Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Assam, by Mr. J. D. Anderson, Officiating Commissioner of Excise, Vol 3, Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895, https://digital.nls.uk/74464868
Both cultivated and wild hemp are consumed in this province. The cultivated hemp is entirely imported from Rajshahi in the form of flat, round, choor ganja by licensed wholesale vendors, who place the drug in registered warehouses, and the duty is paid by retail vendors when the ganja is taken from the registered warehouses. The vend of charas and bhang is at the present moment forbidden in Assam, no licenses having been taken out. The use and sale of wild hemp as an intoxicant is forbidden. But the possession of wild hemp as a medicine for cattle is permitted by a circular issued in 1882, a copy of which is enclosed. The wild plant grows freely in all parts of the province and especially in the hill tracts by dwellers in which it is illicitly sold in small quantities to the neighbouring plains people. It is also grown in the Bhutan Hills and is sold privily in small quantities when the Bhutias come down to trade in the cold weather. Similarly, men from Independent Tipperah sell the wild plant to the inhabitants of Sylhet. No pains are taken, it is believed, to extirpate the male plants by people who deal in wild hemp, of which the leaves and stalks as well as the flowers are sold. There is nothing to show that the trade in the wild plant is sufficiently large to compete seriously with excise ganja, unless possibly in the Khasi Hills, where the continuous decrease in the consumption of the Rajshahi drug can, I think, only be attributed to the cheapness of wild hemp, and the great facilities for its use. But the excise administration of this district is attended by abnormal difficulties owing to the fact that the Khasi Hills are parcelled out into the territories of many semi-independent Chiefs. On the whole, the consumption of wild hemp is small, is effectually checked by prosecutions from time to time, and cannot, I think, be checked in any other way. The wild plant is used by habitual consumers only as a pis aller, and when their supply of the excise ganja runs short. I do not think any more need be said about the wild plant. 2. With regard to excise ganja, we only use the three varieties above mentioned, and in our dealings with them are entirely guided by the excise system of the neighbouring province of Bengal. All our excise ganja comes to us from Bengal, and is dealt with in accordance with the Bengal Board of Revenue's Excise Manual. The three districts of Sylhet, Cachar, and Goalpara, in the matter of ganja consumption, entirely resemble the adjacent Bengal districts of Mymensing, Tipperah, and Rangpur. In the five districts of Assam proper, namely, Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, and Lakhimpur, and in the three hill districts, namely, the Garo, Khasi, and Naga Hills, ganja is consumed chiefly by foreigners. The inhabitants of the first five districts are perhaps the largest consumers of opium in India; and in spite of the great decrease of opium shops, and the enormous increase in retail prices which our excise system has brought about, ganja has not, to any considerable extent, taken the place of opium. But these five districts contain about half the tea gardens of the province, and consequently possess a large immigrant population—men from Behar, Chota Nagpur, the North-Western Provinces, &c., who are many of them habitual consumers of ganja. In the three hill districts ganja is chiefly consumed by imported servants of the State—sepoys, police constables, &c. The duty on ganja, as I have already said, is the same as that in Bengal. The varying retail prices are regulated by (1) the cost of importation (which is very heavy in the hill districts); (2) by license fees, which are fixed by putting up each retail shop to auction sale. The results of sale usually agree roughly with the local demand and the probabilities of making a profit. Occasionally, however, a combination is formed among the bidders for keeping down prices. In such cases, it has occasionally been found necessary to let a whole district to a monopolist. This expedient is, however, very rarely adopted, inasmuch as it leads to an enormous increase in the retail prices and a consequent encouragement to smuggling and the use of the wild plant. This preface will probably make the following answers to the questions proposed by the Commission complete and readily intelligible:— (a) The vend of the drug throughout the province is carried on under one uniform system under the general supervision of the Commissioner of Excise. The district administration is carried on by the respective Deputy Commissioners assisted by the Sub-Divisional Officers within the boundaries of their respective charges. No separate coercive establishment is kept up, and enquiry into the breaches of the Excise Law is made chiefly through the police. The Act in force is Act VII (B.C.) of 1878, as amended by Act IV (B.C.) of 1881, and also Act I (B.C.) of 1883 and the rules and circulars issued by the Bengal Board of Revenue under that Act. I append a list of circulars (with an abstract of their subjectmatter) issued by the Chief Commissioner and