Drug Abuse

BERAR MEMORANDUM.

A.

A statement showing the area under hemp plant during the past 16 years is appended, and from that it will be seen that in Berar there is very little of hemp cultivation. It is only confined to a small tract of the Akola and the Buldana districts in the vicinity of the town of Khamgaon and to some villages in the Morsi Taluk.

In the excise report for 1880-81 Mr. Jones has given a list of villages in which ganja %vas cultivated in that year, but since then the cultivation has decreased and all the villages mentioned there do not now cultivate ganja.

The list given by Mr. Jones is appended-

As already stated, hemp is cultivated in only three districts—Akola, Buldana, and Amraoti. The Deputy Commissioner of Akola describes the manner of cultivation in the following words :—

"For the ganja plant garden land is required; ordinary black soil is apparently too stiff, and an admixtura of organic matter is necessary. The soil is twice deeply ploughed and is given as much manure as the cultivator can afford (one tehsildar says 10 cart loads per acre), is then harrowed two or three times before sowing. This is done at the beginning of the rains, at the same time as cotton is sown, and the seed is planted by means of a tiphan or plough drill. It seems to be the practice to mix ambaeli (Hibiscus canabinus) seeds with the ganja seeds. The young hibiscus plants are pulled up a fortnight after they have come up, and the reason of the practice appears therefore to be to save seed and preserve a sufficient space between the ganja plants. When they are about a foot and a half high, the plants which are unisexual are examined and the male ones (called bhangia) are picked up. If the rains fall favourably, no irrigation is required till about October, when the plants are maturing, when apparently they always require to be watered. In November the plant, which is then 5 feet high, is cut. The small outer branches are stripped off and put in towards the centre of the plant, which is then pressed with the foot (to flatten the heads), made up into sheaves, and stacked in a shed under pressure, the heaps being opened and the sheaves moved now and then to prevent their getting too hot. The leaves fall off when the plants are tied into bundles. They are collected and called bliang. The bare stalks remain a ith the heads on them.

"The wild plant is not indigenous in Berar. Plants come up near the huts where gosains and other regular consumers live, and if watered and tended, can be used for the preparation of ganja, but are weaker and not so good as the cultivated kind ; if not tended, the heads are said to be only fit for smoking like tobacco."

The manner of cultivation described by the Deputy Commissioners of Amraoti and Buldana is similar to the above.

Charas is not known in Berar. The resinous substance of the hemp plant is allowed to dry with it.

The only drugs manufactured in Berar from the hemp plant are " bhang " and " ganja."

The rules restricting the ganja cultivation (referred to in a separate memorandum submitted) make it obligatory on the village officials in Berar to destroy any plants of spontaneous growth. Hence wild plants are an impossibility in Berar, and so they are not used for the preparation of drugs.

The only forms of the drug that are used by the people are ganja and bhang. Charas is not used. Other preparations that are known are these :—

" Majum," "gulkand," and " yakuti."

Ganja (the flowers of the plant or the flattened heads of it) is smoked in the following manner :—

The smoker takes a head of the plant, places it on his left palm, puts over it a little water, and mixes it by the pressure of the right thumb. This process of wetting and pressing is repeated, says the Deputy Commissioner of Akola, 121 times over. Then it is pressed and put into a piece of cloth, and the moisture squeezed out. A small quantity of tobacco is added to enhance its effects, the mixture is then put into a chillum (pipe) and smoked.

Bhang is drunk as a cooling drink in the hot weather. The method of preparing the drink is as below. lihang—or the flowers and leaves that
Mang or Thandai (a cooling drink), drop when the plants are being tied up into sheaves—is first of all well cleaned and then boiled. Afterwards it is very carefully washed and then dried. A small quantity of this preparation is then mixed with spices such as " sonph," "min," " badam, " kbaskhas," and "rose-buds." The mixture is then well pounded, putting a little water over it. It is then mixed with cold water or milk, and sugar put in it, and after being filtered it is drunk. This is known as bhang or thandai, or a cooling drink.

