiry made it appears that charas cannot be prepared from the wild plant, but ganja of very inferior quality may sometimes be prepared.

17. Not applicable to this district.

18. Ganja, charas and bhang do deteriorate by keeping. They quite lose their effect after two years ; with ordinary care they can be kept good for one year. By long keeping they lose the resinous matter and consequently their narcotic power ; deterioration after two years cannot be prevented by any special measure.

19. As far as this district is concerned, ganja is used only for smoking. Charas is very rarely used in this district, and only by those who have purchased it elsewhere within the prescribed limits.

20. The ganja, smokers of this district may be classified as follows :—
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Brahmin and other high castes    6
Kamer, Tanti, Teli, and other Nabasake    7
Lobar, Bagdi, Bann, and other lower orders    3
TOTAL    . 16

Ganja is consumed more or less throughout the district.

Charas is seldom used in this district.

21. Round and chur ganja are used in this district indiscriminately, of which the latter is more in requisition in Thana Sonamukhi. Flat ganja is not at all used here.

22. Charas is seldom used; as a matter of fact there is no shop for its vend.

23. Bhang is never used for smoking.

24. The bhang drinkers may be classified as follow :—
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Up-countrymen passing through the district or residing in it    12
Bhadralok class of the district    4

They drink and not eat bhang. As a rule the sale of bhang is confined to the towns and large villages, such as Baukura, Vishnupur, Sonamukhi, Gangajalghati, Kotulpur, and Indas.

25. The use of ganja seems to be on the increase. It appears that in the year 1892-93, 21 maunds 36 seers 11 chhitaks were sold against 20 neaunds 30 seers 13 chhitaks in the year 1891-92, the increase being 1 maund 5 seers 14 chhitaks. The increase is due probably to the Closure of outstill liquor shops over a considerable portion of the district and the high price at which the Sadar Distillery liquor is sold.
There is reason to believe that many persons, who formerly used to drink outstill liquor for its cheapness, have now adopted the habit of ganja smoking.
The use of bhang is on the decrease. In 1892- 93, 6 maunds 1 seer 4 chhitaks were sold against 6 maunds 27 seers 14 chhitaks in 1891-92, the decrease being 26 seers 10 chhitaks.

26. The proportions of the ganja smokers in this district may be taken as follows :—

 

27. Each of the above kinds of ganja smokers is found more or less in all classes of people.
The smokers are generally people of moderate circumstances. The first step towards gauja smoking is to be attributed to association with people of loose character who are in the habit.

28. The average allowance of ganja per diem to an habitual moderate consumer is ith tola, at a cost of one anna, and that to an habitual excessive consumer is half a tola, at a cost of two anuas. An excessive consumer does not consume the whole quantity singly, there being some people who generally resort to his place of smoking, which is ordinarily called his Adda, and join with him without having to pay anything.

29. Tobacco leaves are ordinarily mixed with ganja by excessive consumers, in order, as they say, to increase the narcotic power of the drug. Sometimes prepared tobacco is mixed with the drug to sweeten the flavour, and this is generally done by the moderate consumers. Dhatura is seldom mixed, except sometimes by sanyasis, fakirs, and sadhus.

Bhang massala is known and is sold for being mixed with bhang. It consists of poppy and anise-seed, black pepper, cucumber seed, and petals of rose flower, and is sold in Calcutta, Hughli and similar large towns. It is not in use in this district.

30. Ganja is smoked both in company and in solitude.

Bhang and charas are used in solitude.

The use of ganja is mainly confined to the male sex, of the grikasta class ; among women, the majority of prostitutes smoke it.
The use of bhang is also chiefly confined to the male sex both for the sake of pleasure and for medicinal purposes. There are also some women who use it for medicinal purposes only.

The use of charas, as observed elsewhere, is very limited in this district, and those who use it belong to the Bhadralok or respectable class.

Ganja, charas and bhang are seldom used by the people before they are 20 or 25 years of age.

It is not usual for children to consume any of these drugs.

31. The habit of consuming these drugs is easily formed, but it is difficult to break off the habit of smoking ganja. There is a tendency in the case of these drugs for the moderate habit to develop into the excessive.

32. In Hindu mythology the god Siva was the greatest of ganja smokers, consequently in every religious ceremony relating to him or to his consort, Kali or Durga, a very large quantity of ganja is consumed. These ceremonies are Sivachaturdasi, Chait-sankranti or Sivagajan. These two religious ceremonies are well known and require no description.

