Drug Abuse

8. Evidence of MR. H G. COOKE, Officiating Commissioner, Orissa Division.

1. Nineteen years' actual residence in which I have served in 21 districts in Lower Bengal.

2. Yes.

3. I believe in all districts of Bengal, Behar and Orissa.

4. My impression is that it is invariably called ganja in Bengal. Bhang may occur in Behar; but even there, so far as I can recollect, the word ganja is preferred.

5. I know of no conditions necessary to its growth, as it seems to grow throughout the province.

6. Scattered.

7. In the Province of Bengal, there is, of course, the Government factory in the Bajshahi District for purposes (a), (b), and (c). I know nothing of (d).
In Orissa, in that portion of the province that is called the Tributary Mahe,ls, there is no check on the cultivation of ganja, and it doubtless goes on extensively throughout the States.

8. I am aware of none. Owing to the States enjoying an almost independent existence, it is impossible to obtain reliable statistics.

9. I have no personal experience of ganja cultivation, nor have I seen cultivated ganja anywhere in Benaal. Wherever the plant is found it is alleged to be wild, and, I believe,tgenerally is so. No experience in the Tributary States.

10. Ordinary cultivators.

11. I can't say.

12. I should suppose that that is precisely what is done in the Tributary States of Orissa.

I can't say if the male plant is extirpated there. In Bengal, Behar and Orissa, unlicensed cultivation is punishable.

13. (a) Of L (Arse in Bengal it is entirely pro- hibited, except under Government supervision in Itajshabi.
(b). I think not.

14. All under Government supervision in the Rajshabi District.
(a) and (c) Also in the Tributary States of Orissa.

15. I know nothing of the methods of preparation. Ganja is smoked. Siddhi is drunk and sometimes smoked. Charas is smoked.
The ganja that I have seen exposed for sale in the Tributary State of Dhenkanal, appeared to be sun dried.

16. Yes. This is probably the case in Bengal, Behar and Orissa, where its preparation is illegal ; but in the Tributary Nahals it is : I have seen it exposed for sale in the bazar.

So far as I know, bhang can be produced from the wild plant; also ganja and charm.

17. I can't say : I have no experience of the ganja-producing area.

18. Undoubtedly all deteriorate, and I believe lose their effect in about one year. I believe damp is the chief cause of deterioration ; brit under the most favourable circumstances, it deteriorates by lapse of time. A dry well ventilated store-room is believed to be most favourable for its preservation.

19. I know of no other use.

20. In Bengal a very small proportion of the population take ganja, and churls is even less in uses

It is not confined to any class or locality.

21. I have found rouni ganja is generally preferred ; so far as I can recollect, it is almost exclusively used in the prosperous district of Hughli.

22. Excised churns is used in Bengal. I hay,: never heard of charas other than exci-e charas being used; even in Orissa the drug produced in the Tributary States is not, so far as I am aware, smuggled into Orissa in ,his form.        36. I see no such reason.

23. I have never heard of such a case; but it is alleged to be so in the Excise Manual.        37. I can't say.

24. The priests of the temple of Jagannath at Puri, and the worshippers, when they visit the shrine, are addicted to the use of bhang.        38. I believe not; the only difference, so far as I am aware, is that these are each more or less mixed with fibre which, while increasing bulk, does not affect potency.

25. There has been no marked increase or decrease in Orissa; exciseable ganja has been less consumed in Orissa since the restriction on its cultivation in the Gurjat States has been withdrawn; but Gnrjat ganja doubtless accounts for this.        39. I have never heard so. I have always understood that smoking is the most injurious mode of taking the drug.

26. I am unable to form an estimate.

27. All classes. I find it impossible to say what leads to such a practice : religion is undoubtedly a factor.

28. I do not know.

29. Ordinarily tobacco, ghi, or milk, and sugar in the ease of maj urn and ganja. I have never heard of dhatura being added.  (b) I have heard of ganja being so used.

The other ingredients are added to form a confection, add flavour, and increase its strength. I have never heard of bhang massala being sold.        (c) I don't know.

30. In solitude and in company. All drugs are used mainly by the male sex, and chiefly by the middle-aged and old. I believe it to be unknown for children to take any form of the drug.

31. With regard to the use of all forms of the drug, it is believed to be difficult to break off the habit, and there is a tendency for its use to become excessive.

32. I do not know precisely the customs, beyond that Snivite devotees and the priests of Jagannath use ganja and bliaiig respectively on religious grounds, and that one or the other is consumed by the laity at certain religious festivals, e. g., Bejoy Dasami. The use of the drugs cannot, I think, in , this connection be said to be generally excessive; it doubtless would conduce to the formation of the habit in some cases.

