MEMORANDUM BY MR. R. H. GUNTON ON HEMP DRUGS IN CENTRAL INDIA.

1. The definitions given in Dr. Prain's report are generally accepted in this Agency. In some parts of the west Malwa and Guna agencies bhang is also called vijaya, luti, and salai. In Bhopawar the name of bhang is given not only to the dry, but to the green leaves of the hemp plant (which appear to be sometimes eaten as a vegetable), and also to the decoction made by beiling the flowering-tops ot the hemp plant in fresh butter or sweet almond-oil. In Indore the male plant is called han i and the female 6hatnyera.

2. There appears to be no spontaneous growth of the hemp plant in Central India. The plant is cultivated in the Indore State in the mahals that border on the Narbada for its fibre and for the production of ganja and bbang. None is cultivated for the production of °tiaras. The fibre is got from a variety of the plant known locally as san. In the Indore State last. year 193 bighas were under hemp cultivation. In Baghelkhand there is a limited cultivation of the plant for the production of ganja only. In the State of Dewas the hemp plant is cultivated for ganja (39 bighas; at one village and for bhang (9 bighas) at another. All over the Bhopawar Agency the plant is cultivated for bhang and ganja, rarely for charas; but the production is limited and, except in the parts adjoining British Nimar, only for the personal use of the cultivators. The plant is said to be extensively cultivated at Ujjain and Sipri, but unfortunately the Gwalior State has furnished no information.

3. In Indore and Dewas there is reported to be a slight decrease in the area under hemp cultivation. In Indore the decrease is said to be due to an increased consumption of liquor and in Dewas to the increased cultivation of hemp in Nimar.

4. As regards the method of cultivating the hemp plant, the Minister of Indore writes :—,

A.-Ganja cultivation.

" The kind of soil most favourable is rakhad, which is usually white or light brown and near villages. Black sod is not considered specially fit for the growth of the hemp plant, but the plapt thrives fairly well in black soil.

"Cowdung manure, with ashes where procurable, is mostly used. The average quantity per bigha is roughly ten cart-loads or 150 maunds.

" The ground is prepared in the usual manner by two or three ploughings and harrowing. 'I he field is not divided into rectangles as for poppy cultivation.

"Three to five seers of seed per bigha is then sown by means of an instrument called I sarta' in rows about twenty inches apart. The instrument is drawn by a pair of bullocks. The sowing is done some time after the rains set in, that is, in the months of July and August. The seed used for sowing is procured through experts. Every cultivator is not able to distinguish the quality and kind required. The hemp plants germinate about the fourth day, and about the sixth day green rows appear on the surface. If there is a gap in any row, fresh seed is sown. After about a month the spaces between the rows are scratched, with the object of providing sufficient earth round the roots of the plant, by means of an iron blade drawn by bullocks. The furrows are next cleared of weeds and the superfluous growth of the hemp plant is removed, so as to leave a space from six to ten inches between one plant and another. The greater the room the healthier is the growth of the plant. If the field is too weedy, the operation of weeding and cleaning has to be done a second time, and the scratching operation is performed four or five times to preserve the ridges. All male plants are then removed and female ones are only kept. The female plants do not bear flowers in the popular sense of the word, but put forth tops called ghug,arees (flowering-tops), which appear two months after sowing. Any plant which does not bear healthy tops is removed, because, if allowed to remain, it is said to spoil the health of the neighbouring plants. The ganja field requires about three waterings after the cessation of the rains. 'Without these the crop is scanty and unhealthy. It is ready for collection in the month of November. The plants are not uprooted when ripe, but only the tops are cut off and gathered. 'W hen they begin to get sticky and look bright in the sunshine, it is a sure sign of the plant arriving at maturity.

"From the time of sowing to that of gathering weekly inspections are -made of the field with the special object of removing inferior or unhealthy plants. It requires special knowledge to make this inspection and distinguish a superior from an inferior plant, and the work of inspection is entrusted to persons possessing practical experience of this matter, who are paid specially high remuneration—four annas a day and upwards.

B.—Bhang cultivation.

"When it is desired to obtain a crop of bhang from the hemp plant, a few male plants are retained at intervals to allow of impregnation and formation of seeds for the production of both ganja and bhang for the next year.