by the Commissioner of Excise, Assam, for this province exclusively. (b) I have already stated the extent to which wild hemp grows in this province and the steps taken to control its use. A perusal of Circular No. 28 of 1882, above alluded to, will make this quite clear. (c) The cultivation of hemp for the production of drugs is entirely forbidden. (d) Ganja is imported by licensed wholesale vendors, who hold licenses to open registered warehouses. These warehouses are under double lock and key, one key being in the hands of a Government officer, the other in those of the vendor. Ganja is imported, as in Bengal, under passes issued by the District or Sub Divisional Officer, a fee of Rs. 2 being charged for each pass. When a retail vendor desires to remove ganja from a registered warehouse, he pays the requisite amount of duty into the Treasury and receives a pass (without fee) which enables him to take the necessary supply of drug from the warehouse to his shop. The warehouses are usually small constructions of wood, lined with tin. In rare cases they are made of masonry. Transport is allowed from one warehouse to another under the cover of passes issued by the Deputy Commissioner. (e) The number of wholesale vendors in a district is fixed by the Commissioner of Excise in accordance with local requirements. That is, new licenses are not given without careful enquiry, and without ascertaining that the existing licensed vendors are not sufficient in number to carry on the business of importation. An excess in the number of wholesale vendors might lead to an undue cheapening of the drug or to smuggling. In Sylhet, the most populous district in the province, there are 17 vendors. In the Assam Valley the largest number is in Kamrup, namely, 9. But the licensed vendors of several other districts draw their supply from Kamrup. The retail vendors are all licensed; they have to pay their license fees monthly in advance, two months' fees being paid at the date of sale. They are compelled to keep accounts of all purchases and sales of the drug. These are carefully scrutinized from time to time by Magistrates and Police officers, who can demand the immediate production of the license and accounts at any time. (f) The tax on ganja consists of (1) duty collected as above, (2) and license fee paid monthly as above. Payment of duty can only be evaded by the collusion of the Excise Officer. (g) The number and sites of retail shops are fixed by the Commissioner of Excise in consultation with the district authorities, who endeavour, as far as is possible by personal enquiries, and by consulting the police, mauzadars, &c., to discover the wishes of the people of the locality. An upset price is fixed on the average fees paid during the previous three years. Experience shows that a minimum upset price is a good guide to local demand. Statement appended gives the number of shops to population. The population varies so enormously in proportion to area in different parts of Assam, that it is impossible to make area a factor in fixing sites for shops. Shops are commonly placed in bazar and other centres of trade, and the vendors usually deal in other commodities, such as spices, &c. Complaints as to the location of ganja shops are carefully considered, but very rarely occur. Complaints by people living near spirit shops and specially by European planters are comparatively common. Ostensibly we have no local option, except as above described, that, as a matter of fact, if the people of any locality objected to, or desired the opening of a new shop, they would not hesitate to make their wish known to the district officials, or, if necessary, to the Commissioner of Excise. In the case of ganja, such references are extremely rare. In the hill districts and Assam proper, the shops are few and far between; in Sylhet and Cachar the number has been largely reduced of late years, and the only doubt possible is whether the reduction has not been too great. In 1890-91 the retail shops in Sylhet were reduced from 148 to 110, and in Cachar from 52 to 42. No complaints were made by the general public. (h) No rate is fixed at which the drug is to be supplied by wholesale to the retail vendors. The rate is fixed by competition, and if the wholesale vendors of one district attempt to force the price too high, retail vendors have recourse to the "golahs" of a neighbouring district. In many cases the wholesale vendors also hold retail shops. (i) The maximum limit of possession by ordinary consumers is, as in Bengal, 20 tolas. It has not been found necessary to fix any minimum price. But in this matter we simply follow the precedent of Bengal. (j) The dried wild plant is smuggled into the province in small quantities from Bhutan and Hill Tipperah. Beyond the intervention of the police, no steps have been considered necessary to defeat a practice which is carried on on a very small scale. We occasionally get information (for which rewards are paid by the Deputy Commissioners) from retail vendors and others. (k) No modifications of the excise system with reference to hemp drugs are under the consideration of the local Government. (l) The statement called for by the Commission is appended hereto. I add some explanations of the more important variations in