Thoughts from the void: Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Mysore State 1894

Memorandum on Ganja in Mysore, by Mr. L. Ricketts, Excise Commissioner, Vol 3, Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895, https://digital.nls.uk/74464868

What variety of Indian hemp is utilized for ganja in Mysore? 1. The species of Indian hemp which is in use in the Mysore Province, under the appellation of "ganja" in Hindustani, or "Bangi-soppu" in Kanarese, is what is generally known as the Cannabis saliva of Linn. The plant is cut during inflorescence with the resin carefully preserved on the leaves, dried and made into bundles. Cultivation of Indian hemp restricted. 2. The cultivation of the above hemp in Mysore is forbidden except under a free license granted by the Deputy Commissioner of the district on condition that, within one month after the preparation of ganja, the latter shall be sold to the licensed ganja contractor at a fair valuation, or exported under the Deputy Commissioner's pass, and that the licensee may, if he so desires, retain for his own private consumption ganja not exceeding 14 lbs., provided that the area of the land cultivated with hemp is not less than one acre. Except in three or four small plots of land in which the licensed cultivators failed from inexperience to make proper ganja, no attempt has been made by any one to grow the hemp in this province, evidently owing to the cultivators of land being ignorant as to the stage of growth when the plants should be cut so as to be fit for ganja. Therefore the ganja required for consumption in this province is imported from the Madras Presidency. Wild hemp is nowhere found in this province. Self-sown hemp is occasionally to be met with in gardens and backyards of native houses; but when found they are immediately uprooted and destroyed. What admixtures of ganja are in use, and mode of preparation? 3. Besides the pure ganja, the only preparations of it generally used and recognized in this province are majum and halva. Majum is a condiment made with ganja powder and other materials in the following proportions:— By weight. Ganja powder 20 seers. Poppy-seeds 10 " Dalchini (cinnamon) and anise-seed 6 " Jaggery 2 maunds. Ghee 3¾ seers. The ganja powder is put into syrup made of jaggery and water and boiled. The mixture is then boiled with ghee and the other ingredients above referred to to form what is called majum. Halva is also a condiment prepared from the expressed juice of ganja powder boiled in water. In the liquid so obtained, sugar is dissolved and mixed with almonds, plums, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamoms, anise-seed, and other spices. 4. System under which ganja revenue is raised. Import of drugs. The system under which the revenue from ganja is derived by the Darbar is the minimum guarantee system, under which the sole monopoly of the wholesale vend of ganja for the whole province, exclusive of the Civil and Military Station of Bangalore, is given out on contract for fixed periods, on condition that the contractor of the wholesale vend shall guarantee to the Darbar that the duty payable by him on the wholesale vend of ganja and majum at the prescribed rates shall not be less than the amount guaranteed by him per annum; that he shall sell drugs only to licensed vendors; that the drugs sold shall be of good quality; that he shall always keep on hand not less than one month's supply at each wholesale shop and two months' stock at the provincial head-quarters depôt at Bangalore; that he shall carefully account for all receipts and expenditure of the drugs; and that disorderly conduct and irregular transactions at wholesale shops shall be strictly prohibited. As the hemp is practically not cultivated in this province, as explained in paragraph 2 above, the contractor is permitted to import the supplies of ganja from the Madras Presidency. The bulk of ganja consumed in this province is obtained by him from the North Arcot district of the Madras Presidency at an average cost of 2 annas per seer. No modifications in the present system are under contemplation. 5. Rates of duty. The rates of duty payable to the Darbar on the wholesale vend of ganja and majum are as follows:— As. Ganja per seer of 24 tolas 6 Majum or any other preparation of ganja except halva per seer of 24 tolas 2 No duty is levied on halva. 6. Wholesale rates. The prescribed wholesale prices at which the contractor is bound to sell the drugs to licensed retail vendors are— As. Ganja per seer of 24 tolas 10 Majum or any other preparation except halva per seer of 24 tolas 4 It will be seen from the above figures that the rates of gross profit allowed to the contractor by the Darbar are 4 annas per seer of ganja and 2 annas per seer of majum. It has been ascertained that the contractor's costs per seer of ganja are 8 annas and 11 pies, so that he gains 1 anna and 1 pie on every seer of ganja sold by him. 7. Minimum guaranteed amounts for the current contract. The minimum annual amounts guaranteed by the contractor for the current contract of four years from 1st July 1893 to 30th June 1897 are as per particulars below:— Rs. For 1893-94 12,500 " 1894-95 13,000 " 1895-96 13,500 " 1896-97 14,000 4) 53,000 13,250 Limit of wholesale vend. average per annum. The wholesale vendor shall not sell the drugs in any less quantity than as specified below:— GANJA. Seers. MAJUM. Seers.
