Drug Abuse

BOMBAY MEMORANDUM..

The system of administration in force in the Bombay Presidency in respect of intoxicating drugs is practically uniform in the mofussil and the town and island of Bombay, but as there are some minor points of detail as to management in the latter, which it is well should be set forth, I append the clear and succinct report of the Collector of Land Revenue, Customs and Opium to explain those.

2. The chief points on which information is required by the Commission are mentioned—

(a) in the Note attached to the letter from the Secretary, Hemp Drugs Commission, No. 29, dated 11th August 1893—vide Government Resolution in the Revenue Department, No. 6123, dated 23rd idem ; and

(b) in the series of questions appended to the letter from the Secretary, No. 34, dated 12th August 1893, furnished with Government Resolution in the Revenue Department, No. 6161, dated 24th idem.

The questions in Chapters I, III, and V are in great measure amplifications of the points noted for report under head (a). Those in Chapter VI will presumably be considered and answered by medical and police experts, while those in Chapter VII relate to the administration, taxation, and control of intoxiceting drugs.

3. With reference to the points mentioned in the Note, the first thing necessary, as mentioned in Chapter I, is to distinguish between ganja, bheng, and chums. In the nrfussil districts of this presidency there is so little cultivation of the hemp plant, and,• comparatively speaking, so small a consumption of the intoxicating drugs prepared therefrom, that but slight attention has been given to the difference between the three As stated, however, in paragraph 65 of the Abkari Administration Report for 1879-80, ‘. ganja is the flower of die hemp plant and bhang the dried leaves of the same plant," while " charas is the juice." What is recognizea as " bhang " in some of the districts consists of the leaves reduced to powder. Charas is practically unknown and unused in the mofussil, and but sparsely in Bombay town. As a rule, therefore, ganja, bhang, and 'preparations therefrom have heretofore been treated, so far as revenue licenses for import, export, &c., and consumption are concerned, as one and the same thing for statistical purposes. One of the fullest and most interesting reports which I have received is that of Rao Bahadur Rudragauda C. Artal, District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, extracts paragraphs 2-14 of which are appended. It gives a clear account—

(a) of the cultivation of the plant,

(b) of the various preparations made from ganja.

(c) of the purposes for which they are used and the classes of people who use them ;

and it forms a valuable contribution to the literature of a subject concerning which but little has hitherto been ascertained in this presidency.

4. Before further discussing the various matters touched upon, I must express regret that it is impossible to obtain the statistics required by the Commission for a period of twenty years-

1st, because the administration of this particular branch of revenue has been under control for only thirteen years,

2nd, because statistics of the kind required have not heretofore been prescribed, and,

3rd, because many of the papers which would have given information have, under standing orders, not been preserved, and during th a term of years from 1880 there have been many different farmers in the various districts whose accounts have passed away with their terms of office. Such statistics as are aveilable are supplied in separate tables, but, for the reasons given above, they are not so full or so accurate as is desirable. The plain fact is that in this presidency ganja and the preparations made therefrom have not attracted very much attention either as a source of revenue, or, owing to the comparatively small consumption, as a cause of crime, or as affecting materially the moral or physical well-being of any but a very small proportion of the community.

5. The system of administration is uniform for the whole presidency, the Commissioner of Alikari is the central controlling authority, while in each district it is administered by the Collector and his subordinates in the Revenue and Abkari Departments under the provisions of the Abkari Act, V of 1878, and the rules published in accordance with eections 27 and 30 thereof under Government Notification in the Revenue Department, No. 4421, dated 23rd August 1880. That notification with the forms attached of which a copy is appended, gives in a complete and intelligible form the whole *ijxtetra of the administration of revenue from intoxicating drugs. It supplies almost completely answers to points ta) and (c) to (f) in the Note, and such further information as 1 can give will be supplementary and on matters of detail.

6. Regarding point (b) the information I have received from the various Collectors shows that wild hemp is not found anywhere in the presidency ; as a consequence it is not used for the preparation of bhang or other narcotics, and it is therefore unnecessary to control the possession or sale of such drug.

7. Point (c).—The cultivation of hemp is not prohibited by law in any district, though in such districts as produce it there is a certain restriction in that the cultivator has to obtain a permit, for which, however, no fee is required to enable him n to dispose of his produce. His cultivation is noted and watched by the village officers, and he cannot dispose of his crop without obtaining the necessary permit. Form B.—The dish icts in which hemp is grown are Khandesh, Ahmednagar, Satara, Poona, Nasik, and Sholapur in the Deccan, Bijapur in the Southern Maratha Country, and Broach and Surat in Guj trat. The cultivation, however, is on a very limited scale, as will be seen from the following table, which shows the average area under cultivation for past years so far as figures are available:—

The information under this head can be regarded only as approtimately accurate, as papers relating to cultivation have not been uniformly preserved, and in several instances, e.g., •atara, the term of thirteen years is broken by an interval of five, previous to 1890-91. From ganja being cultivated almost entirely in districts where the rainfall is from moderate to scanty, it may be inferred that in those where the fall is heavy, such as the Konkan and Kanara, conditions for its growth are unfavourable.