The method of preparing this drug is described below. A sheave of ganja is first cleaned properly, and after being boiled is carefully washed very clean. It is then mixed with ghee and is again boiled. This preparation is then filtered, and the fluid essence is mixed with spices such as jaiphal, jaipatri, kalnai, vilaichi, lavang, khurasni wora ; sugar is then separately boiled, and when it is found to be quite clean and ready for being mixed with the above preparations, it is so mixed, and the whole thing is once more boiled. This preparation is called majum, which is of a green colour. I have obtained this information from a well known rnajum-seller at Ballapur, whose preparation is celebrated in the province and it is in many places called by name " Deolal," who was the original owner of the shop. This "Deolal " is used by many people known to be respectable.

There is another preparation similar to the above and is called the gulab shakri majum. It is the same as the above, but is coloured red by mixing a small quantity of hingul.

Gulkand.—Essence of ganja prepared just as it is done for majum and mixed with sugar and rose flowers or seranti flower becomes gulkand.
Yokuti.—Appears only to be another name of majum, but it must necessarily contain rich spices above mentioned. Majum can be made even only by mixing sugar with essence of ganja prepared as above stated.

Bhang.—Besides being drunk in the above mentioned manner a preparation of bhang is eaten. Shang is first well boiled and washed clean and then dried. It is then pounded without water and is mixed with a powder of lavang, vilaichi, jaiphal, etc., and saffron. A small quantity of this powder is mixed with sugar and eaten by some people.

These are the only forms of the drug commonly used in Berar. Charas is not at all available and is not imported, being considered very costly.

Ganja is smoked chiefly by Kahars, Hamals, Kolees, Tellees, Gossaees, Bairagis, Ma-homedans, and people of any caste living a vicious life, such as prostitutes, etc. Any Hindu may smoke it but it is not generally smoked by people of respectability. Ganja smoking is considered to be a social stigma by people of good society.

Bhang is drunk chiefly by Pardeshis from Hindustan and Marwaris. This drug is not considered to be so bad as ganja is. Respectable people sometimes drink it without hesitation. Habitual consumers of this drug, however, are not respected in society.

The quantity of ganja and bhang required for a consumer differs according to the liking of each man. Generally a habitual consumer requires from 6 mashes to two tolas of ganja er day, but amongst Bairagis and some other people we might find men who consume even up to 8 or 10 tolas per day.

The proportion of the population addicted to ganja.smoking is estimated to be about one per cent., but there is no reliable data to come to an approximately correct estimate.

Similarly, no estimate can be formed of the proportion of bhang consumers.

The Deputy Commissioner of Akola describes the effects of ganja and bhang as below :—

"At first ganja smokers feel strengthened by it, which induces them to ganja smoking, and when it becomes a habit they cannot do without it. Ganja smokers lose strength gradually, cough sets in, their lips become black and face pale. Excess leads to loss of memory and in some cases to insanity. The bad effects of ganja-smoking are not seen soon if the smoker is well fed. It sometimes improves the health, but these are rare cases."

The Deputy Commissioner of Buldana describes the effect of ganja smoking as below :—

"The eyes of the smokers assume a reddish colour, the lips become darker, constitution lean, weak, and sleepy. Appearance pale, temperament rough in speech and manners and talkative, asthmatic, peevish, quarrelsome, and unmindful of consequences."

He further says :—

"The use of ganja when it is accompanied by a proportionate amount of substantial food is considered to be harmless and conducive to a healthy constitution for a time, but ultimately its natural effects begin to tell on the consumer; he becomes asthmatic and phlegmatic. Ganja consumption is said to be beneficial to persons living in cold countries or at places where water is poisonous."
Bhang.—The Deputy Commissioner of Akola says :—

"This drink is said to aid digestion, to sharpen the appetite. No apparent harm is said to result from the use of bhang except in some cases it leads to rheumatism in the long run."

The other forms of the drug, majum, gulabshakri, gulkand are not habitually consumed. They are only luxuries and are taken at times.

There is no reliable data to form an estimate of the proportion of the population habitually consuming hemp-drugs, but one per cent, can be taken as an approximately correct estimate for Berar. Generally, as above said, this drug is consumed by Fakeers, Bairaois and Sanyasis, etc., who come to the province as wanderers ; very few people indigenous to Berar are addicted to the use of these drugs. Instances are known when excessive use of ganja-smoking has led to lunacy, but there is nothing to show that it frequently causes lunacy.