consumption from year to year. In 1874-75 there was a decrease in consumption in Cachar owing to a combination among the wholesale vendors to raise the price. In the following year a similar cause produced similar effects in Sylhet, while the breaking up of the combination in Cachar led to a reduction in retail prices and increased consumption. In 1876-77 the combination in Sylhet continued and resulted in a further decrease in consumption, while in Cachar, Goalpara, and Kamrup the whole district was farmed out to a monopolist, who found his profit in charging high prices, which checked consumption. In 1877-78 the consumption in Sylhet increased owing to the breaking up of the combination among the goladars and a consequent fall in retail prices. The increase in Goalpara was attributed by the district authorities to the fact that opium had become too costly for common use and that people were taking to ganja instead. This was probably a mere guess, and does not appear in the explanations of subsequent years. In fact, careful inquiries have since shown that ganja is not taking the place of opium. In 1878-79 there was an increase of the rate of duty in Sylhet alone, and this was followed by a large decrease in the amount of ganja taken from the district shops. Strange to say, however, there was also a decrease in the neighbouring district of Cachar, where the rate of duty was not enhanced till the following year. In Cachar the diminution was attributed to the high rates charged by the wholesale vendors in anticipation of an enhanced duty. In 1879-80 when the enhanced rate of duty was extended to the whole province, an increased consumption of about three maunds in each case occurred in Sylhet and Cachar. There was a decrease in all the remaining districts, and especially in Goalpara, where the season was a bad one, and the price of food-grain was high. In the next two years consumption remained pretty steady. In 1883-84 there was a somewhat large increase of 58 1/2 maunds. This was chiefly due to the breaking up of the monopoly in Cachar, which resulted in a reduction of retail prices. In Kamrup there was an increase of over 16 maunds, but, as above explained, many districts (Darrang, Nowgong, the Khasi Hills, &c.) draw their supply from this district. In Sylhet there was a falling off of over 19 maunds, but no doubt many consumers drew their supply from Cachar. In 1885-86 there was a very large decrease in consumption, entirely due to the decrease in the Sylhet district attended as before by an increase in Cachar. In the following year the pendulum swung backwards, and in Sylhet and Kamrup, which had shown a large falling off in 1885-86, there was an increase in consumption. This, as before, was no doubt due to the breaking up of combination among the wholesale vendors. In 1887-88 there was again a decrease in Sylhet and Cachar, in the former district amounting to as much as 73 maunds. The year was one of scarcity and high prices, but an increase in prices and decreased consumption would probably have occurred in any case. In Lakhimpur the rapid increase of the immigrant population induced the Commissioner to authorize the opening of a second registered warehouse (there had only been one heretofore). This appears to have led to a fall in retail prices and a small (temporary) increase in consumption. In 1888-89 Sylhet and Cachar again show an increase between them of some 71 maunds. The year was a good one from an agricultural point of view, and probably the anticipation of good sales brought about the breaking up of the combination among wholesale vendors. Moreover, the increase in this year was less than appears at the first sight. The duty on choor and round ganja was raised; that on flat ganja remained the same. This stimulated the consumption of flat ganja, which consists largely of stalks and stems. In 1889-90 the increased consumption continued, the year being again one of good harvests. So also in 1890-91, in which year the consumption in Cachar was greatly stimulated by the influx of foreigners in connection with the Lushai expedition. In 1891-92 the decrease of 27 maunds odd was chiefly due to the partial failure of the crop in Rajshahi, which raised the wholesale price of the drug; nor was the quantity required available for import. The decrease of nearly 80 maunds in 1892-93 occurred almost entirely in the district of Cachar, and was due to the fact that the whole district was leased to a monopolist. In other districts the decrease was more apparent than real, owing to an increased resort to the use of round and choor ganja in preference to flat ganja. (m) As I have already pointed out at length, our system of administering ganja is derived from, and carried on, in conformity with the Bengal system. It would be possible for us to vend ganja in the same way as we now vend opium. To take this step would give us an increased hold over the vendors, and a possibility of influencing retail prices more effectually than at present. The experiment is in fact being tried on a small scale in the Khasi Hills. But to adopt it for the province at large, we should require the co-operation of the Bengal Government. Probably the introduction of a similar system in Bengal would be necessary. With regard to opium the system, as is well known, is for Government to buy the opium from the cultivators, and to sell it directly after manufacture to the retail vendors. Whether such a system can profitably be applied to ganja is probably best known to the authorities in Rajshahi. In practice the present system works fairly well: all reasonable facilities for the sale of the drug are given, while it cannot be said that the number of shops is such as to create an artificial demand for ganja. The one drawback of the system lies in the violent vacillations in retail prices due to the forming and breaking up of the combinations among the wholesale vendors.