8. Point (c).—The only importers of ganja, and other hemp drugs are the licensed retail vendors, i.e., the farmers or contractors for each district or in a few cases each taluka or shop; the arrangements for import, transport, and export are stated in paragraph 3 of the notification mentioned above, and this information may be supplemented by stating that a permit has to be obtained from the Collector, Assistant Collector, or Mainlatdar, according as the drug is to be imported from outside the district, taken from one taluka to another, or from one village to another in the same taluka. When the bhang or ganja arrives it is compared with the pass by the Mamlatdar in the first two cases and by the patil in the third. The retail vendor may store the drug in his own store-room, but the Mamlatdar and Abkari officers go from time to time, and compare the quantities in store with the accounts.

9. Point (e).—The nature of the control exercised over wholesale vendors, i.e., the cultivators of hemp, and retail vendors i.e., the contractors and their servants, and the system of licensing them have been explained above, and are further shown in the Government notification mentioned in my 5th paragraph.

10. So, too, as regards point (f). The direct tax is the levy of duty on import, transport, and export, the rates of which are specified in the notification aforesaid, viz., Rs. 5 for amounts not exceeding 10 Indian maunds ; Re. 1 for every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof. The indirect tax is the sum paid by the contractor for the right to sell the drug, and that of course varies according to the sums bid in each district. No tax is levied from the wholesale vendors, the cultivators of the plant, and without legislation prohibiting the growth of the plant, I do not think that any tax could be levied, inasmuch as they pay the revenue assessment on their lands. As regards evasion by the farmers or retail sellers, they cannot possibly evade the indirect tax, because until they pay two instalments of the amounts they have bid, they cannot start their business, and if they were to fail in any of their instalments, their licenses to sell would be withdrawn. As to the direct tax, it is equally difficult for them to evade that, seeing the bulky nature of the article, the necessity for getting passes, and the series of examinations to which the consignments and the passes are subject. They have also to keep accounts, which are examined and compared with their stocks from time to time by various Government officers.

11. With reference to point (g), I may say that the retail shops are usually fixed by the Collector of the district with regard to the area and population of the locality and the demand for the drug, and it will be gathered from what has been said above that the farm for the whole district being as a rule disposed of to a single vendor, the single shops are not sold by auction. In a few districts, howel er, the practice has been to sell single shops by auction, an upset price being fixed, but that practice has been stopped, and for the future the farm for the whole district will be sold to a single contractor. There is no fixed rule as to "local option." In some districts it is attended to carefully, in others the Collector uses his discretion according to the information be possesses as to the demand, but in all, any representation by the inhabitants for or against the establishment of a shop would have full consideration. Such representations, however, have seldom been made.

12. Point (h).—No rate is fixed for the sale of the drug by the wholesale to the retail vendors. That is matter of arrangement between the cultivator who sells his crop and the contractor who buys it. This may perhaps be a suitable place to describe the process of cultivation and manufacture of the plant, and in describing what takes place in Nasik, it will be seen on reading the report of Mr. R. C. Artal, mentioned in paragraph 3 above, that it closely corresponds to the description given thereof in a district so far removed from it as Bijapur. The seed is sown in July or August in black soil land, which is manured. Before sowing the land is ploughed once and harrowed, and during growth the plants are watered and weeded three or four times. Some plants, which apparently are males, seed when they are about a foot high. These have at once to be pulled up, or the whole crop would be rendered useless. Experts are required to distinguish between the male and female plants. The crop is ripe in November-December, and the leaves and flowers are then cut and placed by women on clean threshing floors, where, for 4 or 5 days in succession, they are carefully trodden flat by men, women not being strong or heavy enough for the work, after which process they are packed and ready for sale by the cultivator to the retail vendor. It is very difficult to say accurately what is the average retail price for consumers, as it varies considerably in the different districts, and even in talukas of the same district according to the supply of and demand for the drug. But the following statement compiled from the reports I have received gives such information as is available :--

From the above it will be observed that local ganja varies from Re. 0-3-0 to Rs. 2-8-0 per lb., that bhang is consideral ly cheaper, but that in I( handesh local ganja runs as high as Rs. 2-8-0 per lb., the same price as bhang imported from Ujjain, and that even the locally made bhang is dearer there than ganja in most other districts.

13. Point (i).—The maximum quantity fixed for retail sale to and possession by one person, consumer, is 40 toles, throughout the province, and no minimum price is fixed for the drug. That is a matter which is left to the natural law of supply and demand, and few complaints have.been made regarding excessive prices. Such complaints have not infrequently been made about the price of country spirit and toddy, and the absence thereof with reference to hemp-drugs indicates not only that there is no dissatisfaction on this score, but that there is, as a rule, so small a demand for these drugs that the general public are indifferent in the matter.