Consumption of bhang as a drink is considered to be harmless and even beneficial. Smoking ganja is not considered beneficial.

Please see memorandum drawn up under instructions received from the Secretary, Hemp Drugs Commission, in his letter No. 28, dated 11th August 1893.

In this respect the Deputy Commissioner of Amraoti says :—

" As has been said above, a very small portion of the entire community is addicted to the use of the drug. Its prohibition in entirety may lead to discontent, but imposition of restrictive measures will not be resented. But serious discontentment would result in Amraoti district if even stringent measures were adopted. Smuggling by Marwaris would increase, as they are generally men of money. Detection would be difficult."

The Deputy Commissioner of Akola says
"The smokers of ganja.„ when compared with the total population, are not a large number, and so if the cultivation is stopped, of course the smokers will suffer for a time and they will show discontent, but it will wear off in course of time : probably the ganja-smokers would be driven to other stimulants."

The Deputy Commissioner, Buldana, says :--

' If the total prohibition of the growth, consumption, or importation, is enforced, it will no doubt, give rise to serious discontent, but that will prevail only among the consumers of the drug, who are so few in proportion to the total population of the district that the discontent will scarcely be politically felt. However, if it be necessary, restrictive measures even of a stringent character may be introduced, provided that the consumers have sufficient time allowed them to become accustomed to the effect of those measures, so that eventually they will not be felt by them at all."

The consensus of opinion appears to be that no danger will result from prohibition.

There are no customs similar to those in Bengal prevailing in Berar. The use of hemp drug does not form part of any social or religious ceremonies or observance. The only exception is the Mahashivratri, when the devotees of Shiva bathe the idol of Shiva by the preparation of bhang, but such devotees are very few in proportion to the population. They do not belong to any particular class of people. Any Hindu who chooses to worship the god Shiva can do this. The festival only comes up once in a year, and the drug is not considered to be an essential material of worship. The god is supposed to be very fond of it, and so the devotees try and acquire it on that day. Restrictive measures would not in Berar give rise to political discontent among any classes of population.

The Deputy Commissioners are of opinion that it is likely that if the use of ganja is prohibited altogether, the habitual consumers would be driven to other stimulants or narcotics. In my opinion the non-drinking Hindus who. are addicted to the hemp-drugs would not be driven to alcohol necessarily. They have a fear of losing their caste, and so even if they do not get the drugs they would not take to drink. The Deputy Commissioner of Amraoti district in this respect says :—

" The favourite way of taking the drug is made up in a sweetmeat called majum. Mahomedans who by their religion are not allowed the use of alcohol are given to using majuni, but now-a-days majum is made cheaper and just as good by using the root of the jawari plant.

So by stopping the use of the drug those who use majum would not suffer. The only people who might be discontented would be mendicants and a few Marwaris, who would console themselves with opium as a substitute, which would be beneficial in comparison to the drug, which is injurious."

No Deputy Commissioners have suggested any improvements desirable. The only thing that was needed has been already effected. From the next year the farm of these drugs will be sold separately from the opium farm.

BERAR MEMORANDUM.

B.

The administration of hemp drugs in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts is regulated by the Abkari rules, copies of which have been sent to Secretary, Hemp Drugs Commission. Opium and hemp drugs in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts are treated in one farm, and where opium shops exist, hemp drugs are allowed to be sold.

This farm is worked uniformly throughout all the districts in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts by the Deputy Commissioners through their tahsildars. There are no separate Excise officers to control the vend of drugs. A monopoly of the right to vend is sold by auction each year by the Deputy Commissioners under the orders of the Commissioner, and the highest bidder usually obtains it and is licensed. The opium and hemp drugs farm being sold together, the proceeds are credited to opium and drugs. No information is, therefore, separately available as to the value of hemp drugs, and hence the columns requiring this information in the appended statement C are left blank. It is, however, supposed that the revenue from hemp drugs is about one alma in the rupee, or -J-th of the value of the whole farm auctioned. This statement is based on enquiries made of the farmers, and as nothing certain can be obtained, I have omitted these figures from statement C.