In Bangalore and Mysore towns 10 5 At all other places 5 2
9. Wholesale shops. The wholesale shops licensed free by the Deputy Commissioners of districts for the convenience of retail vendors number as follows:—
Districts. No.
1. Bangalore 14
2. Kolar 9
3. Tumkur 5
4. Mysore 9
5. Hassan 5
6. Kadur 5
7. Shimoga 7
8. Chitaldrug 3
TOTAL 57
10. Retail shops. The number of retail shops is limited to meet the wants of the consuming public. The existing retail shops are as per particulars below:—
1. Bangalore city 3 Rest of the Bangalore district 21
2. Kolar 18
3. Tumkur 8
4. Mysore town 6 Rest of the Mysore district 14
5. Hassan 5
6. Kadur 9
7. Shimoga 22
8. Chitaldrug 3
TOTAL 109
11. Rates of retail shops to population. In principal towns the rates of retail shops to population are as follows:— Bangalore city, 1 to 26,762 inhabitants. Mysore town, 1 to 12,341 inhabitants. In the mofussil, excluding the above towns 1 to 46,892 inhabitants.
12. Retail rates. The prescribed retail prices at which licensed retail vendors are bound to sell the drugs to the public are:— As. Ganja per seer of 24 tolas 13 Majum or any other preparation, except halva, per seer of 24 tolas 6 The rates of profit allowed to them by the Darbar are therefore 3 annas per seer of ganja and 2 annas per seer of majum.
13. License fees. No license fees are levied for the retail vend of the drugs except in the cities of Bangalore and Mysore, where a fee of Rs. 3 per mensem is charged for each license.
14. Restrictions to retail vend. The licensed retail vendor shall not sell more than 4 tolas weight of the drugs to any person during any one day. He shall not permit disorderly behaviour in his shop or premises, suffer any gambling whatever therein, knowingly permit prostitutes or persons of bad character to meet therein, or permit any person to take the drugs in any such quantity as to produce stupefaction or to consume the same in the shop or premises, or knowingly sell the same to persons keeping ganja-khanas, where people resort to smoke or partake of the drugs. He shall be bound to give information of suspicious characters to the Magistrate or Police officer. 15. Direction and control of the administration of ganja revenue. The direction and control of the administration of ganja revenue, as well as other items of excise revenue, vest in the Excise Commissioner, the principal executive authorities being the Deputy Commissioners of districts. 16. The Act and Rules in force. The Excise laws under which the ganja revenue is administered throughout the province under one uniform system described in paragraph 4 above are the Imperial Excise Act XXII of 1881 as amended by Act VI of 1885, and as extended to this State by Regulation III of 1885 and the rules framed thereunder.