14 Point (j).—The reports I have received from all districts are unanimous in saying that'smuggling of these drugs is to all intents and purposes unknown. Illicit cultivation, sale, and possession may also be said not to exit. There is no reason why there should be illicit cultivation, and the crop itself is not a popular one with the cultivator as is shown by the areas under cultivation. The Collector of Khandesh reports that the area so cropped is declining and the reason is not far to seek. As the Collector of Surat puts it--" now that the sale and transport have been brought under control, only wholesale sale is albwed, and that to the licensed farmers. As ganja and bliang soon deteriorate if kept, the result is that no one grows the plant unless he has a previous contract with a purchaser. The area under the plant is confined to two or three villages, and does not extend to more than 15 to 20 acres. It is said to have been much diminished since the arrangements of 1880." The general measures taken to prevent smuggling and illicit cultivation have been indicated in previous paragraphs, i.e., the growing crops are known and watched ; the cultivator cannot sell his crop save under permit and to specified persons; the Revenue, Abkari, and Police officers are entitled to examine consignments and passes for import, transport, and export ;- the article itself is so comparatively bulky that it could not easily escape detection by one or other of the establishments ; and finally there is no such great demand for it, or so heavy duty imposed thereon, as to induce people to run the risk of detection in illicit practices.

15. Point (1).-1 am not aware of any modifications of the present system in respect to hemp-drugs being under consideration. I cannot see that any are urgently called for. The total revenue is small, mainly because the demand for these drugs is small, and it is easily eollected. No hardship is caused either to the wholesale seller, the cultivator of the crop, the retail seller, or the consumer. No hindrance is put in the way of legitimately supplying what is an undoubted want of certain classes, no encouragement is given for excessive production, and no inducement is held out to smugglers or others to indulge in illicit practices to meet the demand for the drug. So far as this presidency is concerned, the system which was devised 13 years ago has been successful in every way as I have endeavoured to show above.

As to Potnt (1) I have in the previous paragraphs shown the extent of cultivation, and in some measure the sources of retail supply. The latter I may recapitulate as (a) the crop grown in the districts mentioned in paragraph 7 so far as it is available, and (6) the imports from the Central Provitices, small quantities from Palanpur and from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur in Northern India. The other details called for, so far as I am able to give them, will be found in the appended statement (5), under which I have entered explanatory remarks to prevent misconception of certain of the figures.

17. Turning now to the list of questions under head (L) of my 2nd paragraph, I may note that I have answered many of them in the course of this paper, and I propose therefore to refer briefly to a few only of those in Chapter V and those in Chapter VII.

Questions 23-28.-1 do not gather from the information before me that bliang is smoked either in the mofussil or in Bombay City, and it appears to me, with deference, that the replies to Questions 24, 26, 28 must in the absence of a careful census be conjectural and untrustworthy. This applies also in great measure to Question 25, and although the figures of revenue from intoxicating drugs may show an apparent increase, they have to be taken with caution, as the census of 1891 shows a considerable increase of population from 1881 and the percentage of ganja consumers as ascertained from the revenue is a very doubtful factor on which to base increase or decrease. The answer to Question 31 is also purely a matter of opinion, and personal experience, either of • drug consumers themselves or of those closely associated with them is necessary to answer it.

Question 32.—An interesting and curious religious custom prevails in part of Gujarat Baira, and probably Ahmedabad, where there are many Nagar Brahmans, which is thus described by Mr. B. E. Modi, the Distdct Deputy Collector of Kaira : "On the Shivaratri day (the last day but one of the month of Mahe), sacred to the god Mahadev or Shankar, bhang water is freely poured over the 'ling-am.' Mahadev is an ascetic, and is fond of bhang, and on this day it is considered a religious duty to offer him his favourite drink. From this
day until the 11th day of Ashad, on which day gods go to sleep, water is kept constantly dripping upon the Ungarn' of Mahadev from an earthen pot kept over it." Mr. Campbell, in paragraph 9 of his report, also alludes to the special consumption of bhang at the Shivaratri festival. The information that I have received from all districts in the presidency shows that moderate consumption of bbang mixed with water, milk, sugar, and spices into a cooling drink during the bot weather is a common practice amongst the fairly well-to-do classes, both of Hindus and Musalmans, and that (Question 33) it is not regarded as otherwise than respectable, it being a not unusual form of refreshment to offer to guests.

Questions 34-36.-1 have every reason to believe that it would be a serious privation to consumers to forego the use of the drug to which they are accustomed. Mr. Campbell has referred to this in his report, and he is confirmed by every Collector who has written on the subject. Ascetics, both Hindu and Musalman, are amongst the chief consumers ; they have considerable influence amongst large bodies of the lower classes, who on visiting them from time to time themselves partake either of ganja or bhang without, so far as I can gather, suffering injury therefrom. If the ascetics were deprived of what they rt gard as a solace from many of the ills that flesh is heir to, they would scarcely refrain from expressing their sentiments very freely, and impressing their own opinions on their visitors. lt would of course be possible to forbid and prevent in great measure the use of any of the drugs, but
I have no doubt whatever that serious discontent, which might easily amount to political danger, would be caused by such prohibition, and by interference with the customs of men who are universally regarded, by the uneducated classes at least as specially holy. It is not improbable that prohibition of the use of these drugs would stimulate the consumption of alcohol and opium, although I do not think there is any cause to believe that alcohol is taking their place at present. There is no reason why it should.