The question of separating the sales of hemp drug from opium has been very recently taken up, and it has been decided to separate them from the ist April 1894.

I now turn to the points mentioned in the note accompanying letter No. 28, dated 11th August 1893, and take them seriatim.

Up to the year 1875 thecultivation of ganja and bhang was not restricted in Berar. Rules regulating and restricting the cultivation of ganja and bhang in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts were first issued* in the year 1874 and were brought into force from the ist of April 1875. Under these rules the cultivation of ganja and bhang was strictly prohibited except under a license. The Deputy Commissioners were authorized to grant such licenses, and they had to be written on a stamp paper of Rs. 8 (to be supplied by the cultivator) without reference to the area ea cultivated.

• Notification No. 55, dated 5th Aug. net 1874.   

Under these rules the village officers were bound to make immediate reports of unlicensed cultivation, and the Deputy Commissioners were authorized to cause the destruction of such crops and plants of spontaneous growth. Cultivators of unlicensed ganja and bhang crops were made liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees for each offence, and half the fines realized were made payable to informants as rewards.

The effect of these rules was that the cultivation of ganja was confined to a very few villages in the Akola, Buldana and the Amraoti districts, the villages in the- first two districts being mostly in the vicinity of the town of Khamgaon and those of the Amraoti district in the Morsi taluk of that district. Table A appended to this will show the extent of ganja cultivation in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts between the years 1877-78 to 1892- 93, inclusive, and from the figures it will be observed that it has been very limited.

The above rules remained in force without any change till the year 1884, when they were modified by increasing the fee for cultivation from Rs. 8 per license to Rs. 10 per acre or part of an acre cultivated. This had the effect of further curtailing the cultivation of ganja, vide figures in Table A. From the year 1885-86 the cultivation has gone down immensely.

At the time these modifications were made the Commissioner made it obligatory on the vendors of ganja and bhang to keep accounts of their receipts and disbursements.

These modifications were originally introduced as a tentative measure, bat have since been continued. As it is, the amount of land cultivated is very insignificant : on an average of the past seven years it is about 55 acres per year in the whole province.

The rules of 1875, therefore, with the modifications of 1884, are the rules at present in force, and so far as is known works satisfactorily.
for manufacture, etc., of hemp drugs is given out with the opium farm, and consequently these drugs are manufactured, imported, and sold by opium vendors only. The manner of manufacturing these drugs is described in the Memorandum A, which is separately submitted.

As already stated, the farm for manufacture etc of hemp drugs is given out with the opium farm and consequently these drugs are manufactured imported and sold by opium vendors only. The manner of manufacturing these drugs is described in the Memorandum A, which is separately submitted.

The local produce is not sufficient for the wants of the province, and therefore ganja is imported usually from Khandwa in the Central Provinces, sometimes from Khandesh in the Bombay Presidency. No duty is levied on importations. On an average it is estimated that about 800 maunds of ganja is annually imported into the Province ; this with the ganja locally produced is apparently sufficient for the requirements of the people who indulge in this drug.

There is no means of ascertaining what portion of the population indulges in hemp drugs ; therefore any calculations require us to deal with the entire census population or the total of the male and female adult population. The Hyderabad Assigned Districts' total population by last census is 2,897,040; the adult population, male and female, is 1,794,174. Now 800 matinds are on the average imported per annum, and about 500 raised locally, which gives a total of 1,300 maunds. If this were all consumed, it would mean on the whole population 14 tolas per head : on adults 23 tolas per bead per annum. The 500 maunds estimated as on the average to be locally raised is arrived at by assuming that the 55 acres, the average of the past seven years, under hemp gives 10 maunds per acre.

In reality the farmers' returns of consumption (column 42, statement C) are wholly unreliable; therefore I have taken the whole produce raised locally and imported, to calculate the incidence per head of consumption, as a safer guide.

No duties are imposed on hemp drugs. The only revenue that is derived from these drugs is the price of the farm combined with opium and the license fee on cultivation.

No fee is levied on the licenses for importation. They are granted free to the licensed vendors.