Circular No. 28, dated Shillong, the 26th October 1882. From—C. J. LYALL, ESQ., C.I.E., Offg. Secy. to the Chief Commissioner of Assam, Revenue Department, To—All Deputy Commissioners, Plains Districts. I AM directed to invite your attention to the Notification No. 27, dated the 20th October, published in the Assam Gazette of the 21st idem, declaring, under section 17A of the Excise Act, VII (B.C.) of 1878, as amended by Act IV (B.C.) of 1881, that the possession without a license of any "foreign exciseable article" (except spirituous and fermented liquors imported by sea, and kept only for private use and consumption and not for sale) in any quantity whatsoever, is absolutely prohibited in the plains districts of this province. 2. "Foreign exciseable article" is defined in section 3 of Act IV (B.C.) of 1881 so as to include not only exciseable articles manufactured or produced at any place beyond the limits of British India, but also all such articles produced or manufactured in places within British India, where no duty of excise is levied upon them. Such places are the Hill Districts in respect of country spirits and ganja, and the Act amending Act VII (B.C.) of 1878 was passed mainly with the object of preventing injury to the excise revenue of the plains districts from the introduction into them of untaxed spirits and ganja or bhang from the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia, North Cachar, and Naga Hills. If in your district any such importation, or importation from foreign territory, exists, you should take steps to make the prohibition widely known and understood. Magisterial officers should of course, especially at the outset, deal leniently with such cases of possession, where there is reason to believe that the importation was made in ignorance of the prohibition. It must be understood that this notification does not make the possession of wild ganja, whether green or dry, illegal, if it is grown in a plains district, but only if grown in a hill district, or beyond the British boundary. 3. In connection with the discussions which have preceded the issue of this notification, it has been brought to the Chief Commissioner's notice that the wild hemp plant, which grows abundantly both in the hills and plains of this province, is largely used, after being cut and dried, as a medicine for cattle. I am to invite your attention to sections 16 and 17, rule 2 of Chapter XV of the Board's Rules, Vol. I., edition of 1878, which bear upon this subject, and describe the different preparations of hemp which are "exciseable articles." Ganja is said by the Board to be made from the dried flowers of the female hemp plant, and some authorities say that it is only made from the cultivated plant. Bhang, again (which according to the Board is otherwise called siddhi, patti, or sabji), is said by them to be made from the dried leaves of the wild plant, and to be usually consumed in some liquid or to be mixed with sugar and ghi in the electuary called majum. Charas is the resin found on the flowers and leaves of the plant, in which the active intoxicating principle of all the preparations resides: it is not sufficiently abundant to be collected separately in most of the varieties of hemp grown in India, and is chiefly imported from Afghanistan and Yarkand. Thus, the danger to the excise revenue from the illicit use of wild hemp arises from its use as bhang, not as ganja properly so called. Its cultivation without a license is already prohibited by section 5 of the Excise Act. By section 2 of the Act the sale of bhang in any quantity without a license is forbidden. By sections 15 and 17 of the Act the possession of a larger quantity of bhang than a quarter of a seer, except by a licensed vendor, is prohibited. 4. But you will observe that in rule 2 of section 17 of Chapter XV of the Board's Rules it is said that "no restriction is imposed on the use of the hemp plant in its green state for medical or other purposes, or on its manipulation for the manufacture of fibre. But any preparation of the plant to be used, stored and sold as a narcotic or stimulant is prohibited, except under the rules framed under the Act." This rule mentions the medicinal use of the plant only "in its green state;" but if, as appears to be the case, the wild hemp is also used as a medicine for cattle when dried, the Chief Commissioner desires that the rule may be liberally interpreted, and no penalty imposed when it is probable that the cultivation or the drying and storing of it was only for this purpose. Whether this was so or not is of course a question of fact. 5. This circular should be communicated to all judicial officers subordinate to you and also filed in the judicial side of your office.