18. With regard to the questions in Chapter VII, I have already said above in paragraph 15 that I consider the present system to be working well, and have given reasons for that opinion. It may be capable of improvement, but I am unable to offer any suggestions in that direction either as regards the cultivatipn and preparation of the hemp plant, its control of tbe Tresent system of wholesale and retail vend, export, transport, import, or taxation. Nor does it seem to me necessary that there should be different rates of taxation for different kinds of ganja. The whole trade is too trivial to bear minute detailed taxation, so far as this presidency is concerned. Such taxation would cause harassing interference and vexation, and would result in no corresponding benefit either to the public or to the Government revenues.. There are not, so far as t can ascertain, houses or shops licensed in this presidency for the sale of these drugs or their preparations, where they may be consumed on the premises, and in my opinion the grant of such licenses would be most objectionable.

T. D. MACKENZIE, commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and .fikari.

Extract paragraphs 2 to 14 from the letter No. 562, dated 301h August 1893, from the District Deputy Collector of Bija pur.

"2. The hemp plant known as ganja is only grown in the town of Bijapur and nowhere else in the talukas tinder my charge. It is a domesticated plant, and does not grow wild here, and, as far as I know, nowhere in the Southern Maratha Country.

Mode of Cultivation.

"3. It is grown generally as an irrigated crop, either in red or loamy soil well manured. The land is tilled once or twice, and then it is ploughed with a heavy hoe called ukkikunti ' and levelled. It is afterwards sown through a seed drill, the process of sowing resembling in every respect the sowing of ordinary jowari, the space left between the rows of crops being wider. A leveller called dindu' is then driven over the sown area with a view to get the seeds covered over with earth. The seeds required are brought from Ahmednagar and Indore in Central India. It is said that the seeds from the latter are of a superior quality than those obtainable from the former place. As a rule the sowing takes place in July or August, and the crops are reaped within about four months from the date of sowing. If the rainfall is not sufficient, then the crop has to be watered once or twice a week. Hand-weeding is mostly resorted to in addition to the use of grubber or yedi-kunti (small hoe) with a view to get rid of the grass or other weeds growing between the rows of crops. By the driving of the yedi-kunti loose surface earth also accumulates at the roots of plants. This process partly serves in keeping up moisture in the earth. When the plants grow to a height of about two feet, the operations of selecting and uprooting the male plants commence' the female plants only, as far as possible, being allowed to remain and grow to maturity. This selection can only be made by an expert called" Párakhi," and if after great care any male or staminate plants escape attention, and are allowed to grow, there is every fear of the entire crop being damaged. Tbe female plants are said to be so sensitive that if, perchance, male ones are allowed to grow even altogether in a separate plot of ground situated in a windward position to the crops, almost all the female plants run into seeds, damaging the crops to a great extent. I am informed that separate plots of grounds were selected for growing the seeds. The experts always walk through the crops, up-rooting the male plants, and this continues up to the time the crop is harvested and gathered. The owner of the ganja farm here has secured the services of an expert from Lengri, a village in the Khanapur Taluka of the Satara district, where the drug is grown on a large scale. Here the plants grow to a height of about 6 to 8 feet. In the fourth month the side pods and the leaves are stripped off with hands, and the crown pods are cut with a knife or a scythe. The pods and the leaves thus collected are stacked in a place, and are trodden while in green state for three or four days, and when dried they are winnowed and the pods are thus separated from the leaves ; this latter stuff is called bhang-powder. The experts say that it is impossible to select the seeds which produce male plants. The plant is grown in this part of the country as a narcotic drug and not as a fibre plant.

" 4• The farm at Bijapur produced about 60 bags of ganja, each containing four maunds (a maund is equal to 960 toles), worth about Rs. 180 in 1891. In the following year (1892) the yield was about four hundred maunds, worth about Rs. 800 after deducting the necessary expenses incurred in raising the crop, &c. The area sown was about 13 acres.

"5. The purposes for which the drug and its by-products are used.

Ganja.

"Almost all the quantity of pods known as ganja is used up in smoking. Three to eight pods are smoked mixed with ordinary tobacco. The process of preparing the drug for the purpose of smoking consists in soaking the pods in cold water for a few minutes ; they are then separated from the little stalks, and the seeds, if there be any, are thrown away. The pods thus soaked and cleaned are rubbed on the palm of the left band with the right thumb for about a quarter of an hour, a small quantity of cold water being poured on it at short intervals and squeezed out. Tilis rubbing is continued until the stuff gets sticky, and when this condition is obtained it is mixed with ordinary tobacco and smoked. The intoxicating property of the drug increases with the length of the time spent in rubbing it. The drug is also smoked as a medicine to check indigestion, especially in out-of-the-way places where medical aid is not available. It is largely used by the following classes of people :—

(1) Hindu ascetics such as hairigis, gosivis, and mendicants and Mahomedan fakirs and mendicants as a class;

(2) and to a great extent weavers, drummers, fiddlers, the gavayyis (singers), and to some extent day-labourers and also a very low class of prostitutes.