"I understand that in this State cultivators do not specially grow hemp for the sole purpose of obtaining a crop of bhan,g, which is got as au article subsidiary to the seed, to obtain which alone the cultivator seeks.

" The bhang ripens about the same time as ganja, but it requires no watering after the rains.

" While on this subject of methods of cultivation, I may remark that I am aware that Mr. E. T Atkinson, speaking of the ganja of the North-West Provinces, says in his Himalayan Districts, page 761, the pattar is imported chiefly from Holkar's territories and is of quality inferior to the Bengal ganja. It is purchased at from Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 a maund in Indore in the rough state, and pays a duty of about 4 annas per mauad on exportation to British territories.

"I am also aware of Dr. Watt's saying at page 116, volume II of his Dictionary on the Economic Products of India, that chants is obtained in Central India by causing men clad in leather aprons to run through the hemp fields, and that it is made in cakes and sold. Both these things are a matter of history; for my enquiries satisfy me that neither patter, nor eharas is now produced, in this State at least.

" The average export of ganja annually does not exceed 377 maunds."

The method followed in Bhopawar is thus described by the Political Agent :-

"Hemp seed is sown in poppy or maize fields. When the plant is about ij feet high the main stem is split near the root and a piece of tile thrust in. This prevents the plant from setting seed freely, and makes the tops fit for ganja. When particularly strong ganja is required each hemp plant is watered once with half a tola of opium dissolved in water. The cultivators believe that by transplanting the young plant into the mouth of a dead venomous snake (cobra preferred) the ganja becomes unusually strong.

" The best (strongest) ganja is obtained from plants growing in the shade and sparingly watered."

As regards Dewas, the Superintendent of the Senior Branch writes :—

" The seed of bhang is used for the growth of ganja. Two seers of seed are required for one bigha. The land in which the seed is to be sown is ploughed twice and then the seed is sown. Before sowing the seed, it ie soaked in water for one night. The instrument with which the seed is sown is called `sarota.' The plant springs up in four days. Within a fortnight it grows about two or three inches. The operation of weeding and thinning the plants then begins. This is done thrice. At this stage the opsration called parkhai ' (examination of the plant) is also conducted. The object of this g parkhai ' is•to root out the bhang plant from amongst the ganja plants. If only one bhang plant is allowed to remain in the field, it has the effect of turning the whole field into bhang plants. The operation is continued until the ganja plant grows big enough. When the plant attains its full size, its flowers are cut with a sickle. At the time of cutting the flowers the juice that sticks to the instrument or the hand is collected and is called charas. The labourers who cut the flowers usually take away this charas for themselves.

"The seed of bhang is used for the growth of bhang. About two seers of seed are required for one bigah. The land in which the seed is to be sown is ploughed twice and then harroived. Then a handful of bhatig seed is taken and spread in the field. The land in which the seed is sown is harrowed once more. After four or five days the plant springs up. After a month the weeding and thinning of the plant commence, in the field of bliang, if a, bhang plant named bhangria.' grows it spoils the whole bhang field. The cultivators, therefore, root out this bhangria' plant from amongst the bhang plants. Within three or four mouths the bhang plant attains its full size. It ib then cut with a sickle and spread in the field."

5. The cultivators of the hemp plant do not appear to form a special class in Central India, except in Rewah, where the, cultivation is confined to Kachhis. -

6. Opinions differ as to the special conditions necessary for the successful cultivation of the hemp plant. It is believed in Dewas that no soil in the State is suitable for the plant except that of the two villages, in which alone, as already stated, it is cultivated. The soil of those villages is said by the Superintendent to be "dry, stony, elevated, loam." The Political Agent in Bhopawar has seen ganja-producing hemp growing from near sea-level to an elevation of 1,000 feet.

7. It appears that in Central India the preparation or manufacture of the products of the hemp plant is cartied on at the place of cultivation, and that the bbang and ganja sold in the bazars are in the state in which they left the cultivator. No charas is prepared in Central India except a little in the Bhopawar Agency for the personal use of the cultivators, or for presents from them to religious mendicants. What charas is consumed in other parts of Central India is mostly imported from the Punjab. In the State of Indore about 900 =lands of ganja and bhang together are yearly manufactured. In Dewas territory the yearly output is 156 maunds of ganja and 64 maunds of bhang.