17. Storing of drug, transport, and supervision. The drug is imported by the contractor on duly signed passes, and, on its arrival at Bangalore, it is duly weighed and checked with the entries in the passes by the Government supervisor in charge of the provincial depôt. The drug is then stored in the provincial depôt. The requisite supplies of the drug are on written application issued to the wholesale shops under the contractor with transport passes duly signed and sealed by the supervisor in charge of the provincial depôt. On arrival of the consignments at the places of destination, the local taluk officials duly check them and make them over to the wholesale vendors concerned, who at once duly book the consignments in the prescribed registers furnished by the Darbar. The wholesale shops are from time to time inspected and the sales therein checked and verified by the inspecting officers of the department. The sales in retail shops are likewise checked and verified by the said officers. 18. Mode of collection of duty and precautions against evasion. The duty is collected in the following manner:— (1) The minimum amount guaranteed by the contractor is payable to the Darbar in 12 equal monthly instalments on or before the 20th of each month. (2) The contractor shall pay into the local treasuries of the State duty on wholesale sales of the drugs at the prescribed rates. If the total amount of the duty accruing on the wholesale sales be not sufficient in any month to make up the instalment of the guaranteed amount for that month, the contractor shall pay such further amount as may be required to make up the deficiency. On the other hand, if the said duty exceed the said instalment, the excess shall be available to make up the deficiency in any other month of the same official year, this deficiency being adjusted by short payments into the treasury when the instalment for the month is tendered to the extent of such net excess sales as may be available when such instalment fell due. If the total amount of duty due on the wholesale sales for any year of the contract period exceed the guaranteed amount for that year, the contractor shall not be entitled to the benefit of such excess. (3) To secure the duty leviable on the drugs imported and consumed the following precautions are adopted:— (a) No one shall be permitted to import or sell the drugs by wholesale except the licensed contractor. (b) Any person found in possession of more than 5 tolas of the drugs shall be liable to prosecution. (c) No person except licensed vendors shall sell the drugs in any form whatever. (d) No one except the licensed contractor shall purchase the drugs from any one permitted to cultivate the hemp. 19. Mode of disposal of retail vend. The right of retail vend is not disposed of generally by public auction. But when more than one application is received for one and the same shop, the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned sometimes puts it up to auction. When an application for a license to sell the drugs is received, the local residents and officials are consulted; and if the want for a shop is really felt, the license is granted by the Deputy Commissioner with the previous sanction of the Excise Commissioner, the site for the shop being fixed by the Deputy Commissioner. 20. Preventive measures. In addition to the establishment of a separate excise state for the prevention and detection of clandestine cultivation and import of ganja, the members of the Police Revenue Sayer, Octroi, and Municipal Departments have been appointed as Excise officers under sections 24 and 34A. of the Excise Act. Illicit cultivation and smuggling are not carried on to any appreciable extent.
How and by what classes of people ganja is consumed, and its effects? 21. Ganja is used for smoking by simply crushing the dry leaves and mixing them with tobacco in the proportion of two parts of the former to one part of the latter. Majum and halva are generally eaten in sweetmeats. An infusion of the withered flowers of the hemp plant is occasionally made and mixed with pepper, poppy-seed, and fried Bengal gram, the preparations being either diluted and drunk under the name of "ramras," or made up into pills and swallowed, or dissolved in jaggery water and milk or expressed juice of the cocoanut and drunk under the name of "bhang." The generality of the consumers are said to be Mahomedans, many of whom are idle and disreputable men of the lower classes, as also Bairaghis, Gosayis, Rajputs, and a few other Hindus. It is represented that where the quantity consumed is below 2½ tolas weight, it does not produce any bad effects; but where this is exceeded, stupefaction or even temporary insanity is the result. In the Lunatic Asylum, Bangalore City, instances were to be met with of patients affected by excessive use of ganja. The Excise Commissioner is, however, not aware of any instances in which crime was excited under its influence or permanent insanity was produced by it. He is informed that it tends to affect the nervous system and undermine the constitution gradually. 22. Ganja revenue. The revenue from ganja for the past 20 years is as per particulars below:—
Years.