" 6. It is administered mixed in sugar by professional thieves to travellers, &c., with a view to make them insensible .and then rob them of their property. The drugged sugar is prepared as follows :—
Gana is mixed with madan-masta, madan-kamsi, and the seeds of black dhatura trees (all medicinal plants). All these ingredients are reduced to fine powder. A tole weight of this powder is mixed up in a kacha seer of sugar, and then administered as Devprasad. This sort of use of the drug, as far as I know, is resorted to at big fairs by professional thieves, though now on a very small scale, in this part of the country; but the extent to which it was administered with impunity by a Mahomedan and his companions-some years ago in the Belgaum district can be seen by a reference to the confessions recorded by the Superintendent of the Operations for the suppression of the Thugee and Dacoity Department, and printed at pages 49 to 67 of the book called Selections from the Records of Government in the Police Branch of the Judicial Department, No. I of 1853, Old Series.'

"7. Charas is one of the by-products of the hemp plant. It is the exudation of the flowers, leaves, young twigs, and barks of the stems. It is a resinous substance which accumulates itself on the palms of hands and fingers when stripping off the pods and leaves, and is scraped off and made into small balls. This narcotic is produced on a very small scale in this part of the country, and is smoked mixed up with ordinary tobacco. It is said that this stuff is more intoxicating than gan ja, and being costly is rarely used.

"8. The uses of bhang as an intoxicating drink :—

Ghola.

"This drink is prepared as follows :—Some quantity of hhang powder is slightly parched in the first inst ae2e, and is Olen carefully washed to remove impurities from it. It is then ground on a stone mixed v ith water. The stuff thus prepared is strained. The liquid is then mixed witb p^?„-de.r o laek-pepper, poppy, and anise-seeds and other spices according to the taste and means of the drinkers. Jaggery or sugar and milk are also added to the preparation, and it ie drank both by the rich and poor as a cool beverage, especially during the hot season. Tuis drink is not considered injurious to bealth. The fakirs and mendicants have special liking for tEs beverage.

Boja.

CC 9. This is one of the intoxicating preparations in 'which bhang powder has to be used. It is prepared as follows :—Ordinary jowari flour is soaked in water for a night, which is boiled the next morning, and the kosht-kolanjan (the roots of Costus Arabiens), kuchla (Nils; vomiea), and bhang powder are then mixed in it. Some mix the powder of the roots of aconite with a view to increase the strength of the drink. The mixture thus prepared is then spread on a mat and allowed to dry in the shade. This stuff is called kanya.' A second preparation, called mivyliche peith, is next prepared. Best sort of jowiri is soaked in water for 11 days until the grain germinates. The jowari is then dried in the sun and ground into fine flour. The two stuffs, viz., kanya and mávyg.che peith, when proportionately mixed up, produce a fluid substance like nuchhu, the common.staple food of all classes of people in this part of the country. This fluid substance is then stored up in a big earthen vessel called ránjan and allowed to ferment therein. A small quantity of this preparation is mixed with water, which is strained and drunk. No sugar or jaggery is used in preparing this drink. It produces a strong intoxication to such an extent that the customers seldom leave the premises of shops, but lie down there quietly until the intoxication subsides. The drink has a very sour smell, and is used only during the hot season. It is sold in common earthen pots called moghas.'
I am further informed that the contractors, with a view to make good profits out of their
farm, buy deteriorated or rotten jowari for preparing the stuff called 'kanya.' Boja farm has
not been sold in the district, nor do I hear of any people of any class resorting to this drink.

"10. Majun, commonly called majum,' is another preparation of bhang and is prepared in small cakes. Its preparation is as follows :—Ghi is allowed to boil in water for three days and is then mixed with bhang powder and boiled. When boiling it a second time, some quantity of ghi is added to the preparation, and while it is lukewarm, spices, such as cardamoms, saffron, dried ginger, sugar or jaggery, &e., are put in. The stuff thus prepared is then poured in a tray, and when cooled is cut into small cakes. It is used by both Hindus and Mahomedans, who are generally addicted to the vice. It is given occasionally to the sick as a sleeping draught, especially in small villages where medical aid is not available. Some use it as a nervine tonic.

Fakki.

"11. This preparation is in the form of a powder and is prepared as follows :— Bbang powder is carefully washed in the first instance. A very small quantity of ghi is put in it and is slightly parched on a frying pan. The stuff is then reduced to fine powder, which is mixed with poppy-seeds and sugar. It is used chiefly by Mahomedans and other people who are given up to the vice.

"12. Bhang powder is also given, especially to plough cattle, as a tonic or preventive against inclement weather in the Mallad part of the country (i.e., districts situated close to the Sayhadri ranges). In a like manner it is also given in various forms to horses.

The use of the seed.

"13. Oil is extracted from the ganja seeds just as that from the safflower and other oil seeds. Generally the oil is used for burning lamps, but when fresh it is also used, however very rarely, for culinary purposes.