8. The Political Agent in .Bhopawar thus describes the process of making ganja, bhang, majum, and charas :—

" Ganja is prepared by washing the dried tops well in water and rubbing them between the bands. It is here used only for smoking and is mixed with tobacco.

" Bbang is not here used for smoking. The green bhang is occasionally used as a vegetable, but ordinarily the dry bhang, is used for the preparation of a beverage. The leaves are roasted in a copper vessel, spread out on moist ground, well washed till they have lost their colour, strained and finally powdered. The powder is taken in water, sometimes sweetened or with milk added ; and it is common to add pepper, anise-seeds, rose flowers, lilac flowers, cucumber-seeds, almonds, or cardamoms.

"A special preparation is sold in the bazaars under the name of majurn, which is an extract of bhang mixed with sugar and ghee and baked.

" Charas is prepared by rubbino, ganja (sometimes mixed with bhang) violently for several hours on rough woollen blankets, which afterwards are scraped with a knife. The substance thus scraped off is first class charas. An inferior kind is then obtained by washing the blanket with the least possible quantity of water and then evaporating the liquid."

The Minister of Indore writes :—

" The crop gathered from the field is brought to the threshing-floor, over which it is evenly spread. Great care is taken to see that no earth or dust is allowed to mix with it. Rows of men consisting of the ryot's family and hired labourers tread the produce under foot so that the tops assume a flattened shape. This process is continued for three whole days. On the fourth day the tops are turned upside down and again trodden under foot for another period of three or four days. This process of turning and treading under foot is repeated three or four times. After the completion of this the tops are made into heaps, a foot and a quarter high. These heaps are then pressed by men under foot for about three or four hours. Next day two or three of these heaps are made into one large heap about breast high, and a regular series of such large heaps is then formed, and very closely covered up with stalks, leaves, etc., and heavy logs of wood or stones on the top. The article thus formed is ganja ready for sale.

"The round ganja is scarcely prepared in the State. This requires rolling under the foot instead of treading.

"Nearly the whole of the plant is cut, and all the plants so cut are stacked in the threshing floor. After allowing them to dry for a day or two, bunches of the plants are rubbed by the hand on the ground. The seed is then separated from the crushed leaves. The crushed leaves with tender twigs are called bhang, which is then ready for use."

The Dewas account is—

"When the ganja flowers are cut they are taken to the threshing floor. There they are trodden under feet until they are dried. While being thus trodden, the flowers are stripped of the leaves. The dried flowers form what is termed ganja.

" Ganja is prepared here simply for smoking purposes.

"When the bhang plant is cut and spread in the field, it is taken to the threshing floor. There it is beaten witira piece of wood. The leaves with seed become separated from the stalks, and they then form what is called bhan,g. This is the only preparation of bhang which is used for eating and drinking here."

9. All over Central India the cultivators of the hemp plant, where they are found, are also the manufacturers of bhang and ganja. The more luxurious preparations, such as majum, etc., are made by Bkathiyaras and confectioners. At Rutlain and elsewhere majum is also known as aukoti. Some witnesses think that none of the three products can •be made from the wild plant. Others think that inferior bhang and ganja (not charm) can be made from the wild plant. In Jaora ganja made from the wild plant is said to be called gorakhi ganja.

10. There is a difference of opinion as to the time the three drugs will keep. Two years is the maximum for ganja and bhang and five years for charas. In Bhopawar bhang is supposed to lose its virtue after one monsoon and ganja and charas after one year ; and this is said to be so well understood that the dealers burn or throw away their old stock when the new crop comes in.

11. Only two witnesses (both of Indore) report any other use of ganja than smoking it. One of them says it is used as a medicine both for men and cattle; the other says it is sometimes eaten with spices. Neither gives particulars. Charas is smoked only. The Thakur of Piplanda (in "West Malwa) says that in his territory chares-sinoking is punished.