33. The habit of taking any of these drugs in excess is regarded with disfavour. I do not think that the feeling extends to their moderate use ; it is true the word "ganjari" is opprobrious as applied to an individual, but, 1 believe, in the same sense that drunkard or sot is similarly applied to those who exceed in strong drink, and is inapplicable to moderate consumers of alcohol. I attribute the sentiment to the evil results of the habit which affects body, mind and morals-wrecking the body, stupefying the mind, and depriving a man of all scruples in obtaining the wherewithal to procure the intoxicant.

34. Undoubtedly. I have no reason beyond the experience of mankind with regard to a favorite indulgence, say in tobacco and alcohol : the cases are precisely similar.

35. (a) Certainly not.

(b) Undoubtedly.

(c) It could not be enforced.

(d) Most serious discontent.

(e) Nothing amounts to a political danger among the inoffensive people of bower-Bengal; it might be otheiwise in other provinces.

(f) This would not be necessary. The ganja would be procured.

36 I see no such reason

37 I can't say

38 I believe not the only diffrence so far as I am aware, is that these are each more or less mixed with fibre which, while increasing bulk, does not effect potency.

39 I have never heard so. I have always understood that smking is the most injurious mode of taking the drug.

40. I can't say beyond that hemp is said to be used by hakims as an aphrodisiac.

I am infomed that siddhi enters into a variety of medical prescriptions which are esteemed as valuable.

41.(a) I don't know.

(b) I have heard of ganja being so used

(c) I dont know

Palki-bearers thus use ganja moderately and habitudly for purpose (b).

42. The effects of the moderate use of any or all of these drugs cannot be very bad, or more cases would come to light of their evil results. In the course of my service in India I do not think that I have seen half-a-dozen cases of the degrading results of these drugs. The few cases Ihave seen were doubtless cases of excessive use.

43. I believe entirely so.

44. I cannot speak from personal knowledge on any of these points.

45. I have no reason to think so.

46. I have seen a few instances of individuals besotted with what was called ganja, though it might have been any other form of hemp. My observation did not extend to all the points raised. I can only speak to physical appearances : a sleepy lack-lustre eye, black lips, a pale and unwholesome complexion, and a general appearance of dirt and neglect.

47 and 48. I have no reason to think so.

49. (a) I have heard so.
(b) I have not heard of its use, by prostitutes.

51. I have no reason to think so.

52. It is alleged that devotion to this habit leads men to steal in order to gratify the propensity. I do not think that it can be alleged that their excessive use can be associated with other forms of crime, except those of violence.

53. Undoubtedly. I believe I am right in saying that lunatic asylums are full of such cases.

54. It is not improbable that they may be used by rioters before a riot ; but it would not be easy to prove this.

55. I have never met with a case of the kind.

56 and 57. I have no experience on these points.

58. It is working well, but for the smuggling from the Gurjat States.

59. I do not think that the above defect can be removed, except by greatly strengthening the preventive force.

60 and 61. I have no experience of the details of the Government control over the production of the excisable article.

I do not believe it possible to prevent the production of the hemp plant either wild or otherwise.

62. lt is already controlled, as far as possible, in Bengal, Behar and Orissa, though I doubt whether the control is effectual.
In the Gurjats it is uncontrolled, and could not be controlled.

63. I have no objection.

64. None.

65. I believe it to be reasonable.

66. Undoubtedly each class of ganja contains a different proportion of intoxicating properties as compared with its bulk.
Whether Gurjat ganja should be taxed as at present less than Rajshahi appears questionable ; but the evidence on the subject is conflicting.

67. None.

68. None in Orissa so far as I am aware.

69. Such are the orders of Government, and I believe that they are obeyed. Excise Officers make local inquiries. I think local opinion should be considered in these matters.

70. The smuggling of ganja from the Tributary Mahals is now under consideration of Government. I believe that it is impracticable to prevent its cultivation owing to the nature of the country, and there are political obstacles to this being done. All that the British Government can do is to prevent its import.

Should any policy of suppressing the use of the hemp drug be adopted, the Tributary States of Orissa will always afford facilities for smuggling, which will, I think, he beyond the power of the British Government to check.

Oral evidence.

Question 1.-1 have been Commissioner of Cuttack and Superintendent, Tributary Mahals, since November 1892.

In the Tributary States the relations between them and the Government are contained in treaties, but are somewhat undefined. All are practically alike. There are no such differences, as I have ever found, to affect any question of administration. Measures thought advisable to be carried out are carried out under my advice. In criminal matters we have specific executive orders as to the powers of the Chief. In regard to opium the States have to get their opium from us, and this puts them in our hands in this matter. I know of no orders on the subject. Opium is not grown, and the question has never arisen. If it did, it would be referred to Government. In regard to spirits, we do not allow any State to open any shop within three miles of the border. This is the only order. But we advise them as to their excise administration. In general matters the States profes.s to follow our advice ; but in some cases they do not fully comply, as in the matter of realising fines in criminal cases. In States under management during minorities, my powers are only limited (1) by the consideration that these arrangements are temporary, and (2) by the orders of Govérnment.

