Drug Abuse

30. Evidence of MR. A. E. HARWARD, Offg. Magistrate and Collector, Bogra.

1. I have served in different districts of the province since 1885.

2. These definitions are correct. The names in common use here are bhang, siddhi, and charas.

Flat ganja=chipta ganja.

Round ganja=gol ganja

Broken ganja=chur ganja.

3. The wild hemp plant occurs in most districts of Bengal. It grows abundantly in the western part of this district.

4. There are two varieties—

(1) The ordinary hemp plant as it is found wild, known as the bhang plant.

(2) The cultivated variety, trom which genja is obtained, known as the " ganja " plant.

Whether the two plants are specifically different, or whether the differences between them are the result of the careful cultivation of the ganja plant, is a question on which I am not competent to give an opinion.

5. The hemp plant grows best on light sandy soil, on high ground with moderate, but not excessive, rainfall.

6. Usually dense.

7. (a) It is cultivated for the production of ganja in the Adamdighi and Nawabganj thanes of this district, and in the adjoining portions of the Bajshahi and Dinajpnr districts. The plant is not cultivated in this district for the purpose specified in (c) and (d).
(b) There is no regular cultivation of the plant in this district for use as bhang. The wild plant often grows spontaneously in the neighbourhood of houses, and such growth is sometimes protected and encouraged by householders for their own use, but there is no cultivation in the proper sense of the word.

8. The following figures show the area cultivated in this district only

Year           Area in bighas.
1888-89    439
1889-90    384
1890-91    443
1891-92    127
1892-93    566

These figures have been obtained from Naogaon; the variations are attributed tu the ordinary course of supply and demand.

9. The process of cultivation is described in the report of Bahn Hem Chander Ker. I can add nothing of importance to his description.

10. They do not form a special class ; they are Muhammadan cultivators in no way different to the bulk of the population of the district.

11. This is never done in this part of the country.
I cannot say whether it is ever done elsewhere. Only the seed of the cultivated ganja plant is used.

12. I have never heard of the cultivation of wild hemp for the production of ganja.

13. The cultivation is confined to the tract mentioned in the reply to question No. 7. The selection of this tract appears to have been fortuitous.
A light sandy loam is most suitable for the growth of ganja. A heavy clayey soil is unsuitable. I believe that abundance of soil suitable for ganja cultivation could be found in many districts where no ganja is at present grown.

14. (a) Ganja is prepared in the tract where the ganja plant is grown.
(b) Charas is not prepared in the plains of Bengal.
(c) Bhang is prepared by people for their own consumption from the leaves of the wild plant.

15. Ganja is prepared from the cultivated plant in the manner described in the report of 13abu Hem Chunder Ker. The ganja so prepared is used for smoking. I am informed that it is also occasionally used for eating ; but this is rare.

Bhang in this district is prepared by the consumers in their own homes from the leaves of the wild plant. I am informed that the leaves are boiled in milk and then dried, and subsequently pounded, and from the pounded leaves an emul:ion is made with milk and sugar. There are also other methods of preparing the drink, but I have not got accurate information about the details.

I am informed that ganja smokers sometimes smoke bliang leaves when they cannot get ganja, but this is exceptional.

16. Bhang is generally prepared by the consumers in their houses. In districts where bbang is sold the first stage of preparation of the leaves is carried out by the vendor, but the drink is always prepared by the consumers at home. In the plains of Bengal bhang can always be prepared from the hemp plant wherever found. Ganja and charm cannot be prepared from the wild plant.

17. There is no special class of men devoted to the preparation of these drugs here. Ganja is usually prepared either by the cultivators themselves with or without the assistance of hired labourers or by hired labourers employed by dealers who purchase the standing crop.

18. Ganja deteriorates by keeping. After two or three years it loses its effect completely. With ordinary care it will keep good for a year. Exposure to the atmosphere appears to be the cause of deterioration. It might perhaps be preserved longer if kept in air-tight cases, but I am not aware that the experiment has been tried.

19. Ganja is not used to any extent, except for smoking.. Bahn Fakir Chunder Chatterjee, Deputy Collector, informs me that in Behar many people put ganja in their mouths and suck it. And that in Lower Bengal some ganja smokers by way of bravado eat raw ganja, but these practices appear to be quite exceptional. Charas is only used for smoking. It is not used in this district.

