108 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [APP.
preparation is then
filtered, and the fluid essence is mixed with spices such as
jaiphal, jaipatri,
kalmi, 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
majum-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.
Yakuti.—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. Bhang 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 hesita-
tion. 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 mashas
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 physical and other
effects of the
use of hemp
drugs.
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 phleg-
matic. 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.