"14. Chutney is also made from the seeds. For this purpose the seeds are slightly parched and mixed with chilly, salt, and other spices. The several ingredients are then well pounded and used as chutney with bread. It has a good taste. The seeds form one of the ingredients in native tonic medicines prepared by native doctors."

No. 46–, dated the ist September 1893.

From—J. M. CAMPBELL, Esq., C.LE., Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium, Bombay,

To—The HON'BLE T. D. MACKENZIE, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari.

With reference to your letter No. 8741, dated the 21st July last, I have the honour to report that the preparations of hemp known as ganja, bhang, and charas are consumed in the town and island of Bombay.

2. The hemp plant from which these drugs are obtained is not cultivated in the island of Bombay. Ganja is procured from the Deccan, chiefly from Ahmednagar, Nasik, and Satara ; bhang from Surat and Palanpar in North Gujarat ; and charas from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur in Northern India.

3. As the hemp plant is not grown in Bombay, I trust I am right in thinking that any account of the cultivation or process of manufacture, would be out of place in the present report.

4. Except a few women of loose character, the consumption of hemp-drugs is confined iri Bombay to the male portions of the Hindu and Mahomedan communities. Ganja and charas are smoked with tobacco in the ordinary pipes or chilams; bhang and garda, the droppings of ganja, are drunk mixed with various spices and the sweetmeats, uiájum, yákuti, and gulkand, whose intoxicating qualities are due to the presence of bhang., or garde, are eaten. The preparation and sale of bálagolis, or children's pills, made with ganja instead of with opium, is now prohibited.

5. Ganja is smoked by Mahomedans of the workino.t' class, by fakirs or Mahomedan beg- gars, and by Hindu sadhus or ascetics, and labourers. Cliaras is smoked by Pathans, fakirs, sadhus, and people from Northern India. Bhang and garda are drunk by Mahomedans, and among Hindus by Brahmans, Banias, Bhatias, and other classes to whom their caste rules forbid the use of spirits. The sweetmeats májum, yákuti, and gulkand are eaten chiefly by Hindus from Northern India. Garda is at times given to buffaloes and bhance to horses as a tonic. Except with the limitations of high caste and ascetic, bhang can hard; in Bombay be correctly described as the poor man's narcotic.

6. From the fairly trustworthy figures given in the statement marked A* it will be seen that about 345 Indian maunds of ganja and garda, about 4Si Indian maunds of bhang, about 7 Indian maunds of charas, and 294 Indian maunds of májum, yákuti, and gulkand are consumed annually in this collectorate. For the total male population of Hindus and Musalmans this would give an average yearly consumption per head of 2-50 tolas of ganja and garda, .35 tolas of bhang, .05 tolas of charas, and •21 tolas of májum, yákuti, and gulkand. It is to be remembered that habitual indulgence in these drugs is confined to a comparatively small number of persons, and that the very great majority of Hindus and Mahomedans either never use the drugs at all or only occasionally consume bhang and garda in the form of a drink.

7. The number of persons who habitually consume hemp-drugs in the island of Bombay is estimated at nearly 3,000. 2,000 of this number are put down as ganja smokers, 400 as bhang drinkers, 300 as garda drinkers, 100 as charas smokers, and 25 as daily consumers of májum, yákuti, or gulkand. According to this estimate habitual consumers amount to 0-36 per cent. of the total population of the island and to -68 per cent. of the total males of the Hindu and Mahomedan communities.

8. The occasioaal or moderate use of hemp-drugs is believed not to be physically harmful. The immoderate use of these drugs gives rise to affections of the limo's, bowels, eye and brain. The smoking of ganja, still more the smoking of charas, is considered    most baneful, and the
drinking of bhang and garda the least harmful form in which hemp is used. Hemp-drugs are described as at once stimulating and sedative. They are said to have an exhilarating effect, to excite the imagination, to freshen the appetite, and to act as an aphrodisiac; excessive indulgence in their use leads to indigestion, wasting, dropsy, impotence, melancholia, and in extreme cases, chiefly of charas and ganja smoking, even to insanity.

9. I see little reason to doubt that the prohibition or even the stringent restriction of the use of hemp-drugs would be resented by the people as an unjustifiable interference with their social customs, and would give rise to discontent. Ascetics, both Hindu and Mahornedan, use the drugs largely, and these men are regarded with veneration by, and have influence over considerable sections of the people. Though the inveterate or excessive use of these drugs is held discreditable, the occasional observance of the practice is not open to censure. The use of bhang is closely connected with the worship of the god Shiva or Mahadev. On Maha Shivratri, the great night of Shiva in February, on the Mondays of August-September or Shravan, and at the spring festival of Shimga, the drinking of bhang, if not a binding, is an approved and usual practice.

10. If the use of hemp-drugs was prohibited, I think it pretty certain that many habitual and some occasional consumers would be driven to the use either of spirits or of opium.