In this district Pous-sankranti day, i.e., the last day of the month of Pous, is usually spent by the people in hunting excursions, and a large quantity of ganja is consumed on such occasions. There are also some religious ceremonies in this district called Akoratra, which lasts for a day and night ; Chabhisprahar which lasts for 3 days and 3 nights ; and Pancharatra which lasts for 5 days and 5 nights. In these ceremonies large crowds of Baisnabs assemble and récite vociferously the names of " Radha Govinda " continuously without any intermission whatever during the time the ceremony is to continue. They divide themselves into parties and when the energy of one party is exhausted, its place is taken by another. In the above ceremonies ganja is consumed rather excessively.

In the above ceremonies, both social and religious, the consumption of ganja is not considered essential.

It sometimes leads to the formation of the habit.

The consumption of bhang is very considerable on the third or Nabami day of the Durga Puja, when a cup of bhang is drunk by almost every Hindu. On the last day of Durga Puja, after the idols are thrown into the water, it is customary for the Hindus to see their friends and relatives and embrace them ; and when visitors come, it is usual for the owner of the house to offer them a cup of bhang and sweetmeats for tiffin.

33. The consumption of these drugs, especially that of ganja, is looked down on. A ganja smoker is generally in bad repute, the reason being probably that the consumption of it excites low propensities and makes a man violent in temper.
The hemp plant is not worshipped in this district.

34. The prohibition of the consumption of any of these drugs by people of all classes who use it will lead to much privation. They would lose appetite, their food would not be easily digested, and they would feel a sort of aching sensation all over their body.

35. It would scarcely be feasible to prohibit the use of any or all of these drugs. The prohibition would certainly lead to smuggling and occasion serious discontent among consumers ; but such discontent would not amount to political danger in this district. But the prohibition would be followed probably by recourse to alcoholic stimulants or other drugs.

36. No; alcohol is dearer than these drugs, and is not being substituted for any of them. On the contrary alcohol is at present, on account of its dearness, finding a substitute in ganja.

37. Charas is not practised in this district, except very rarely. It is said, however, that it produces a very mild effect on the smokers and induces sleep. On the other hand, ganja-smoking affects the mind, and excessive indulgence in it makes a man violent in temper and sometimes insane.

38. Of three kinds of ganja' flat is not used in this district. Round and chur produce the same sort of effect on consumers, the only difference being that the chur ganja is more powerful and produces inebriation more rapidly, the reason being that the fragments which constitute elms ganja contain more resinous matter.

Questions 39 to 57 have been answered by Dr. Mukerji as follows :—

39. The drinking of siddhi is the least injurious, and next to that is smoking charas. The smoking of siddhi leaves is probably less injurious than smoking charas. But siddhi-smoking is not in vogue in this district.

40. Yes very largely. All parts of the plants, the roots, Yes, stem, the large leaves, the flowering tops and resin are all either alone, or mixed with other things, largely used for various diseases —gonorrhea, diarrhcea, asthma, chronic skin diseases, fresh wounds and sores (to promote granulation), erysipelas, hydrocele and swelled tubes, tetanus, hydrophohia, cholera, rheumatism, neuralgia, infantile convulsions, delirium tremens. It is also used as a powerful aphrodisiac, whether alone or in conjunction with other medicines in the form of =claim modaka, or in that of majum, which is a much neater preparation.
With regard to the diseases of cattle, the hemp plant, particularly its leaves, are used externally for rheumatism, fresh wounds and sores, and internally for tetanus and hydrophobia ; and the effects are more salutary in the case of Grassominivorous animals without any unpleasant after-consequence, as the intoxicating effect of the drug is less perceivable in them than in the carnivorous group.

41. Yes.
(a) It gives ravenous appetite and enables consumer to digest what he eats.
(b) It does, specially to those who have got to do continued bard physical work. It also alleviates fatigue after a long journey, as it is evident in the cases of palki-bearers, fakirs, who perform not only long journeys, but also expose themselves to the trying viscissitndes of weather.
(c) I have also seen it largely used in malarious districts to counteract exposure to malarious influences and to evade attacks of fever or malarial rheumatism and neuralgia. During epidemic or endemic appearance of cholera it is not only used as an effective medicine mixed with other things, but also alone as a prophylactic by those who are accustomed to it.
Siddhi and the resin are used generally by the better class of people, and owing to the cheapness and greater intoxicating power gauja is used by the commoner people. I consider both of them to be extremely useful. In long continued chronic cases of illness its habitual use does more good than harm.