20. The use of ganja is not confined to any particular class, but it is more common among the lower classes than among the upper. It is also more used by labourers, artisans, and menial servants than by the cultivating classes. Bairagies, sanyasis' and religious mendicants generally are specially addicted to the use of ganja. The up-country coolies who are continually passing through this district also use the drug. I have written these remarks with special reference to this district, but they would also apply to most districts in Bengal.

Charas is not used here.

21. In this district flat ganja is most commonly used. But the tastes of different districts vary. The consumers like the form of the drug that they are most accustomed to.

22. Charas is not used here, and in no district of which I have had experience is there any large consumption of charas.

23. I am informed that ganja smokers, when they cannot get ganja, sometimes, smoke bhang, but this is rare. No instance of this practice has come within my personal observation.

24. (a) Bhang itself is not eaten. Majum, a preparation made from bhang, is eaten in some parts of the province, but it is not apparently used in this district, and I have no accurate information as to the classes who use it.
(b) The use of bhang as a drink is not confined to any particular class. lt is more general among up-country men than among Bengalis. It is more common among Hindus than Muhammadans. Strict Muhammadans do not indulge in bhang.

25. The consumption of ganja which has paid duty shows a distinct tendency to decrease in this district, as will be seen from the following figures:—
Year                                      1888 1889 1890 1891 1892
Consumption in mannds      64     54      51     52      42

There is, however, undoubtedly a certain amount of smuggling ; and as this district includes a portion of the ganja growing tract, the vendors and consumers have greater opportunities for obtaining illicit ganja than they have elsewhere. It is, therefore, doubtful whether there has been any substantial decrease in consumption. It is impossible to obtain statistics regarding bbang, but I have no reason to suppose that the consumption is at the present time either increasing or decreasing to any notable extent, but 1 am informed that many years ago bhang was much more commonly used than at present.

26. It is very difficult to make even an approximate classification of this kind, because it is difficult to draw the line between moderation and excess, and also because it is impossible to obtain statistical information on the subject.

In the case of bhang, it may be said that of 100 drinkers 90 are cccasional consumers, 8 are habitual moderate consumers, and 2 are habitual excessive consumers.

Of the occasional consumers and the habitual moderate consumers, some no doubt occasionally exceed the limits of moderation, but I cannot even pretend to make any estimate of their number.

In the case of ganja I should say that of 100 ganja smokers 50 are habitual moderate consumers, 30 are habitual consumers who occasionally exceed the limits of moderation, 15 are habitual excessive consumers, 5 are occasional consumers.

In making this estimate I include as habitual consumers those who habitually consume the drug when they can get it, but are from want of means frequently compelled to forego it. I do not count as consumers those persons who have tried the drug once or twice, but who have never made a practice of consuming it either occasionally or habitually. Practically it may be said that all ganja smokers are habitual consumers so far as their means permit.

It must be understood that the figures which I have given above are mere estimates, and are not founded on any statistical information.

27. In the case of ganja, the habitual moderate consumers, and those who only occasionally exceed moderation, are mostly to be found among the labouring classes. They naturally feel a desire for some intoxicant after a day of hard work and exposure. Want of means, family ties, and regular occupation restrain them from habitual excess. Habitual excessive consumers are mostly to be found among religious mendicants and among the scum of the populace in towns and 'bazars who have no regular occupation or social ties to restrain them. The habitual consumption of ganja by religious mendicants is to be accounted for partly by custom and partly by the life of constant exposure which many of them lead.
In the case of bhang, cccasioral and habitual consumers are drawn from all classes.

28. (a) The habitual moderate ganja smoker consumes about ith tola, costing halt anna.
(b) The habitual excessive ganja smoker consumes about half tola, costing 2 annas.
(a) The habitual moderate bhang drinker uses half to one tola of dried leaves.
(b) The habitual excessive bhang drinker consumes 4 or 5 toles of dried leaves,.

As the wild bhang grows in this district and is not sold here, the cost to the consumer cannot be stated. I must add that the above figures can only be regarded as approximate. The quantity consumed by different individuals differs very much, and it is difficult to draw the line between moderate and excessive consumption.

29. Tobacco is ordinarily mixed with ganja. No other ingredient is ever used.

In preparing bhang, milk and sugar are ordinarily used, and rose water and other flavouring matters exceptionally. I am not aware that any intoxicating or injurious ingredient is ever used with bhang.