Both cultivated and wild hemp are consumed in this province. The cultivated hemp is entirely imported from Rajshahi in the form of flat, round, choor ganja by licensed wholesale vendors, who place the drug in registered warehouses, and the duty is paid by retail vendors when the ganja is taken from the registered warehouses. The vend of charas and bhang is at the present moment forbidden in Assam, no licenses having been taken out. The use and sale of wild hemp as an intoxicant is forbidden. But the possession of wild hemp as a medicine for cattle is permitted by a circular issued in 1882, a copy of which is enclosed. The wild plant grows freely in all parts of the province and especially in the hill tracts by dwellers in which it is illicitly sold in small quantities to the neighbouring plains people. It is also grown in the Bhutan Hills and is sold privily in small quantities when the Bhutias come down to trade in the cold weather. Similarly, men from Independent Tipperah sell the wild plant to the inhabitants of Sylhet. No pains are taken, it is believed, to extirpate the male plants by people who deal in wild hemp, of which the leaves and stalks as well as the flowers are sold. There is nothing to show that the trade in the wild plant is sufficiently large to compete seriously with excise ganja, unless possibly in the Khasi Hills, where the continuous decrease in the consumption of the Rajshahi drug can, I think, only be attributed to the cheapness of wild hemp, and the great facilities for its use. But the excise administration of this district is attended by abnormal difficulties owing to the fact that the Khasi Hills are parcelled out into the territories of many semi-independent Chiefs. On the whole, the consumption of wild hemp is small, is effectually checked by prosecutions from time to time, and cannot, I think, be checked in any other way. The wild plant is used by habitual consumers only as a pis aller, and when their supply of the excise ganja runs short. I do not think any more need be said about the wild plant. 2. With regard to excise ganja, we only use the three varieties above mentioned, and in our dealings with them are entirely guided by the excise system of the neighbouring province of Bengal. All our excise ganja comes to us from Bengal, and is dealt with in accordance with the Bengal Board of Revenue's Excise Manual. The three districts of Sylhet, Cachar, and Goalpara, in the matter of ganja consumption, entirely resemble the adjacent Bengal districts of Mymensing, Tipperah, and Rangpur. In the five districts of Assam proper, namely, Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, and Lakhimpur, and in the three hill districts, namely, the Garo, Khasi, and Naga Hills, ganja is consumed chiefly by foreigners. The inhabitants of the first five districts are perhaps the largest consumers of opium in India; and in spite of the great decrease of opium shops, and the enormous increase in retail prices which our excise system has brought about, ganja has not, to any considerable extent, taken the place of opium. But these five districts contain about half the tea gardens of the province, and consequently possess a large immigrant population—men from Behar, Chota Nagpur, the North-Western Provinces, &c., who are many of them habitual consumers of ganja. In the three hill districts ganja is chiefly consumed by imported servants of the State—sepoys, police constables, &c. The duty on ganja, as I have already said, is the same as that in Bengal. The varying retail prices are regulated by (1) the cost of importation (which is very heavy in the hill districts); (2) by license fees, which are fixed by putting up each retail shop to auction sale. The results of sale usually agree roughly with the local demand and the probabilities of making a profit. Occasionally, however, a combination is formed among the bidders for keeping down prices. In such cases, it has occasionally been found necessary to let a whole district to a monopolist. This expedient is, however, very rarely adopted, inasmuch as it leads to an enormous increase in the retail prices and a consequent encouragement to smuggling and the use of the wild plant. This preface will probably make the following answers to the questions proposed by the Commission complete and readily intelligible:— (a) The vend of the drug throughout the province is carried on under one uniform system under the general supervision of the Commissioner of Excise. The district administration is carried on by the respective Deputy Commissioners assisted by the Sub-Divisional Officers within the boundaries of their respective charges. No separate coercive establishment is kept up, and enquiry into the breaches of the Excise Law is made chiefly through the police. The Act in force is Act VII (B.C.) of 1878, as amended by Act IV (B.C.) of 1881, and also Act I (B.C.) of 1883 and the rules and circulars issued by the Bengal Board of Revenue under that Act. I append a list of circulars (with an abstract of their subjectmatter) issued by the Chief Commissioner and by the Commissioner of Excise, Assam, for this province exclusively. (b) I have already stated the extent to which wild hemp grows