The above information applies to ganja and bhang. Charas is not used in the province. There is only one kind, of ganja in the province, and that is the flat ganja.

(a) The system of administration throughout the province is uniform. The central controlling authority is the Deputy Commissioner of the district.

The administration is carried on by the tahsildars with the assistance of the village officers.

The following are Abkari officers under the rules :—

Deputy Commissioners,
Assistant Commissioners,
Tahsildars, Naib-Tahsildars, and
Police officers of a rank not below that of Inspectors and chief constables in charge of police stations.

(b) Wild hemp is not found in the province.

(c) As above stated, the cultivation of the hemp plant for the production of ganja or bhang is prohibited except under a license. It is not restricted to any particular locality. It is evident that as the area locally under hemp is small that it is more paying to import the drug than to cultivate it.

(d) The opium and drug farmers are the only importers of ganja and bhang. No charas is imported.
All the Abkari officers mentioned above have power to inspect the shops established by the farmers, and to check the actual balance with the entries in the books kept; and if any irregularities are discovered, the farmers are liable to be prosecuted under the Abkari Rules, section 43.

All importers of ganja or bhang are required to take out a pass from the Deputy Commissioner. No arrangements are made for controlling the storing or transport of these drugs.

(e) The farmers are the wholesale and retail vendors. Those in the retail trade keep books showing their sales, and they are prohibited from selling more than 20 tolas of ganja and bhang to one person and are forbidden to allow the drug to be smoked on the premises. Their shops are occasionally inspected by Abkari officers to enforce these orders.

(f) The only direct or indirect tax on ganja in this province is the money paid by the farmer and the fee paid by the cultivator for a license. The latter is recoverable as arrears of land revenue and cannot possibly be evaded. The former, if not paid, is recoverable under rule 15 of the Abkari Rules by attachment and sale of moveable property of the farmer within the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioner. At the time of the sales precautions are taken to ascertain that the farmer's securities are men of substance, and that they possess moveable property sufficient to cover the amount tendered by the farmer for which they go security.

(g) Up to the present. Wherever an opium shop was permitted there hemp drugs could be sold. In future, guided mainly by the requirements of the trade, Deputy Commi,,sioners have fixed hemp drug shops in a few localities ; in all ;29 shops will next year be open. This on an area of over 17,000 square miles means one shop to every 74 square miles of country.

There is nothing in the nature of local option ; but if the people of any certain locality ohject to have a shop in their midst, the Deputy Commissioner, as against the trade, considers their objections.

(h) No rate is fixed at which the drug must be supplied by the wholesale to the retail vendor This is left to private contract. The average retail price to consumers varies from Rs 2 per seer to Rs. 2-4 in the Anara.oti District. The Deputy Commissioner of Akola gives the prices in his district as below :—

Ganja    •••    6 pies per tola.
Mang    •••    ..•    6 pies per 5 tolas.
Alajuna    •1••    6 pies per tobt.
Gulkand    1••    5 annas per pound.

The prices do not vary much in different districts.

(i) The maximum amount fixed for retail sales is 20 tolas or quarter of a seer for ganja and bliang and 5 tolas-for charas when sold.
There is nothing laid down, as to the amount of possession, and no minimum price is fixed on the drug.    •

(j) The smuggling of ganja has seldom been detected. There is no illicit cultivation of ganja ; the inspection of crops raised is too close to admit of this.

(k) The only change in the present system is the separation of the farm of hemp drugs from the opium farm.

(l) A statement in the prescribed form, marked C, has been prepared and submitted.. From it will be seen that there is very little ganja cultivation in the province, and that no ganja or bhang is exported from Berar. The number of shops and the quantity of ganja and bhang imported and sold retail can be seen from this statement. The figures are taken from those in the printed reports. From these figures it will be seen that on an average about 1,300 maunds of ganja and bhang are annually consumed in the province.

The figures in column 9 of statement C are not correct as figureS`of actual import for the reason given in the column of remarks of that statement. The columns showing the revenue from hemp drugs are left blank, as the information, for reasons already explained, is not obtainable.

(m) I can think of nothing further worth mentioning to make the account complete.