11. In the town and island of Bombay the right to sell hemp-drugs is put to public auction by the Collector, and with the sanction of the Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, is sold to the highest approved bidder. Notice that the right is to be put to public auction is given by advertisement in the Bombay Government Gazette and in some of the local newspapers. Printed slips are also circulated for the information of the Collectors of most of the districts in the presidency. The right is usually sold for a term of three years. A copy of the conditions under which the farm was last sold is forwarded, marked B•*

12. A license under the Bombay Abkari Act (Act. V of 1478) is granted to the farmer, a copy of which is forwarded, marked C.* The main heads of the license are :—

(1) That the farmer shall pay monthly in advance 1-2-th of the annual sum for which he has bought the right.

(2) That all risks of loss shall be borne by the farmer, and that he shall pay regularly all sums due.

(3) That he shall keep shops only at places sanctioned by the Collector; that he will keep his shops open during authorized hours; and that he will open a new shop when required by the Collector.

(4) That he will make his own arrangements for obtaining supplies of drugs, purchasing from licensed persons only, and obtaining the necessary permits for the import or transport of the drugs. That he will keep such minimum stocks of drugs in his shops as the Collector may direct.

(5)That be will not sell drugs of bad quality likely to be obnoxious to the health of consumers. That he will not keep or sell balagolis or children's pills.

(6) That any stocks of drugs remaining on hand on the expiry of the license shall become the property of Government.

(7) That the farmer will keep and sell drugs at sanctioned shops only.

(8) That he will furnish the Collector with the names of his servants, and give them service certificates or nokartairnav (blank form, marked D,* herewith forwarded) countersigned by the Collector, with the clauses of the license relating to the keeping of shops attached, and that he will dismiss any servant when required by the Collector.

(9) That he will not sell more than 40 toles of drugs to any one person on the same day.

(10) That he will not receive any articles in barter for drugs.

(11) That he will not open bis shops before sunrise, and that be will close them at 11 p.m. That be will close his shops when ordered to do so by the Collector or Police Commissioner, and of his own accord during a disturbance or riot

(12) That he will prevent gaming and discrderly conduct in his shops, and will not allow notoriously bad characters to frequent them. That he will give information of suspected characters to a Magistrate or to the police.

(13) That he will fix signboards at his shops.

(14) That he will keep at his shops accounts of the receipts and sales of drugs, and produce these accounts whenever required; that he will furnish all returns and Information required by the Collector.

(15) That he shall use such weights and measures as the Collector may prescribe, and have them tested and stamped at his own expense at the Collector's office.

(16) That he will not admit partners into bis business without the permission of the Collector in writing.

(17) That his license may be recalled for default in the punctual payment of duty, or for infringement by himself or by any of his servants of any of the conditions of the license, or for any breach of the Abkari law. If the license is recalled, the Collector may dispose of it or not as he thinks fit, and that the licensee shall continue to be responsible for the instalments of duty. if the right of vend is transferred, the original licensee shall receive credit for payments by the new licensee up to the ameunt of duty still payable by the original licensee. He shall have no claim to profits made by the transfer.

18. Except that when purchasing in the Bombay Presidency, be must buy from a liceasgel seller, the farmer makes his own arrangements for obtaining supplies of the drugs. When he wishes to bring the drug to Bombay, the farmer makes a written application to the Collector, when an import or transport permit (forms forwarded marked respec`ively E* and F*) is granted on payment of the duty sanctioned, viz.:

If the quantity of the drug does not exceed 10 Indian mounds ..    Rs 5

For every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof    ...    .•.    Re. 1

A copy of the permit granted is sent by post to the Collector of the district from which the drug is to be brought.

14. On the arrival of the drugs in Bombay, a Sub-Inspector of the Abkari Department attends at the railway station, checks the weight of the packages, and if found correct, escorts the packages to the farmer's godown. From the godown the farmer sends the drugs to his slups under permits, a eery of which is forwarded, marked G.*

15. The statement Marked 11* Shows the number of hemp-drug shops open in Bombay during each of the last five revenue years. The shops are shown in two classes :

(a) those in which drugs are sold but not consumed on the premises, and

(b) those in which drugs are sold and consumed on the premises.

In the greater number of shops under the (a) or drug-selling class the business of selling drugs is combined with the sale of tobacco and pin-silpari.

The (b) or drug-consuming shops are places used solely for the sale and consumption of hemp-drugs.

16. Before a new shop can be opened, or an old shop be transferred from one place to another, the farmer must obtain the Collector's sanction. No opening of a fresh shop is allowed if the residents in the neighbourhood offer reasonable objections.

17. The Police Commissioner grants the police license required under Bombay Act XLV1II of 1860 for (6) or drug-consuming shops on payment of a nominal yearly fee of Re. (1) one. For the opening of a new or the transfer of an old drug-consuming shop the pre.. vious approval of the Police Commissioner is also necessary. From the beginning of the current revenue year 72 hernp-drug shops have been open, of which 52 come under class (a) or drug-selling and 20 under class (b) or drug-consuming.

18. As the sole right of sale within the island belongs to the farmer, no wholesale drug shops occur in Bombay. Under a license granted by the Collector the farmer issues to his nominees nokarnanias or service certificates countersigned by the Collector. In these service certificates all the provisions of the license relating to the working of the shops are embodied.