in this province and the steps taken to control its use. A perusal of Circular No. 28 of 1882, above alluded to, will make this quite clear. (c) The cultivation of hemp for the production of drugs is entirely forbidden. (d) Ganja is imported by licensed wholesale vendors, who hold licenses to open registered warehouses. These warehouses are under double lock and key, one key being in the hands of a Government officer, the other in those of the vendor. Ganja is imported, as in Bengal, under passes issued by the District or Sub Divisional Officer, a fee of Rs. 2 being charged for each pass. When a retail vendor desires to remove ganja from a registered warehouse, he pays the requisite amount of duty into the Treasury and receives a pass (without fee) which enables him to take the necessary supply of drug from the warehouse to his shop. The warehouses are usually small constructions of wood, lined with tin. In rare cases they are made of masonry. Transport is allowed from one warehouse to another under the cover of passes issued by the Deputy Commissioner. (e) The number of wholesale vendors in a district is fixed by the Commissioner of Excise in accordance with local requirements. That is, new licenses are not given without careful enquiry, and without ascertaining that the existing licensed vendors are not sufficient in number to carry on the business of importation. An excess in the number of wholesale vendors might lead to an undue cheapening of the drug or to smuggling. In Sylhet, the most populous district in the province, there are 17 vendors. In the Assam Valley the largest number is in Kamrup, namely, 9. But the licensed vendors of several other districts draw their supply from Kamrup. The retail vendors are all licensed; they have to pay their license fees monthly in advance, two months' fees being paid at the date of sale. They are compelled to keep accounts of all purchases and sales of the drug. These are carefully scrutinized from time to time by Magistrates and Police officers, who can demand the immediate production of the license and accounts at any time. (f) The tax on ganja consists of (1) duty collected as above, (2) and license fee paid monthly as above. Payment of duty can only be evaded by the collusion of the Excise Officer. (g) The number and sites of retail shops are fixed by the Commissioner of Excise in consultation with the district authorities, who endeavour, as far as is possible by personal enquiries, and by consulting the police, mauzadars, &c., to discover the wishes of the people of the locality. An upset price is fixed on the average fees paid during the previous three years. Experience shows that a minimum upset price is a good guide to local demand. Statement appended gives the number of shops to population. The population varies so enormously in proportion to area in different parts of Assam, that it is impossible to make area a factor in fixing sites for shops. Shops are commonly placed in bazar and other centres of trade, and the vendors usually deal in other commodities, such as spices, &c. Complaints as to the location of ganja shops are carefully considered, but very rarely occur. Complaints by people living near spirit shops and specially by European planters are comparatively common. Ostensibly we have no local option, except as above described, that, as a matter of fact, if the people of any locality objected to, or desired the opening of a new shop, they would not hesitate to make their wish known to the district officials, or, if necessary, to the Commissioner of Excise. In the case of ganja, such references are extremely rare. In the hill districts and Assam proper, the shops are few and far between; in Sylhet and Cachar the number has been largely reduced of late years, and the only doubt possible is whether the reduction has not been too great. In 1890-91 the retail shops in Sylhet were reduced from 148 to 110, and in Cachar from 52 to 42. No complaints were made by the general public. (h) No rate is fixed at which the drug is to be supplied by wholesale to the retail vendors. The rate is fixed by competition, and if the wholesale vendors of one district attempt to force the price too high, retail vendors have recourse to the "golahs" of a neighbouring district. In many cases the wholesale vendors also hold retail shops. (i) The maximum limit of possession by ordinary consumers is, as in Bengal, 20 tolas. It has not been found necessary to fix any minimum price. But in this matter we simply follow the precedent of Bengal. (j) The dried wild plant is smuggled into the province in small quantities from Bhutan and Hill Tipperah. Beyond the intervention of the police, no steps have been considered necessary to defeat a practice which is carried on on a very small scale. We occasionally get information (for which rewards are paid by the Deputy Commissioners) from retail vendors and others. (k) No modifications of the excise system with reference to hemp drugs are under the consideration of the local Government. (l) The statement called for by the Commission is appended hereto. I add some explanations of the more important variations in consumption from year to year. In 1874-75 there was a decrease in consumption in Cachar owing to a combination among the wholesale vendors