CH. XVI.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 337

the Punjab, the Central Provinces, Ajmere, Coorg, and Quetta-Pishin, is as
follows:—

This amount is held to be reasonable by the Excise Commissioner, North-
Western Provinces, and there are no opinions of any weight in favour of its
alteration.

In Bengal the limit fixed by Bengal Act VII of 1878 is as follows:—

There are several witnesses who recommend the reduction of the maximum
for ganja to 5 tolas; and, though the subject has not been noticed by any very
high authority, the majority of these witnesses are men of special experience in
excise matters. As regards ganja imported from the Orissa Tributary Mahals, the
Bengal Government has authority under the Act to fix a lower maximum, and it
has accordingly fixed 5 tolas.

In Madras the Act (1 of 1886) provides that the Government may fix a
limit. No such limit has been prescribed, and the Commission are of opinion
that this should be done.

In Bombay and Sind the Act (V of 1878) prescribes the limit fixed by the
Government for retail sale as the limit of possession. This limit has been fixed
by notification for the whole Presidency at 40 tolas or half an Indian sér for all
intoxicating drugs. There is a considerable amount of evidence in Bombay that
this limit is too high. Mr. Mackenzie says that it might be very considerably
reduced, and four Collectors, Messrs. Campbell, Monteath, Woodward, and Lely,
recommend the adoption of 5 tolas as the limit for ganja. Eleven other witnesses
in this province advocate reduction of the maximum. In Sind there are fewer
opinions on the subject, but there also the reduction of the limit is recommended
by three witnesses.

In Berar no limit of possession is prescribed; the limit for retail sale
is—ganja and bhang, 20 tolas; charas, 5 tolas. Three witnesses recommend
reduction of the limit, two of whom are excise officers.

The Commission's view.

690. As regards ganja and charas, and any preparation or admixture of the
same, the Commission are of opinion that there
should be one limit for the whole of India, and that
this limit should be 5 tolas. It is only in Bengal that this measure would require
an alteration of the law, and the opportunity should be taken when the Excise Act
is amended to make the necessary provision. It is understood that the subject
has already been under discussion, and that this amendment of the law has been
recommended by the Excise Commissioner. As regards bhang, the limit is
nowhere less than 1/4 sér. This limit is probably low enough where the hemp plant
grows wild, viz., in the Bengal Presidency. For other provinces, where bhang is
merely the refuse of the ganja plant, the question arises whether the limit ought

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