Volume 6

Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1893-1894.

  • India. Hemp Drugs Commission.
Date:
2010
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1893-1894. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/444 (page 28)
    ras, Kurmis, Lodhis are among the castes that are prohibited the use of liquor and so use ganja. Good bhang I have already said should be made more available. It would reduce the use of ganja us bhang, and also the use of spirituous hquor 28 among the higher classes. Ordinary ganja used as bhang is more injurious than good bhang. The higher classes would also smoke ganja less, They would also take liquor less, All this would, in my opinion, be a change for the better. 1. My information about hemp drugs is chiefly aged upon my experience of about twenty years as a Revenue and Judicial officer in the Central Provinces, holding the various posts of Naib Tahsildar, Tahsildar and Extra Assistant Com- missioner. Recently my services have been lent to the Khairagarh State by the Government for appointment as the Diwan of the State. In my judicial capacity, 1 have often had to inspect the excise shops, to arrange for the sale of intoxicating drugs, and to investigate into the crimes against the Excise Act. Besides, during the course of my studies, I had the opportunity to study medicine, as is taught by the hakims. {t (my information) is based upon such inform- ation as I could now gather from the bairagis, who are addicted to the use of hemp drugs, and who visit this State during the rainy season. I have especially dealt with questions in the chapters V and VI with which I was much acquainted, 2. The definition of Dr. Prain can be alopted in these provinces. Bhang has got the different names of booti, bhajia, and thandai (cool drink). Flat ganja is called “baluchur.? A large collection of round ganja is called a “ joori,” while smaller ones “ charpa,” 18, Ganja does deteriorate by keeping, and when kept long enough loses its effect altogether, It might keep good for three years at most with ordinary care, The chief causes of deterioration are damp, exposure to rains, to be moth eaten. lt also deteriorates by being broken into minute particles. The effect is also lessened by constant exposure to weather, The special measure taken to prevent deterioration of ganja is to keep it in a closed room on a wooden platform, high enough from the ground between the strata of grass. The same is the case with bbhang, but to prevent deterioration it is kept in dkolee (a kind of bamboo basket). Charas is kept in leather bags and wooden “ dabbas.’? 19, Ganja is for the most part used for smok- ing. Butas “bhang” is rare in the Central Provinees, people use “ganja” instead in the following forms :— (1) They take a certain quantity of ‘ ganja,” wash it out, grind it, and take it with milk or water as they like. When taken with milk, it is called ‘‘ dudh-bhanga,” (2) When “ganja” is taken with sweetmeats it is called “ majum.” (3) Ganja is roasted in clarified butter with the following ingredients :—Sugar, chi- rounji, almond, cocoanut, date, cardamom and saffron. When this is done, it is re- duced to powder and used. This is called “ gooramba.” Ganja with pepper and other spices is mixed with “chana” flour and cakes are made of it, which they call ‘“‘bhajia.” This kind of use is limited to Mahratta Brahmins. 20. Generally ganja is smoked by the low elass people in the Central Provinces, such as Hindu mendicants, bairagis, gosains, ete. It is used by the criminal tribes, Pasi, Baria, Khangar and Kunjar. It is also prevalent to a little extent among the Chhattris and low class Muhammadans, such as Kunjras and Pinjaras, etc,, but the latter use it very rarely. Charas is not at all in use here. Only some immigrants from the North- Western Provinces use it. One man in every 300 smokes grajna. 21, Flat ganja is preferred to the other kinds in the Central Provinces. They call it baluchur, But as it is difficult to obtain it, round is used instead of it. Chur is regarded as the most inferior. 22, Charas is not in use in these provinces, but I have seen at home (Oudb) that smokers prefer native charas, 23. Bhang is not smoked ; if done so it causes no intoxication, ’ 24. Bhang is not so prevalent in the Central Provinces as in the North-Western Provinces, Its use is for the most part confined to cities and towns. Bhang is generally used by the middle classes such as the Brahmins, Chhattris, ete. The moderaté use of bhang is not looked upon asa mean thing, and the Hindu religion does not forbid its use, In the hot weather people take it as a cooling drink. The upper classes use it more than any other preparation of hemp. 25, The consumption of “ ganja”? is gradually decreasing. I attribute this decrease to the following reasons :— (1) The use of ganja is regarded as the nearest way of intoxication and as the people grow more enlightened, they knock off this ser- vile habit. 9 wo ( ) The use of its price can also account for the decrease, (8) Ganja smoking seems to be giving way to alcohol, bhang, opium and madak. hose whose religion does not insist upon total abstinence from alcohol take to drinking, while the rest either smoke madak or drink bhang. (4) The use of bhang is increasing. This is due to its not being regarded as deroga- tory. The Hindus of middle and high classes, who abstain from alcohol, make use of it in company of their friends,