I have never heard of dhatura being voluntarily used with either bhang or ganja. I have heard of dhatura being mixed with ganja by professional poisoners for the purpose of drugging their victims.

I have not heard of any preparation such as " bhang massala" being sold.

30. Both bhang and ganja are ordinarily consumed in company, but confirmed ganja smokers also consume it in solitude. Prostitutes use these drugs, but otherwise the consumption is almost entirely confined to the male sex. It is not usual for children to consume these drugs.

31. The habit of drinking bhang is easily formed, and is also, I believe, easily broken off.

The habit of ganja-smoking is less easily formed, as the effects are, I believe, unpleasant to a novice. A confirmed ganja smoker would probably require some resolution and strength of mind to break off the habit so long as he had the means of getting ganja, but I am informed that the cessation of the habit does not cause any of the intense craving, uneasiness, and actual illness caused by the cessation of the opium habit. In the case of bhang there does not appear to be any strong tendency for the moderate habit to develop into the excessive. In the case of ganja, a great deal depends on the circumstances of the consumers. Men of fixed occupation, who get no opportunity or temptation to indulge till late at night, usually remain moderate consumers all their lives ; but in the ease of men of no fixed employment (especially religious mendicants), there is a marked tendency for the moderate habit to develop into the excessive.

32. It is a social custom among Hindus to drink bbang on the last day of the Duro.a Puja. The drink is offered to every guest and every member of the household. The use of the drug does not appear to be regarded as in any way essential; it is apparently merely a sign of hospitality. The consumption is usually moderate ; indeed, it is often a mere form. It is not likely to lead to the formation of the habit.

33. Among the upper classes the occasional use of bhang is tolerated, but the habitual or excessive use is considered disreputable. Among the upper classes the use of ganja is considered disreputable. Among the respectable cultivating classes (including in that term Hindus of higher castes and the ordinary Muhammadan cultivators of this part of the province), the use of ganja is rare, and such few ganja smokers as there are, are generally regarded as rather shady characters. But among the low caste Hindus and among the labouring classes generally the ganja smoker is not thought any worse than his fellows.
There is no custom of worshipping the hemp plant on any occasion. But ganja usually forms part of the offerings made at certain shrines of Siva.

34. It would undoubtedly cause discontent among habitual ganja smokers if they were deprived of their ganja, but I cannot say that it would be any serious privation to them.

35. It would be absolutely impossible to prevent the use of bhaug. Any attempt to do so would produce no effect, except the harassment of innocent people and the enrichment of underlings in the police and excise departments. The only way in which the use of ganja could be prevented would be by entirely cutting off the supply. It would be perfectly possible to put a stop to the cultivation of the ganja plant in this and the adjoining districts, and to prevent the cultivation of the plant on any considerable scale in this province. If, however, ganja continued to be produced elsewhere, it would certainly be smuggled into Bengal, and it would be impossible to prevent such smuggling. I have no information as to whether the production of ganja is or could be carried on on any considerable scale in Nepal or any other Native State; but the possibility of such production should be carefully considered before any measure of prohibition is resorted to. So long as illicit ganja could be obtained, the prohibition cf the producticn here would do more harm than good. The prohibition of cultivation would cause some loss to the cultivators, but would not deprive them of their means of livelihood, as they could grow other crops. The wholesale dealers would suffer more seriously, but their number is small.

Prohibition would cause considerable discontent among habitual consumers, but such discontent would not in Bengal amount to a political danger. I cannot speak for other provinces. I regard it as certain that, in event of effectual prohibition of the production of ganja, the majority of persons who now consume ganja would spend on other stimulants the whole of the money which they now spend on ganja. The up.country labouring classes and low caste men generally prefer spirits to ganja, and only resort to ganja because it is cheaper.

36. I do not find any evidence of any such change in this district.

37. I have no experience of the effects of charas smoking.

38. There is no difference in kind in the effects. In this district, where flat oanja is consumed, it is generally reputed that round ganja is stronger; but I do not believe that there is really any great difference in their effects between these two kinds, or between them and chur.

39. Drinking bhang is less injurious than smoking ganja.

I have seen many rnen who have ruined their constitution by excessive ganja smoking, but I have never myself come across any one who had suffered to any serious extent from drinking bbang.