to raise the price. In the following year a similar cause produced similar effects in Sylhet, while the breaking up of the combination in Cachar led to a reduction in retail prices and increased consumption. In 1876-77 the combination in Sylhet continued and resulted in a further decrease in consumption, while in Cachar, Goalpara, and Kamrup the whole district was farmed out to a monopolist, who found his profit in charging high prices, which checked consumption. In 1877-78 the consumption in Sylhet increased owing to the breaking up of the combination among the goladars and a consequent fall in retail prices. The increase in Goalpara was attributed by the district authorities to the fact that opium had become too costly for common use and that people were taking to ganja instead. This was probably a mere guess, and does not appear in the explanations of subsequent years. In fact, careful inquiries have since shown that ganja is not taking the place of opium. In 1878-79 there was an increase of the rate of duty in Sylhet alone, and this was followed by a large decrease in the amount of ganja taken from the district shops. Strange to say, however, there was also a decrease in the neighbouring district of Cachar, where the rate of duty was not enhanced till the following year. In Cachar the diminution was attributed to the high rates charged by the wholesale vendors in anticipation of an enhanced duty. In 1879-80 when the enhanced rate of duty was extended to the whole province, an increased consumption of about three maunds in each case occurred in Sylhet and Cachar. There was a decrease in all the remaining districts, and especially in Goalpara, where the season was a bad one, and the price of food-grain was high. In the next two years consumption remained pretty steady. In 1883-84 there was a somewhat large increase of 58 1/2 maunds. This was chiefly due to the breaking up of the monopoly in Cachar, which resulted in a reduction of retail prices. In Kamrup there was an increase of over 16 maunds, but, as above explained, many districts (Darrang, Nowgong, the Khasi Hills, &c.) draw their supply from this district. In Sylhet there was a falling off of over 19 maunds, but no doubt many consumers drew their supply from Cachar. In 1885-86 there was a very large decrease in consumption, entirely due to the decrease in the Sylhet district attended as before by an increase in Cachar. In the following year the pendulum swung backwards, and in Sylhet and Kamrup, which had shown a large falling off in 1885-86, there was an increase in consumption. This, as before, was no doubt due to the breaking up of combination among the wholesale vendors. In 1887-88 there was again a decrease in Sylhet and Cachar, in the former district amounting to as much as 73 maunds. The year was one of scarcity and high prices, but an increase in prices and decreased consumption would probably have occurred in any case. In Lakhimpur the rapid increase of the immigrant population induced the Commissioner to authorize the opening of a second registered warehouse (there had only been one heretofore). This appears to have led to a fall in retail prices and a small (temporary) increase in consumption. In 1888-89 Sylhet and Cachar again show an increase between them of some 71 maunds. The year was a good one from an agricultural point of view, and probably the anticipation of good sales brought about the breaking up of the combination among wholesale vendors. Moreover, the increase in this year was less than appears at the first sight. The duty on choor and round ganja was raised; that on flat ganja remained the same. This stimulated the consumption of flat ganja, which consists largely of stalks and stems. In 1889-90 the increased consumption continued, the year being again one of good harvests. So also in 1890-91, in which year the consumption in Cachar was greatly stimulated by the influx of foreigners in connection with the Lushai expedition. In 1891-92 the decrease of 27 maunds odd was chiefly due to the partial failure of the crop in Rajshahi, which raised the wholesale price of the drug; nor was the quantity required available for import. The decrease of nearly 80 maunds in 1892-93 occurred almost entirely in the district of Cachar, and was due to the fact that the whole district was leased to a monopolist. In other districts the decrease was more apparent than real, owing to an increased resort to the use of round and choor ganja in preference to flat ganja. (m) As I have already pointed out at length, our system of administering ganja is derived from, and carried on, in conformity with the Bengal system. It would be possible for us to vend ganja in the same way as we now vend opium. To take this step would give us an increased hold over the vendors, and a possibility of influencing retail prices more effectually than at present. The experiment is in fact being tried on a small scale in the Khasi Hills. But to adopt it for the province at large, we should require the co-operation of the Bengal Government. Probably the introduction of a similar system in Bengal would be necessary. With regard to opium the system, as is well known, is for Government to buy the opium from the cultivators, and to sell it directly after manufacture to the retail vendors. Whether such a system can profitably be applied to ganja is probably best known to the authorities in Rajshahi. In practice the present system works fairly well: all reasonable facilities for the sale of the drug are given, while it cannot be said that the number of shops is such as to create an artificial demand for ganja. The one drawback of the system lies in the violent vacillations in retail prices due to the forming and breaking up of the combinations among the wholesale vendors.