I tour in these States regularly. The orders are that the Superintewlent shall spend at least two and-a-half months a year in the Tributary Mahals. My remark in answer No. 9, regarding want of experience, refers simply to cultivation. At the time I wrote, I had seen nothing of cultivation. I have seen much more of it since.

Question 19.—I am under the impression that siddhi is used for drinking and ganja for smoking. I have seen in correspondence that heads of ganja are sometimes put in the drinking mixture, but I have no knowledge of this at first hand. I have never seen it.

Question 53.—My answer here is based on what I was told at Dacca. I used to visit the Asylum there, and was informed that ganja led to insanity, and that these lunatics committed crimes of this kind. I do not know of any cases of sane persons being incited by ganja to unpremeditated crime.
Question 62.—In the first part of this answer I mean that there is control over cultivation. Cultivation is prohibited. I have, I remember, acquitted men on the ground that the plant was wild, and I believe that the law is simply that cultivation alone is prohibited. I do not think the prohibition can be effective in view of the enormous area under control. I have (I am quite certain) convicted men for cultivating the plant, though I have never myself seen it cultivated in Bengal.- It was always a question as to whether the plant was wild. I could not distinguish between the wild and cultivated plant. I would take evidence as to the circumstances and also the evidence of experienced persons. I am unaware of any Circular having been issued by the Excise Commissioner regarding the extirpation of the wild plant. I may have been at home at the time.

In my answer No. 9, I have said that I have no experience of cultivation in the Tributary States. This was written in October last. I started on tour in November. I have since seen fourteen out of the seventeen States. I think that the plant does not exist except in the bans. It certainly is not cultivated in fields. I feel sure that it does not exist except in bans (enclosures). I should have seen it if it did. My view is confirmed by that of men like Mr. Wylly who spent years in the States not touring through them, but residing in them. He says : "There may be some wild growth of grinja ; but it must be of a very limited nature, as in all my wanderings I have seen none such, though I have looked for it and asked to be shown it." The Raja of Boad says: "It is rarely found in a wild state." The Manager of Barambha says : "It is never found in a wild state." This is quite in accordance with my experience and opinion. As to the extent of the ban i cultivation, I cannot give accurate information as to the amount of supply available. The ganja I saw in the market (answers 15 and 16) was undoubtedly grown in bads. I do not think it is often sold in the markets, because it is grown in the &via, and the people use their own stuff.

There is clearly a margin over and above what the people who grow it use themselves. I have seen it once exposed for sale in Dhenkanal, and it is probably exposed for sale elsewhere. This surplus is available for smuggling. It is smuggled, though I believe more is made of this sometimes than the facts warrant. I have shewn in my answer No. 25 that Gurjat ganja accounts for falling-off in consumption of excise ganja. I have before me the following paragraphs from my predecessor, Mr. Metcalfe's letter No. 204E., dated 9th June 1887:—

' It is perhaps useless to attempt to estimate the amount of ganja actually smuggled, as the data for such estimate are inadequate ; yet I may note that the activity of the police and excise staff has mused an increase in consumption of 11 maunds of licit ganja within the past six months; and as this increase has been obtained by simply checking the casual smuggling by pilgrims, it may safely be assumed that, were all smuggling put a stop to, at least 50 maunds of licit ganja would be required to take the place of the ganja now smuggled.

"From the last Excise Administration Report I find that the average consumption of ganja in this district for 1880-1885 was 122 maunds, of which 25 maunds were Gurjati. The stoppage of sale of Gurjati ganja led to a falling-off coresponding to this 25 maunds as in 1885-86; only 105 maunds of licit ganja was consumed, and it may safely be said that the result of the stoppage of the sale was simply to cause an increase in smuggling of 25 mau nds a year, and the smuggling trade must be an extensive one if it could increase so as to meet one-fourth of the annual consumption in the course of one year."

I cannot say that Mr. Metcalfe's is an exaggerated estimate; but I cannot see now where so much illicit ganja comes from. I am not able to say how much ganja is grown in the States. I have myself not seen much of it. I should be inclined to accept the opinion of Narayan Chandra Naik as to the extent of the cultivation there at present. He has much experience of these States. He was examined before the Commission yesterday (witness No. 73).