12. Inveterate smokers of charas appear to be found only among the religious mendicants, fakirs, gosains, sadhus, and viragis. Most cultivators in Bhopawar smoke ganja occasionally ; but nowhere else in Central India are the cultivators said to be ganja-smokers. The Indore Minister particularly says that the agricultural classes rarely use ganja. In the Baghelkhand, Bhopal, West Malwa, and Gana Agencies, the ganja-smokers (other than fakirs, etc.) are saiki to be chamars, mehters, and other low caste people. Some witnesses give figures. In Dewas about 1 per cent, of the population are said to be ganja-smokers. In Rutlam (population 89,160) there are said to be 500 ga,tija-smokers and 50 charas-smokers. In Indore it is supposed that 2 per cent. of the male population smoke ganja and that barely one in a thousand smokes charas. The smoking of both is generally more common in towns than in villages. In Charkhari (Bundelkhand) all sadhus, etc., 30 per cent. of the low caste people, and 5 per cent. of the rest of the population are said to smoke ganja.

13. The flat (" chapta ") variety is the only ganja generally used in Central India. In Indore it is called hen. The Superintendent of the Sehore Bazaar says that chur is cheaper and that poor people sometimes use it for bhang.

14. The little charas that is used in Malwa comes mostly from the Punjab or the North-West Provinces, being imported by Vilayatis or Afghans. What is used in Rewah comes mostly from Patna. lt is only in Bhopawar that there is any manufacture of charm, and there, as has been already said, it is prepared for personal use only.

15. In no part of Central India is bhang said to be used for smoking. Mang is to some extent eaten and largely drunk all over the Agency. Some figures are given. In Indore 5 per cent. of the population are said to be drinkers and one in 5,000 eaters, of bhang. In ,Rutlam (population 89,160) 1,500 people are said to drink and 500 to eat bhang. The drinking of bhang is supposed to be common among all the higher castes of Hindus—Brahmans (especially those of Malwa), Banias and Rajputs—at times of rejoicing, and for a cool drink in the hot weather. Ujjain and Maheswar are mentioned by one of the Indore witnesses as places where bhang is largely drank. In Charkhari bhang is said to be " eaten only by hardened drinkers of the drug." In the Dattia evidence it is said that the same people who would drink bhang in the hot weather would eat it in the cold whether or the rains. In Bhopal about 100,000 are said to use one or other of the hemp drugs ; charas being expensive is said to be the least used of the three.

16. Taking Central India as a whole, the use of hemp drugs appears to be either stationary or on the decrease. In Itutlam the decrease is said to be due to the fact that the use of the drugs is disreputable ; in Rewah to the fact that the drugs, being imported, are dear; and in Indore the Minister thinks that the clear decrease is due to the increased use of cheap adulterated liquor.

17. Occasional consumers of ganja are very rare and occasional consumers of bhang are very common. It is reckoned both for Indore and Dewas that 90 per cent. of those who use bhang or ganja are habitual moderate consumers, and 10 per cent. habitual excessive consumers. The habitual excessive conairners of ganja are almost all religious mendicants. The use of ganja by such men is said to enable them to endure abstinence from food and water, and also to resist malaria. Apart from its use by religious mendicants, ganja is largely used by labourers and by the lower orders of domestic servants. It is more easily prepared than bhano., and it produces a more immediate intoxication. The habitual use of bhang is said to be common among Pujaris and Brahman priests; otherwise bhang is a luxury of the well-to-do Hindu. Sometimes it is taken merely as an appetiser. A dose of it is supposed to enable a man to concentrate his faculths. It is largely used by Hindu jewellers, by whom it is supposed to steady the eye.    •

18. The average allowance and its cost for bhang and genie respectively are very variously stated. In Indore the habitual moderate allowance per diem is said to be half a tola, costing one piee ' • ani the habitual exe.essive allowance one tola and a half, costing three pice. In Dewas the habitual moderate allowance is said to he one tole, costing three pies, and the habitual excessive allowance (wane toles, costing three annas. In Indore the habitual moderate drinker of bhang is said to take three toles, costing half an anna, every day ; in Dewas the dose is said to vary from one tom,    half a pie, to four toles, costing two pies.
In Bhopawar habitual moderate consumers Of bhang are said to take daily a quarter of a tola which, with the various admixtures, costs one anna; while excessive consumers take as much as five toles, the cost of which, with admixtures, is eight annas. In Charkhari two toles of bhang are said to cost one alma, the same being the price of one tola of ganja.

19. Ganja is smoked along with tobacco, the object of the mixture being, according to some, to bring ont the full effect of ths ganja, and, accordine.b to others, to mitigate its bad odour. The method of u,ing the drugs in Bhopawar is thus described :—

Ganja is for smoking mixed only with tobacco.