Circular No. 28, dated Shillong, the 26th October 1882. From—C. J. LYALL, ESQ., C.I.E., Offg. Secy. to the Chief Commissioner of Assam, Revenue Department, To—All Deputy Commissioners, Plains Districts. I AM directed to invite your attention to the Notification No. 27, dated the 20th October, published in the Assam Gazette of the 21st idem, declaring, under section 17A of the Excise Act, VII (B.C.) of 1878, as amended by Act IV (B.C.) of 1881, that the possession without a license of any "foreign exciseable article" (except spirituous and fermented liquors imported by sea, and kept only for private use and consumption and not for sale) in any quantity whatsoever, is absolutely prohibited in the plains districts of this province. 2. "Foreign exciseable article" is defined in section 3 of Act IV (B.C.) of 1881 so as to include not only exciseable articles manufactured or produced at any place beyond the limits of British India, but also all such articles produced or manufactured in places within British India, where no duty of excise is levied upon them. Such places are the Hill Districts in respect of country spirits and ganja, and the Act amending Act VII (B.C.) of 1878 was passed mainly with the object of preventing injury to the excise revenue of the plains districts from the introduction into them of untaxed spirits and ganja or bhang from the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia, North Cachar, and Naga Hills. If in your district any such importation, or importation from foreign territory, exists, you should take steps to make the prohibition widely known and understood. Magisterial officers should of course, especially at the outset, deal leniently with such cases of possession, where there is reason to believe that the importation was made in ignorance of the prohibition. It must be understood that this notification does not make the possession of wild ganja, whether green or dry, illegal, if it is grown in a plains district, but only if grown in a hill district, or beyond the British boundary. 3. In connection with the discussions which have preceded the issue of this notification, it has been brought to the Chief Commissioner's notice that the wild hemp plant, which grows abundantly both in the hills and plains of this province, is largely used, after being cut and dried, as a medicine for cattle. I am to invite your attention to sections 16 and 17, rule 2 of Chapter XV of the Board's Rules, Vol. I., edition of 1878, which bear upon this subject, and describe the different preparations of hemp which are "exciseable articles." Ganja is said by the Board to be made from the dried flowers of the female hemp plant, and some authorities say that it is only made from the cultivated plant. Bhang, again (which according to the Board is otherwise called siddhi, patti, or sabji), is said by them to be made from the dried leaves of the wild plant, and to be usually consumed in some liquid or to be mixed with sugar and ghi in the electuary called majum. Charas is the resin found on the flowers and leaves of the plant, in which the active intoxicating principle of all the preparations resides: it is not sufficiently abundant to be collected separately in most of the varieties of hemp grown in India, and is chiefly imported from Afghanistan and Yarkand. Thus, the danger to the excise revenue from the illicit use of wild hemp arises from its use as bhang, not as ganja properly so called. Its cultivation without a license is already prohibited by section 5 of the Excise Act. By section 2 of the Act the sale of bhang in any quantity without a license is forbidden. By sections 15 and 17 of the Act the possession of a larger quantity of bhang than a quarter of a seer, except by a licensed vendor, is prohibited. 4. But you will observe that in rule 2 of section 17 of Chapter XV of the Board's Rules it is said that "no restriction is imposed on the use of the hemp plant in its green state for medical or other purposes, or on its manipulation for the manufacture of fibre. But any preparation of the plant to be used, stored and sold as a narcotic or stimulant is prohibited, except under the rules framed under the Act." This rule mentions the medicinal use of the plant only "in its green state;" but if, as appears to be the case, the wild hemp is also used as a medicine for cattle when dried, the Chief Commissioner desires that the rule may be liberally interpreted, and no penalty imposed when it is probable that the cultivation or the drying and storing of it was only for this purpose. Whether this was so or not is of course a question of fact. 5. This circular should be communicated to all judicial officers subordinate to you and also filed in the judicial side of your office.
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