40. Ganja and bhang are both made use of by kabirajes.

Bhang is frequently used in the treatment of cattle diseases.

41. (a) Both ganja and bbang are said to cause a temporary increase of appetite, but their use in this direction can hardly be said to be beneficial.

(b) Ganja undoubtedly has the effect of alleviating fatigue. Bhang also has, I believe, the same effect ; they are both reputed to give staying power under severe exertion.

It is a fact that a large proportion of ganja smokers are found among those classes of labourers (such as palki-bearers) whose work involves severe exertion, and these men often display remarkable staying power, but whether the gauja gives them the staying power I cannot say. Such men are generally habitual moderate consumers.

42. The occasional moderate use of bhang appears to be absolutely harmless. The habitual moderate use of bhang does not appear to cause any noticeable ill effect. The occasional use of ganja causes unpleasant effects at the time, and is therefore rare.
The habitual moderate use of genie does not appear to cause any noticeable injurious effects in men who lead an active life. 1 do not think that the use of ganja can be said to be entirely harmless under any circumstances.

43. I have never beard of any case in which a moderate consumer made himself actively offensive to his neighbours. Even moderate consumers are regarded with a certain amount of disgust by their more respectable neighbours, but they never tend to become violent, nor indeed do they interfere with their neighbours in any way.

44. Bbang consumed in moderation by an habitual consumer produces slight intoxication and hilarity ; it creates appetite for the time being. Its effects last for ten or twelve hours.

The effects of ganja are much more rapid. It produces immediate giddiness and intoxication. Its effects last four or five hours.
The after effects of both drugs are headache and giddiness, but with the habitual consumer the after effects of moderate indulgence are not noticeable.
In the case of ganja, the want of subsequent gratification produces some longing for the drug, but not nearly to the same extent as in the case of opium.

45. I am not aware that the use of bhang in moderation produces any noticeable noxious effect.

The habitual use of ganja even in moderation appears to have a tendency to impair the constitus tion, but in what precise way I cannot say. A good deal seems to depend on the habits and mode of life of the consumers. In the case of men who lead an active open air life, the moderate consumption does not appear as a rule to produce any perceptible effect, but such ganja smokers as I have met with among men leading sedentary lives have always been unhealthy-looking objects.

Ganja does tend to impair the moral sense and induce habits of laziness and debauchery, but in the case of moderate consumers, who lead an otherwise healthy and regular life, these effects do not as a rule become very marked.

Ganja probably tends to deaden the intellect, but I have never heard of any case in which the habitual and moderate consumption of the drug caused insanity. There may be such cases. I have met with many cases of insanity attributed to ganja smoking, but in such cases the subjects could not have been termed moderate consumers in any reasonable sense of the word. I have had no such case before me here, and have no notes of cases I have seen elsewhere, and therefore cannot give any precise details. There is one point which should be remembered, and that is that nearly all religious mendicants are ganja smokers. Many of them are men who have adopted this mode of life because they are not quite as sane as their fellows. Cases of insanity among these men should not be too readily attributed to ganja.

46. The habitual excessive use of ganja does impair the constitution and moral sense, and does cause insanity. A prolonged debauch causes an acute form of temporary madness, and long continued excessive use of the dripg causes general dulling of the4aculties and imbecility.

47 and 48. I have never heard of any such effect.

49. I have heard of such use, but have no accurate information on the subject.

51 and 52. Bad characters may roughly be divided into the following classes :—

1st.—Hereditary criminals, i.e., members of a criminal tribe or of a tribe or caste having strong criminal tendencies.—These men usually follow the custom of their tribe or caste in the matter of the consumption of these drugs. In some of these castes the habit of ganja smoking is common; others are addicted to bhang. Others are not addicted to either drug.

Their tendency to crime is the result of hereditary disposition and education, and is in no way connected with the consumption of these drugs.

2nd.—Men of low and disreputable origin, such as are common in towns, who, having no social ties, often become criminals.—Men of this class usually take to intoxicants in some form, and some of them become habitual ganja smokers, and when they do so they are prone to indulge in the habit to excess, but it cannot be said that the consumption of the drug has any special connection with crime.

It may be that some men of this class who might otherwise earn an honest livelihood are prevented from doing so by their partiality tor the drug, but in most cases I think men of this class are criminals first, and ganja smokers afterwards.