Charas is generally put on the top of the filled hookah (five to twenty grains weight).

Pepper, anise-seed, cucumber seed, almonds, cardamoms, rose leaves, lilac flowers, are all classed as " bhang massala," but ordinarily only the first two are used. Bhang is also taken with milk and sugar or boiled in milk. An infusion of one to two scruples in two or 'three small teacups full of water taken in three doses during the day is an efficient remedy in cases of painful gonorrhcea. Bhang tel, commonly called bhang, is a decoction of bhang in fresh butter or sweet almond-oil. It is a powerful narcotic.

The Indore use of ganja and bhang is thus described by the Minister"

Ganja is prepared for smoking in the following simple manner :—

" For each smoker about half a tola is taken each time. Any seed or large leaf or coarse fibre is carefully removed. The ganja is then soaked in water and placed on the palm of the hand. Some water is then poured upon it and the ganja frequently rubbed and pressed by means of the thumb of the other hand until the whole water is squeezed out. This process is repeated about a score of times until the water squeezed out is perfectly colourless. Tobacco to the extent of half the quantity of ganja is then added, and the mixture, with the water completely squeezed out, is then put in into a ehilum (smoking earthen bowl) and ignited by means of a live ember, generally of cowdung cake, put over it. The bowl is wrapped in a wet p:ece of cloth and applied to the mouth for the purpose of smoking.

" Bhang is prepared in several ways. The habitual, inveterate bhang-drinkers prepare it in the following way :—

" To a moderate drinker three tolas of bhang is required. It is carefully cleaned, and kept in water for some time, varying from a few minutes to half an hour. It is then washed several times, and with the addition of five or six pepper seeds reduced to the finest Pulpy state over a flat stone by means of a mullér worked by the hands. The pulp is mixed with about a pound of water and the mixture strained through a piece of cloth. The mixture is then poured from one pot into another many times. The number of times this is done and the height from which the mixture is poured is a very essential feature in the preparation. The drinker believes that the potency of the mixture increAses in the direct ratio of the repetitions and the height. The mixture thus obtained is ready for use by the bhang habitué, who never takes it without first offering to Shiv and pouring some of it over a lingam where one is at hand. There is no end to the ways in which bhang is drunk as a luxury and as a cooling drink. Sugar and milk are added in most instances. Dry rosebuds, poppy-seeds, almonds, cardamoms, anise-seed, saffron, musk, nutmegs, cucumber seeds, pistachios, and a number of other spices, with juice of various kinds of fruit, are added to the preparation to make it palatable.

" Ganja is mostly neither eaten nor drunk, and bhang is never smoked nor eaten by itself. It is, however, the principal ingredient of several intoxicating preparations, such as gulkand, majum, yakuti, manohargutka, churans, bliajiyas, etc., and is eaten in the articles both on ordinary and festive occasions.

" The above answer refers to bhang and ganja obtained by cultivation only."

The spices usually combined with bhang are called bhang massala. The mixture of that name is sold in the bazar ready to be mixed with the hhang. The object of mixing dhatura with bhang is to increase the intoxication. A highly intoxicating compound known as punch-ratni, into which dhatura enters, is sometimes used in Indore.

20. The consumption of these drugs, so far as appears, is not practised specially in solitude or specially in company. Ganja-smoking in company is not uncommon, the pipe being passed round. The smoking of ganja is practically confined to adult males, and is most common among the middle aged and the old. Except among sadhus and gosains, women never use ganja. Bhang drinking also is very rare among women, though women and even children may take a little on holidays and festive occasions.

21. As to the ease with which the habit of using hemp drugs is formed and the difficulty of breaking it off there is great disagreement among the witnesses. The majority are of opinion that ganja-smoking is not easily learned and that a man can break himself of it without difficulty. It is said to be easier to give up either ganja or bhang than it is to give up opium or liquor. The tendency of the moderate habit to develop into the excessive is said to be more marked in the case of bhang than of ganja.