Revenue. Rs. 1873-74 10,296 1874-75 9,989 1875-76 11,342 1876-77 11,240 1877-78 11,026 1878-79 10,224 1879-80 6,130 1880-81 4,036 1881-82 6,033 1882-83 6,127 1883-84 7,528 1884-85 8,061 1885-86 8,556 1886-87 6,943 1887-88 6,872 1888-89 7,557 1889-90 9,400 1890-91 11,501 1891-92 15,517 for 15 months or 12,414 for 12 " 1892-93 14,197
In the year 1878-79 the privilege of selling ganja in the province was partly rented out and partly worked under a system of license fees. The gradual fall of the revenue from 1879-80 was due to the contract system having been replaced by the amani management. In consequence of efficient preventive measures adopted since June 1889 to put down illicit cultivation of the hemp and smuggling of the drug, the revenue increased from Rs. 9,400 in the year 1889-90 to Rs. 14,197 in the year 1892-93. In 1891-92 the official year was ordered to be reckoned from 1st July to 30th June instead of from 1st April to 31st March, and therefore that year consisted of 15 months, during which period the revenue amounted to Rs. 15,517, the average for 12 months being Rs. 12,414. As the ganja contract of the Civil and Military Station of Bangalore has been given out separately by the Resident since the year 1886-87, the ganja revenue thereof is not included in the abovementioned figures from 1886-87. Consumption of ganja. The total consumption of the drugs in 1892-93 was 41,326 seers. Incidence of consumption per head of population. The incidence of consumption per head of population in 1892-93 was one-fifth of a tola. Incidence of ganja revenue. The incidence of ganja revenue per head of population in 1892-93 was ½ pie. Comparison with arrack and toddy revenue. The arrack and toddy revenue for 1892-93 being Rs. 15,92,475-5-6 and Rs. 13,89,054-8-8, respectively, the ganja revenue for the same year is inconsiderable when compared with the arrack and toddy revenue and also with the total population of the province, excluding the Civil and Military Station of Bangalore, namely, 4,843,523 inhabitants.
L. RICKETTS, Excise Commissioner.

EXTRACT FROM MEMORANDUM REGARDING GANJA AND ITS PREPARATIONS IN MYSORE BY MR. J. G. MCDONNELL, SPECIAL ASSISTANT EXCISE COMMISSIONER IN MYSORE.
(1) Pros. of the Government of Mysore, No. 212, dated 27th February 1885, covering Notification No. 229, dated 27th idem. (2) Notification No. 2531-2756, dated 11th September 1886, by the Resident of Mysore. I.-I framed the two sets of draft rules to deal with the check and supervision over drugs falling under the Excise Act for both the Mysore State and the Civil and Military Station of Bangalore, vide references quoted in the margin. The new rules (draft) printed and sent up to, and now before the Mysore Government, were originally drawn up by me in 1889, in co-operation with Colonel Campbell, the first Excise Commissioner in Mysore. For the purposes of the present enquiry I have made it my special duty to conduct personally a thorough investigation again into the whole subject, and the results recorded in this paper have thus the benefit of having been effected by an officer who has had 14 years' experience of this subject, and who has, moreover, been brought in constant and direct contact with both sellers and consumers at Bangalore and throughout the Mysore State during his tours of inspection. To render this paper as complete as possible I have enlisted the aid of a medical practitioner to give me the help required to dispose of the medico-legal queries put by the "Indian Hemp Drugs Commission." II.-The following may be accepted as the definitions of ganja and the names under which the different productions and preparations thereof are locally known in the Province of Mysore:— (3) Designations of Ganja, its products, and preparations.—The "Indian hemp" referred to in the Ganja Rules and by the Indian Hemp Commission is the Cannabis sativa, Linn. N. F. Urtricaceœ of the Pharmacopœia. Hindustani—Ganja; Canarese—Bangi-Soppu; Tamil— Ganja-Yela; Telugu—Bangi-Aku.