3rd.—Men who are to all outward appearance respectable members of society, who league themselves with criminals, and commit or abet crime for the purpose of gain.—Men of this class do not usually consume these drugs.

4th.—Individual members of respectable families, who have been outcasted or who have cast off social ties and taken to crime.—Such men are often ganja smokers, but they usually adopt the habit, after they have commenced to associate with criminals and disreputable characters. The habit is generally the effect and not the cause of their fall.

My experience is that the consumption of these drugs is not connected with crime in general or with any particular class of crime. Sometimes it may happen that habitual ganja smokers when hard up commit theft to supply their wants, but such cases are comparatively rare. I do not believe that the interdiction of ganja would appreciably diminish crime.

53. No. In the case of ganja the immediate effect is stupefying. There is none of that tendency to violence which is a characteristic of alcoholic intoxication. When, however, excessive indulgence causes actual mania, then violent conduct may be expected. I cannot, however, call to mind any particular case of homicidal frenzy, though I think I have heard of such cases.

54. I know of no authentic case of this. I remember one case in which a murderer was stated to have smoked ganja before committing the crime. There was, however, a woman in the case and the real facts were never ascertained.

55. Such cases do occur but they are not very common. Complete stupefaction can be caused by ganja alone. In eases of drugging by professional criminals, it is usual to find dhatura used.

56. Tobacco is commonly mixed with ganja ; it merely moderates the effect. I am not aware that other substances are mixed with ganja.
I have not heard of dhatura being mixed with ganja for personal consumption, but I have heard of it being used in the manner by professional poisoners. Dhatura is a powerful and dangerous narcotic poison. It produces complete stupefaction, which lasts for a considerable time. It often causes death.

57. I have heard of ganja being eaten, but the practice is rare. I have no information regarding the effects.

58. I consider that the present system works fairly well.

59. I do not advocate any radical change.

60. The defect of the existing system is that by a no means inconsiderable quantity of ganja escapes payment of duty. It is very difficult to form any estimate of the amount so smuggled, but the fact that, in spite of all difficulties in the way of detection, cases are from time to time detected in almost all parts of the province shows that the amount must. be considerable. I believe that this smuggling could be reduced within very small limits if ganja were made a Government monopoly. The cultivators would then have the certainty of selling their whole crop promptly and at reasonable rates, and this would remove the principal temptation which they have at present to dispose of their ganja to illicit dealers. I doubt whether any measure short of this would effectually check smuggling.

61. Charas is not produced here.

62. In no district in which I have served is the hemp plant cultivated to any appreciable extent for the production of bhang. The plant often grows spontaneously on high land in the neighbourhood of houses, and no doubt householders sometimes protect such plants and encourage their growth for their own use; but there is no profit to be made by cultivating the plant on a large scale for the simple reason that the wild plant is so abundant. Any attempt to prevent cultivation such as I have described would do more harm than good. It would be ineffectual, and would expose innocent men on whose homesteads a few plants might be found to tyranny and extortion. Under the existing law the cultivation of the plant for the production of bhang without a license is forbidden under section 5 of the Excise Act. I would keep this provision in order to retain the power of preventing cultivation on any considerable scale should such be attempted, but I would make no attempt to enforce the provision in cases of the casual cultivation of a few plants such as I have described above.

63. I have no objection to the present system.

64. No.

65. I have no alteration to suggest.

66. It is necessary that there should be different rates for the different kinds of ganja for the reason that the different kinds as sold wholesale contain different proportions of the drug actually consumed.
Flat ganja contains a considerable proportion of useless wood.
Round ganja contains less wood, and chur less still.

67. No.

68. There are in this district licensed shops for the sale of genie. There is no prohibition of consumption on the premises, but the drug is not as a matter of fact usually consumed on the premises. The consumers merely. purchase what they require, and take it away with them.

69. No special measures are taken to ascertain the wishes of the people, nor is there any necessity for such measures, as the consumers are the only people who have any wishes about the matter. I have never heard of a ganja shop becoming in any way a nuisance to any neighbourhood.

70. I have no information regarding smuggling from Native States. In the case of g,anja, there is no doubt that an appreciable quantity of the drug does escape duty. I doubt whether this smuggling could be materially diminished by any measure short of establishing a Government monopoly. In the case of bhang the greater part of the consumption is untaxed, and I see no practicable means of enforcing the payment of duty on this drug.

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