42. Moderate use even for the sake of pleasure is harmless. The effects are exhilarating. They cause cheerfulness, colour to the complexion, excite imagination into the rapturous ideas, cheer intellect; the common saying goes : siddhi kke'lébuddki baré. The hemp plant is being used from time immemorial, and in older times it is said even the gods used it specially before going to war, as it is called auspicious (bejoya).

43. Yes.

44. The effects are exhilarating and refreshing. It may produce a slight intoxication which, how- ever, passes off quickly. If taken before meals, it, like tobacco, allays hunger, but also increases appetite in cases of weak digestion and chronic diarrhcea; it not only increases appetite, but also cures or keeps in abeyance diarrhoea. The good effects may last for some time, but the repeated use is necessary in many chronic cases. The moderate use by the habitual leaves little or no unpleasant after-effects. Some uneasiness or longing is felt for want of subsequent gratification, and it would be a pity to deprive a habitual moderate consumer of his dose when it is so beneficial to him without any marked after-effect.

45. It does not. Nor does it impair constitution, cause any disease, impair moral sense, or insanity, permanent or temporary.

46. But when taken in excess temporarily or habitually, it may cause those constitutional, moral or intellectual derangements as alluded to above. I have seen several cases of insanity principally due to ganja smoking, specially in cases where intellect was weak, but in almost all such cases I found the insanity to be of a temporary nature, which under proper care and restraint passes off in course of time. Some of these insanes, when under observation, often ask for ganja or, in its absence, for tobacco. There are many cases seen who owing to excessive habitual use of ganja suffer from chronic dysentery, asthma or bronchitis, while its moderate use generally cures these ailments.

47 and 48. Not any that I am aware of, whether in the case of moderate or immoderate consumers. On the contrary, I have seen many children of very bright intellect and of excellent parts, though their fathers were or are inveterate consumers.

49 and 50. Yes, but the immoderate use generally causes impotency. I have heard many prostitutes use this drug as an aphrodisiac when they cannot procure alcohol, and in such cases it is liable to be used in excess occasionally.

51 and 52. I have not beard of any crime committed by moderate consumers. But the excessive use causes homicidal tendency, quarrelsomeness, and induces consumers to commit many rash acts, but seldom to commit theft.
But siddhi or charas, even when taken in excess, does not induce consumers to commit any rash act. They in such cases induce laziness, and at the worst confine the consumers to their beds.

53 and 54. Not so as in the case of alcohol. But there have been instances of habitual ganja smokers, who, if occasion requires, take the drug a little in excess to fortify themselves with a view to taking revenge upon their adversaries.

55. Yes ; ganja alone is used with the admixture of dhatura, nux vomica and of both, for the purpose of committing road-poisoning, and instances are not wanting to show that complete stupefaction has been induced or even death has occurred.

56. Dhatura is admixtured to siddhi or ganja to increase their intoxicating or even stupefying power. Siddhi or ganja is thus used by the people for their own use, with a view to securing greater pleasure. Ganja with dhatura, or with flux vomica, or with both, given generally in excess, for administration to others with a criminal motive when some object is to be gained from the stupefaction of the victims. Unpleasant effects have also resulted from one of such admixtures when given to friends simply for fun.

57. I have not seen or heard of ganja or charas being eaten or drunk.

58. The present system of excise administration in respect of hemp drugs seems working well, and no change is necessary.

60. Ganja is not produced in this district.

61. Charas is not produced in this district.

62. In this district hemp plant for the production of bhang grows wild in a very few places and to a very limited extent. It is not feasible to control the growth of such plants. Any attempt to restrict the growth would give rise to discontent without producing any beneficial effect.

63. There is no objection to the present system of wholesale and retail vend of 2 charas/3 bhang.

64. No objection.
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65. The taxation of 1 ganja/ 2 charas is reasonable with reference to each other and to alcohol or other intoxicants.

66. Yes. It is necessary that there should be different rates of taxation for different kinds of ganja, and such different rates for different kinds of ganja produced in Bengal prevail here. Ganja grown in any other province is not imported into this district.

67. No; there is no objection to the present method of taxing 1 ganja 2 charas and 3 bhang

68. There are licensed shops in this district for the sale of ganja and bhang, but not for their preparations. There is no shop in this district for the vend of charas

There is in this district an adequate number of shops, and no increase is called for.

69. The wishes of the people are generally consulted and considered before a shop is opened in any locality, the enquiry being generally made either by the Excise Deputy Collector or by local police.

70. Hemp drugs are neither imported nor smuggled into this district from Native States, Duty is really paid in respect to the ganja and other:hemp drugs used in this district. Untaxed drugs are not used.