III (a) Cultivation.—It is grown as an ordinary dry crop. The soil should be light and red and very deeply ploughed and well manured. There should be seasonable rain, and when crop is ripe heavy dews. The most efficacious, productive, and certain way is by raising the plant in pits. When specially cultivated a circul r pit two to three Feet in diameter and a foot or so deep is excavated and well manured with cow-dung and ashes. The plants are made to form a circle round the edge of the pit and the centre is heaped up with manure as required. The stems rise 5 to 7 and often 12 feet high, each as thick as a man's wrist and are supported by staves secured with ligatures from the aloe leaf. In other cases single plants are raised in each pit. The stem is then the thickness of a man's arm, five feet high and as much in diameter. The stem is taken in both hands and twisted at the root just above the surface of the ground to stunt the growth. It is said that this operation produces better and a more plentiful crop of spikes. There are two distinct varieties raised, one with a dark green and the other with light green coloured-stem. The dark-stemmed variety is more potential in its effects than the other. A maund or two of good first class "kulli or mulki" ganja can be obtained from each pit treated either way. The male plant is profitless and is uprooted and thrown away. (b) Costs, profits, Government duty, hints to trader.—A maund of kulli ganja is sold for Rs. 75 or 89, while the drug imported and offered by the Government contractor sells at 33 1/2 per maund (25 lbs). The former is all profit as the labour is but casual tending, while in the other Rs.3 1/2t o 4 a maund go to cover the original cost, including carriage (Re 1 per maund) to Bangalore when purchased from the Government cultivator in Her Majesty's territory. If purchased from the monopoly farmer it is double that price and more. The former price, plus Government duty, Rs. 15—Rs.18 1/2 to1 9 1/2 per maund, or, say, roughly, Rs. 20 per maund of 25 lbs. The Mysore Government contractor's profits are thus Rs. 12 1/2 per maund. But this will all depend on how he sets about making his purchases, whether from the cultivator or Government monopoly farmer and in season. He should make his arrangements ere the crop is picked if he wants to purchase from the producer, while if from the monopolist he should time it, so as to secure his stock just as the new supply comes into market. If he delays, prices rise rapidly, and stocks are exported and he has naturally to pay more therefor than if secured in season. He thus loses a large slice of his profits per maund. (c) Clandestine cultivation—cause of.—Clandestine cultivation pays well. There is no doubt that it is cultivated in backyards of many dwelling houses, hitlus (gardens attached to backyards), and in other gardens also. This is particularly the case in large towns and villages, where such privacy affords great facilities to do so. The heavy dus imposed by Government, Rs. 15 per maund of 25 lbs., and the abnormally low price across the frontier offer strong inducements to commit this fraud on the Mysore revenue. (d) Spontaneous growth—not wild—Government patta.—It has been and is still often found in all the eight districts of this province growing spontaneously but not wild anywhere in Mysore, as in some parts of India. This spontaneous growth is most marked in towns and large villages. It is found in backyards and in dry fields and gardens. This is due mainly to the seed when thrown away on dust heaps finding its way with the manure utilized in the fields and gardens, and germinating there after the first rains set in. It is not more abundant in one district than another now. The cultivation is not restricted to any locality. It can be raised anywhere under the conditions imposed in the Government patta. The fibre can be utilized by the cultivator. The drug must be disposed of to the Government contractor less two seers, if so required, for the private consumption of the producer, but not for sale, provided one acre has been cultivated. The drug should be weighed by the village officers and disposed of in one month or it will be confiscated. (e) Mysore suited for growth—Results in two taluks noted.—The climate and soil of the Mysore Province are well adapted for the production of the ganja plant. It has been found growing even in the Malnad after the heavy S.W. rains are over. Some first class ganja was raised 15 years ago and later in Chickballapur taluk of the Kolar district of this province. This was evidently due to the cultivator knowing when to put down the seed and how to deal with the picking and curing of the spikes properly after being harvested. A trial at Dodballapur in the Bangalore district on the other hand failed as it was harvested prematurely and the immature stuff, about 14 maunds, was destroyed. The cultivator was ignorant of the value of the plant as a fibre producer and failed to utilize even this part of the produce. (f) Results of Ganja Rules as indicated by statistics of consumption.