19. The Bombay farmer is not required to sell drugs at any fixed price. The following table shows the present rates at which the farmer sells the different drugs to his nominees and the rates at which his nominees retail them to the public :—

That is, the retail prices show an increase of 15 to 42 per cent, over the wholesale or farmer's prices.

20. In Bombay no limit is set to the number of drug shops the farmer may open with the sanction of the Collector and Police Commissioner. In practice any increase in the number of shops is discouraged. The farmer would find it difficult to obtain sanction to the opening of a new shop, especially to a shop of the drug-consuming class. The shops are located in parts of the town where the drugs are in demand, that is, as a rule, in the most thickly-peopled parts of the town.

21. Except by such special order as is contemplated under section 17 of the Abkari Act the ninth condition of his license prevents the farmer selling to the same person on the same day more than 40 tolas of any hemp-drug. Applications for such special orders are unknown. No case is on record of any one requiring more than 40 tolas of a drug for his own use during a single day. The possession of more than 40 toles of a drug by one person, except under the authority of a permit, is also illegal. •

22. The statement marked I* shows for each of the past five years the quantities of drugs brought into Bombay by the farmer for local sale. In comparing these figures with those given in statement A* considerable deductions from the I figures Must be made for wastage and loss on account of spoiled drugs. From time to time quantities of these drugs are destroy.. ed under the supervision of Abkari officers as unfit for sale. The quantities reported by the farmer to have been consumed in the island during the last two years are believed to be fairly correct.

23. The statement marked J* shows the total revenue derived from hemp-drugs during each of the past five revenue years. A comparison of the figures given in table J* with those in table I* shows for the five years that the incidence of duty on these drugs, excluding those used in the medicinal preparations, extract Cannabis Indica, am9unts to Rs. 87.4 the Indian maund, that is, nearly Rs. 2.2 the seer. The largest item of revenue is the license fee. This has steadily increased for each successive term for which the license has been granted. For the present term, starting from ist August 1893, the annual license fee payable is Rs. 48,000, that is, Rs. 8,500 more than the same fee paid for the previous term of three years.

24. The statement marked K* shows the exports of drugs by sea during the past five years. When drugs arrive by rail for export by sea, the weight of the packages is checked by an Abkari officer at the railway station. If the weight is found correct, the officer escorts the package to the docks or bandar and hands them to the Port Trust or Customs authorities. If the drugs arrive by water for transhipment and export, the Customs authorities supervise and allow the transhipment after the Abkari Department have endorsed on the covering permit that the transhipment is free from objection. The figures under " British Indian Ports " indicate exports to ports in British territory. Those under "Foreign Indian Ports" relate to porta within the limits of Native States.

25. The smuggling of hemp-drugs into Bombay cannot at present be said to prevail to any extent. Bona fide travellers may bring into Bombay 10 tolas of drugs from places with.. out the presidency, and any person may bring 40 toles of drugs into Bombay from a place within the presidency. The Abkari and Opium Departments have special establishments wh,o watch the railway lines for smugglers. The Customs Department guard the sea front of the island. The present Bombay farmer also holds the hemp-drugs farm in the Thane district, and regulates the prices at Bandra, Kuria, and 'Plana so as to discourage people running out by rail to these places and bringing back with them less than 40 toias of a drug.

26. The table marked L* shows the admissions to the Colaba Lunatic Asylum during each of the five years ending 1892-93 and the causes of insanity so far as they have been ascertained.

Compared with eight from opium, sixty-two is a heavy total from hemp-drugs. Considering how comparatively few persons use the drug, sixty-two is also large compared with seventy-nine from spirits. Of the sixty-two admissions due to the excessive use of hemp-drugs all but four, two from bhang and two from charas, are ascribed to ganja-smoking. It is perhaps doubtful whether some entered as ganja smokers were not actually charas smokers. In any case the number of smokers of charas is small compared to the drinkers of bhang. It follows, and this agrees with all other received information, that the drinking of bhang is comparatively a harmless practice.

27. The import, export, transport, manufacture, sale, and possession of intoxicating drums other than opium are regulated by the Bombay Abkari Act, No. V of 1878, and the rules and notificationspublished under that Act. Subject to the control and direction of the Commissioner of Customs Salt, Opium, and Abkari, the Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium is charged with the collection of abkari revenue, and with the carrying out of the provisions of the Abkari Act in Bombay. In addition to its other abkari duties the Collector's abkari establishment is engaged in preventing the smuggling of hemp-drugs and their illicit sale within the island. Under the orders of the Collector, the Abkari officers also see that the farmer of intoxicating drugs pays punctually the sums due by him and that his shops are conducted in accordance with his license conditions. They check shop accounts, and exercise a general supervision and control over afl matters relating to the possession and sale of hemp-drugs.

28. In conclusion I would beg to state that in this report I have endeavoured to include replies to the questions in the note attached to Government Resolution, Revenue Department, No. 6123, dated the 23rd August. Further report will, as early as possible, be submitted in connection with the schedule received with the said Government Resolution.