Thoughts from the void: Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Sind 1894

Memorandum on hemp drugs in Sind, by Colonel R. J. Crawford, Acting Commissioner in Sind, Vol 3, Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895, https://digital.nls.uk/74464868

(a) There is one uniform system as regards the sale of hemp drugs for the province of Sind. The privilege of retail sale of bhang, ganja, charas, and majum in two or three talukas together, or in a sub-division, or in an entire district, is put up to public auction every year by the Collector in the month of July for the revenue year commencing with the 1st August and ending with 31st July of the following year, and sold generally to the highest bidder. Care is taken that the bidder whose bid is accepted bears a good character, and is able to furnish adequate security for the due performance of the conditions of the farm. Accompaniment A* to this note is the form of license given to the farmer, who is allowed to open a certain number of shops within the limits of his farm. The retailers appointed by him for his shops are first approved by the taluka officials (Mukhtvarkars) and then 'parwanas' (permits to sell) are given to them by the Assistant Collector. The administration of the system is carried on by the Collector and his Assistants and Deputy Collectors, subject to the general control of the Commissioner in Sind. It is based on the Bombay Abkari Act, V of 1878, and the rules framed thereunder by Government and the Commissioner in Sind. (b) The wild hemp plant is not found in the province except near the hills to the west and on the border of Baluchistan. No attempt has been made to control its possession or sale. It is rarely used as an intoxicant, though it is believed that the intoxicating drugs prepared from it are much more potent than those made from the cultivated plant. (c) The hemp plant is grown only in very small quantities and in very few localities in Sind. The largest continuous area of cultivation is in Sehwan taluka of the Karachi district, and the bhang produced therefrom supplies the wants of the larger part of Sind. There is no restriction whatever on the cultivation of bhang, but certain restrictions are imposed after the crop has been reaped, in so far that the cultivator is not allowed to convert the produce into bhang without the permission of the sub-divisional officer, and may not dispose of it by sale to any other than the licensed farmer for the particular area in which his crop is situated. Neither ganja nor charas are produced in Sind, but are imported, the former from Panwel in the Kolaba district and the latter from Amritsar. Bhang is the only preparation made from the hemp plant in Sind. The area under cultivation in the Karachi, Hyderabad, and Shikarpur districts for some years past is shown in the statement B attached to this report. (d) The bhang farmer also buys the right to import charas and ganja; he imports them under permits from the Collector and stores them in his own warehouses and distributes them among his retail shopkeepers. Supervision is provided for under the Bombay Abkari Act in the same manner as that described by the Honourable Mr. Mackenzie in his Note. On the arrival of any consignment of charas or ganja the quantity is tested and compared with the permit under which it has been imported. (e) The cultivator may be considered to be the wholesale dealer, and, as already said, he requires no license; nor does the contractor or farmer require any license beyond the general license which he buys at auction for the right to sell the different hemp drugs. The retail vendors, who are the contractor's servants, procure licenses from the Assistant Collector on the application of the contractor. The stock in hand as well as the accounts of these retail licenses are examined by the sub-divisional officers, by the Mukhtyarkars, Abkari Inspectors, and Police officers. (f) No direct tax on bhang, ganja, and other drugs is levied; the only tax being an indirect tax in the shape of the amount for which the right to retail is purchased by auction, the amount is levied in advance by instalments. (g) The number and localities of the shops are fixed by the Collector with due regard to the requirements of each part of the district and with reference also to area and population. No fees are levied for shops, as all the shops situated in any particular district or sub-division are owned by, and are under the control of the farmer of that district or sub-division, and licenses are granted free to persons named by him. The farmer cannot add to the number of shops when once fixed by the Collector without the sanction of the Collector, nor can he close or alter the locality of any shop without permission. There is nothing in Sind in the nature of 'local option'; but of course any representations for or against the opening of shops in any particular localities by the residents of those localities would influence the Collector's decision. But owing to the very limited consumption in Sind of the hemp products, such representations or interference on the part of the people are practically unknown. (h) No rate is fixed at which bhang, &c., must be supplied by wholesale dealers (i.e., the cultivators) to retail dealers, and the retail price varies in every district.
The following table shows the average retail price of bhang, ganja, and charas in the four districts, Karachi, Hyderabad, Shikarpur, and Thar and Parkar:— Per seer. Per seer. Per seer. Bhang. Ganja. Charas. Rs. A. P. Rs. A. P. Rs. A. P. Karachi 1 0 0 10 0 0 30 0 0 Hyderabad 1 4 0 6 6 6 25 0 0 Shikarpur 1 0 0 9 8 0 15 0 0 Thar and Parkar 1 0 0 10 0 0 30 0 0 (i) The amount fixed for retail sales to, or possession by, the consumer is 40 tolas, under Government Resolution No. 4681, dated 14th July 1888. No minimum price is fixed for retail sales of the drug. (j) A certain limited amount of smuggling of bhang takes place from Khairpur State, which is adjacent to the Hyderabad, Shikarpur, and Thar and Parkar districts, and the reason for this is that the hemp plant is cultivated and bhang manufactured and sold without any restriction in Khairpur. There is no doubt, also, that some small amount of charas and ganja is smuggled into Sind from Jesulmir through the Thar and Parkar district. No special measures are taken to prevent this smuggling, as every kind of abkari supervision is entrusted to the salt and opium preventive establishments. As for smuggling in the form of illicit cultivation of hemp or manufacture of bhang there is little chance of such occurring, because cultivation is inspected and noted by no less than three different officers in turn, viz., the Tapadar, Mukhtyarkar, and Assistant Collector, and it is easy to see that such cultivators as obtain permission to manufacture bhang, dispose of it all to the licensed vendor, and do not keep a portion of their produce for private use or. illicit sale. (k) No modifications of the present excise system in respect to hemp-drugs are under consideration, nor do any appear necessary. The reasons given in his note by the Commissioner of Customs for deprecating any interference with the present system apply even more forcibly to Sind, where the consumption of the hemp drugs is proportionately smaller than in the presidency, and where, on account of the small number of producers and licensed vendors, no hindrances or hardships have ever been experienced. (l) The extent of cultivation of bhang is shown in the statement marked B attached to this report, and it need only be observed here that the growth of the plant is practically confined to the Karachi and Shikarpur districts. From the figures* of revenue, which are at present available only for the Karachi, Hyderabad, and Thar and Parkar districts, it will be seen that during the last 20 years there has been a steady increase of revenue derived, which, seeing that the only item of revenue is the amount paid by the farmers for the right to vend, implies increased competition among bidders, and that again implies an increased demand for the drugs. The amount of revenue derived in the Hyderabad district, after fluctuating and falling considerably, is now very little in excess of what it was 20 years ago. (m) On this point it need only be said that as bhang is used in moderation by Hindus and Mahomedans alike, and as even an excessive use of it is not attended by nearly such serious consequences as an excessive use of alcohol or opium, any measures for modifying the present system, or restricting its free use by the people are likely to cause widespread discontent. Interference, however, with the present system of administration as regards charas and ganja would not be so unpopular on account of the very small extent to which these drugs are used in Sind, and because their use is generally admitted by the people themselves to be harmful.

R. I. CRAWFORD, Colonel, Acting Commissioner in Sind.

* Note.—The Shikarpur and Upper Sind Frontier figures have been subsequently received and are included in the statements attached.

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Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Sind 1894

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