22. There do not appear to be any particular religious customs connected with the use of ganja. W hen sadhus meet they pass the pipe round, whatever the occasion of the meeting. The votaries of Mahadev are said to consider the use of hemp drugs a part of their religion. At Dewas Shaivas are said to make oblations of bhang on days sacred to Shiv, especially on Alaba Shivratri; and when they have made their oblation they drink what remains. This use of bhang is occasional and temperate, and is not at all likely to lead to the formation of the habit. The same may be said of the social habit of drinking bhang on holidays and at marriages. This custom appears to prevail all over Central India, except perhaps in Baghelkhand. In that part of the Agency the greater part of the population are Vaishnavas, and the Baghelkhand witnesses in general have no good word to say for any of the hemp drugs.

23. No custom of worshiping the hemp plant is known in Central India. The only part of the Agency in which the use of all hemp drugs is said to be approved by public opinion is Bhopawar. In Malwa Rajputs, who are addicted to opium and drink, look down on people who use ganja and bhang. But it is only the smoking of ganja that is distinctly regarded as disreputable. The social drinking of bhang, referred to in the last paragraph, is of course not regarded as in any way reprehensible.

24. It is generally agreed that for an habitual smoker to forego the use of ganja would be a serious privation. The habitual users of hemp drugs, and particularly ganja, are mostly ignorant and fanatical men. Among religious mendicants the habit of smoking ganja is hereditary and inveterate. Nothing can take the place of ganja to these men, and the deprivation of the drug that their order has used for so many centuries would, there is every reason to suppose, be a serious political danger. The matter of bhang is not so serious, its users belonging, as a rule to a better class ; but in this connexion has been pointed out by more than one witness that boat opium and drink are dearer than bhang ; that Kshattriyas are the only twice-born Hindus to whom strong drink is not prohibited ; and so that Brahmans, for instance, if they wanted an intoxicant, would take to opium ; while Sudra users of hemp drugs, to whom strono.b drink is not forbidden, would not be able to afford it. On this point the Political Agentia Bhopawar writes :—

" Prohibition would probably be as ineffective as were the numerous attempts formerly made in all countries to prohibit the use of tobacco. The drug would certainly be consumed whether permitted or not. Interference would undoubtedly cause discontent, but any political danger would mainly arise from the opportunity afforded to the authorities for harassing the people. It is also possible that the Bhil tribes might show their resentment by open resistance. Witnesses are unanimously of opinion that prohibition would be an act of arbitrary injustice, and this would probably be the general popular feeling. The prohibition of ganja might lead to increased consumption of alcohol. The bhang-consuming classes generally disapprove of the use of alcohol, and would not be likely to take to it."

25. Generally speaking, there appears to be no reason to suppose that alcohol is to any extent taking the place at present of any of the hemp drugs. But the Indore Minister is of a different opinion.

26. In none of the States in Central India do there appear to be any restrictions on the manufacture or on the import and export of hemp drugs. Duties are charged on importation as on the other articles of merchandize. In some States the sale of the drugs is to some extent restricted. In Indore, as the Minister states, the wholesale dealer requires no license ; there is no maximum limit to the quantity he may sell at a time, but there is a minimum limit, viz., 60 seers. The right to sell the drugs in retail is farmed out by public auction, and the retail sale is confined to the farmer and his agents. At present the retail farmer has one shop of his own in the city, and fifteen tobacconists in the city and twenty-five more in the mofussil, sell the drugs as his agents, there being as a rule a shop at the head-quarters of every mahal. The only other state in which there appears to be any restriction on the sale of the drugs is Rewah, where the "contractors" (meaning apparently the wholesale importers) are said to pay a fixed duty and license fees to the State. Shops in which there is consumption on the premises are not mentioned as existing anywhere. In the State of Bhopal there is a licensed contractor for each pargana, who makes retail sales in his own shop and authorizes others to do so as his agents.

For Cantonments and Agency head-quarters very little information about the sale of hemp drugs is available. In Mhow there is one " sanctioned " shop, and the Cantonment Magistrate reports that the daily sale is only about four seers. In Nowgong cantonment the Abkari contractor holds a license to sell hemp drugs, for which he pays specially. In Nimach there is one licensed vendor, who is said to sell the drugs at 50 per cent. over the price in adjoining native territory. In Schore bazaar there is one licensed shop. In the Indore Residency Bazaar the right to sell hemp drugs retail is a part of the abkari contract, supposed to be worth Rs. 20 a month.