—The enforcement of the gania rules has removed the open cultivation of the drug and to some extent also to its growing spontaneously. The keeping of accounts has been rendered compulsory and the rules as to their retention and production " true and correct" are rigidly enforced. These returns show the consumption to be on the increase, for it was 26,554 seers seven years ago, while in 1892-93 it was 57,045 seers for Ganja and majum. (g) Causes of rise indicated and improvements suggested.—The rise is not wholly due to either the increase in population or to more persons taking to the consumption of the drug, but partially to these two causes combined with the enforcement of the rules generally for the whole province. In the City and Station of Bangalore, however, this increase is not so marked as in the outlying districts, but the reverse. The Government returns, however, do not at all represent the actual consumption, as both the clandestine production of the drug in the Province and the import thereof prevail to a very considerable extent. This is mainly due to the superior qualify and freshness of the contraband "kulli" or " mulki" stuff over the stale and very inferior article offered by the Government contractor. The lack of encouragement afforded to informers and the very light sentences passed by the Magistracy for this offence greatly conduce to the rules being infringed as also to the existence of clandestine cultivation which is hard to detect and the import of the contraband drug which can be readily done with impunity. The Excise staff is too weak to cope with this evil, and but little encouragement is given to the men to stimulate their zeal. I proposed that the price of opium be raised to that at which it is sold in Her Majesty's territory, and that the price of ganja in the latter be raised to that sold in Mysore. This would remove the inducement of opium, the property of the Mysore State, after being sold to the shop-keeper, being smuggled into Her Majesty's territory; while ganja raised in Her Majesty's territory will not then find its way into Mysore. Both Governments would be benefited and each would be restricted to its own legitimate wants, and know its own consumption more accurately. To ensure both Governments realizing a fair and just revenue from this source the production of ganja must be worked on the same lines as opium is with special concession to those who want to raise the plants for fibre only. In that case the village Revenue officers should see that Government revenue does not suffer by the disposal of the drug to the consumer or retail dealer, but only to the Government farmer. The surplus crop of drugs should be destroyed after 6 months if not sold to the farmer or exported. Preserved as it is in bulk and so carelessly secured from atmospheric air it rapidly deteriorates and becomes stale and unfit for use as the resin is dissipated. The drug turns black and mouldy and becomes noxions. The matter of equalizing the prices of the two drugs was referred to the Resident by the Durbar, but I am not aware of result. In large towns I suggested that the Municipal and Octroi owners be invested with powers of "Excise othcers." They might be paid by results in the shape of rewards. Government approved of the step, but local action does not appear to have been taken. Considering that Government have made over several items of revenue to local bodies and in some places also the license fees on spirits, while mohatarfa as a separate cess is levied on drug-shops, the casual aid of such Municipal officials might, with propriety be legitimately claimed by Government from such local bodies, especially as this will not interfere with their legitimate duties as the aid thus given will only be occasional. (h) Preparation of fiber and its market value.—All that is required to prepare the fibre is to strip the leaves off and sever the branches, leaving clear switches or canes. These are tied into sheaves and cast, into the first convenient pit of water and allowed to soak there. When the rind slips off readily between the fore-linger and the thumb pressed against the branch it is ready to be removed. This rind is beaten or trampled with the foot in the water to remove the outer coming. The result is a clean soft fibre which makes excellent cordage, cloth for packing, and bags for grain, &c. The following extract from Dr. Balfour's Cyelopodia (pages 43 and 44) will prove interesting and gives the market price of the fibre in England and Lahore:— Agricultural and Commercial. "The hemp plants grow in Persia, Syria, Arabia, and throughout India. In some places for its fibre; in others, and generally, for its intoxicating products. In Kangra and the Punjab it grows spontaneously and in abundance everywhere in the submontane tracts in the Sutlej Valley, between Rampur and Sanganam, at an elevation of 3,000 to 7,000 feet, hut is cultivated for the fibre only in the eastern portions of Kangra and Simla Hills. In 1859 an experimental consignment of two tons of Himalayan hemp was valued in the English market at from £30 to £32 perton. The price at Lahore is about £15 to £16 per ton."

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Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Mysore State 1894

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