Cultivation of ganja within three miles of our border was prohibited in 1878, and importation of Gurjat ganja in 1882. The former order was withdrawn in 1889, and the latter in 1892. In 1882 there was a jump of thirty maunds in the Cutialk District in the consumption of excise ganja, and there was a marked decrease in 1891- 92. The alterations in duty, which occurred meantime (especially in 1887-88 and 1889-90), have to be borne in mind ; but the figures undoubtedly point to the extensive use of Gurjat ganja. The districts of Puri and Balasore are said not to be affected by the Gurjat ganja so much as Cuttack. Balasore people are said to prefer Rajshahi ganja. I cannot explain the figures for Puri, which seem to indicate that it is also not affected by Gurjat ganja. I know nothing personally regarding the smuggling into Puri from Madras ; but I know there has been much correspondence reeardino. it.

The smuggling of Gurjat ganja, which is known to exist, certainly requires a remedy. I have considered the matter carefully. I do not think we can expect the States to provide a preventive service. We must do it on our side; nor da I think the Rajas have the establishment or energy to prevent smuggling. I therefore said in my answer No. 59 that the only remedy was to strengthen greatly the preventive force. But, as I have shown in my answer No. 70, this does not appear to me to be a perfectly efficient method. You may do something, but 1 do not see how over such a border you can hope to succeed I see no efficient method, except as was done before, going to the fountain-head and getting the Rajas enlisted in our system.

There was a proposal to have a licensing of cultivation in the States by the Rajas and admission of the ganja into British territory as excise ganja under regulations similar to those regarding Rajshahi ganja. I do not think this would succeed. For the success of the plan would depend on the efficiency of the Raja's arrangements.

The third method is to call on the Rajas to prohibit growth, and get them to take their ganja supplies from Government. I was not aware that this has been done in the Feudatory States of the Central Provinces, and that these States are now carrying out this system. I see no difficulty in this proposal except the difficulty of preventing the order of the Raja, or his promise to issue the order, remaining a dead-letter. If the Rajas themselves agree, there is, of course, no objection whatever to the consumer in their States being taxed as consumers are in our territory. But it would have to be considered how far it would be wise politically to tax the excitable tribes, such as K bonds, Bhunyas, and Santhals. I cannot say how far these tribes use the drug. I have not had opportunity of inquiring. In Mohurbhunj, where the prohibition was carried out and excise ganja used, there are many Santhals. This would indicate that there was no difficulty with them. None of the other States that agreed are remarkable for these aboriginal tribes ; but they all have them to some degree.

At present the Rajas derive no income from ganja, and there would be no difficulty in this respect. I am prepared to say that I hupe " they would be guided very much by our advice ;" but * Vide his letter No. 1196, am bound to say that Mr. dated 22nd July 1886. Metcalfe's* pos.ition was stronger than ours is now, since the formal ruling that these States are not British India. I think they would be guided by our advice, but the character of one Chief differs much frpm another's. I observe, also, that the history of the matter, as vide bis letter No. 414, shown in Mr. Hophins't dated the ist April 1889. letter, shows the complete willingness of seven chiefs to meet the wishes of Government. There were also four minors at the time. Of the remaining four I am of opinion that the objections (except, perhaps, in the ease of Keonjbar) are not on fide. They amounted to a polite evasion of dictation. I think that if the measure were adopted tor the majority of States, dissentients might give way in time.

In regard to securing the co-operation of the Chiefs, I see no necessity whatever for any compensation in a lump sum. There is nothing for which we have to compensate them, and we should get nothing in return. But I am strongly in favour of giving the Rajas the gaiaja at cost price, and letting them receive all the duty. This would make their interest in the matter coincident with ours.

I am aware that the Government of Bengal, in Sir Steuart Bayley's time, abandoned this scheme on the ground that the Gurjat ganja was less deleterious than the Rajshabi drug. This has apparently been admitted to be a mistake of fact. And the action taken is undoubtedly to be regretted. The States had for the most part agreed, and the system had been practically introduced. I am in favour of the system. I am in favour of it mainly from the point of view of our excise. I see no cogent argument in favour of it from the interests of the Gurjat States, as they do not seem to have suffered from their drugs so far as I know. But from the point of view of our excise, and from the point of view of the evils attending the illicit traffic, I am clearly in favour of the system proposed. I think that the system would tend also to reduce and restrict the consumption of the drug in the Tributary Mahals.

There would be difficulty in carrying out the measure. The Rajas might have difficulty in enforcing it. In a paternal Government an order goes a long way. We have seen this in the effect of the three-mile order. I believe, therefore, that there would be great effect, but not a rigid system at once. I believe a persistent policy would soon effect all that is desired. I believe it would be much better to have a persistent policy than a policy of vacillation, as in the past, which is perhaps inseparable from a struggle against smuggling.

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