Overview

Assam became like Burma somewhere in the last 300 years. The main reason for this is the advent of the British colonial rulers. They brought along with them their love of opium, got the Chinese and Burmese to cultivate it to meet the needs of the colonial rulers, and secured the opium trade with China. Assam, before this event, was like any other Indian hill state, with cannabis as the main herb for medicine, intoxication and spirituality. When the British settlers found that Assam was an ideal place for tea cultivation, they created large tea plantations after clearing vast areas of forest cover. Along with how to cultivate tea, they also taught the locals how to cultivate opium and soon the locals were as addicted to opium as the British. This entirely suited the British as they had now extended their sources of opium to include Assam. The cannabis culture was systematically eradicated until Assam closely resembled Burma. Even home growing was diligently targeted by the authorities and violators were dealt with severely. The cannabis culture, that has lasted for thousands of years, did not go out completely in Assam as a result of this. The other surrounding Hill States all had more or less no regulation on cannabis, so it flowed in freely from all sides into Assam. To counter the situation and try and realise some revenue from cannabis, the authorities decided that Assam's demand for cannabis, which could not be suppressed despite all measures, was to be met by imported cannabis from Rajshahi in Bengal. This was a win-win situation for the authorities as revenue was realised not just for Bengal through cannabis sales, but also from Assam through import duty, wholesale licenses, retail licenses and duty on cannabis purchased by retailers from wholesalers. While the ruling elites in the tea estates consumed opium, the large number of migrant workers who came from the neighboring states to work in the tea plantations carried their own cannabis into Assam. Here we are talking about cannabis exclusively as ganja. Bhang and charas were completely forbidden though it is reported that sufficient bhang could be secured from the spontaneous cannabis growth in the hilly regions of Assam. A number of persons are said to have used the legal loophole that permitted cannabis as medicine for cattle to divert it for their own use until the authorities started reining in this practice.

In the 19th century, cannabis grew wild in all parts of Assam. The Hemp Commission reports that 'The hemp plant grows spontaneously and in considerable quantity in all parts of Assam, including the Brahmaputra and Surma Valleys and the Hill Tracts'. It appears that with regulation this reduced drastically. No cultivation of ganja was permitted in the state. The Commission states that 'Mr. McCabe, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup, being questioned about efforts that may have been made to control this spontaneous growth, says that no attempt has been made to exterminate the plant in the hills or in unoccupied lands, but any officer seeing a plant in occupied land is bound to cause it to be uprooted and to prosecute— presumably if there is any appearance of the plant having been cultivated,— and that there is now practically no growth in occupied lands.' The Commission states 'There is no authorized cultivation in the districts of Assam which are under settled administration, and prosecutions are regularly instituted against persons in whose ground the plant is found growing, if it bears any sign of having been nurtured and tended'.

Whatever ganja and bhang was available in Assam after the strict regulation was considered inferior. In sharp contrast, the areas surrounding Assam had extensive cultivation, cannabis usage and wild growth. The Commission reports that 'It is cultivated in the Bhutan Hills, and cannot but run wild there, as it does in other places which are thoroughly congenial. Mr. Luttman-Johnson knows it grows wild in the Naga Hills and Bhutan, but thinks it must be from seed accidentally sown. He has seen it wild in the Khasi Hills and in the Mymensingh jungles, presumably at the foot of the Garo Hills. Mr. Godfrey (1) believes it grows wild in the Khasi Hills. Mr. McCabe (5) has seen it wild in the lower ranges of the Naga Hills.' Neighboring Manipur was a ganja-producing state. All this posed a serious problem to attempts to regulate consumption, since ganja flowed in freely from the surrounding regions.

The Bengal Excise Manual was followed in Assam. The Assam memorandum submitted by Mr. J. D. Anderson, Officiating Commissioner of Excise, states that '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'. The memo states 'rule 2, 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 by the administration.'' The Hemp Commission states that 'Excise ganja is supplied from Bengal under pass, and pays duty in the province. The vend of charas and bhang is practically forbidden, as no licenses for their sale have been taken out'. The Assam memo states that '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'.

Since there was no locally cultivated ganja for the people to use, and they had to rely on ganja imported from Rajshahi in the neighbouring Bengal Presidency. Another source of ganja was the coolies from other states working in the Assamese tea industry who would bring in ganja from other areas.

Wholesale vending licenses were granted by the authorities, possibly to persons who found favour with the authorities, and the number of wholesale vendors was controlled with preference for monopoly of wholesale vending as much as possible. Retail licenses were auctioned. Wholesale vendors were required to pay duty on ganja imported by them from Rajshahi. The retail vendor had to pay duty on purchases from wholesalers. The Assam memo describes the process of regulation, It states that '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.' The authorities ensured that the number of retail outlets for ganja were kept at the minimum to ensure that consumption was minimal. The Assam memo states that '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.'

Despite all these regressive measures, the government still managed to earn significant revenue from ganja trade. The Assam memo states that 'The system of vend is the same as in Bengal. The amount of ganja which paid duty in 1892-93 was 620 maunds, representing duty to the sum of Rs. 1,39,545. License fees amounted to Rs. 1,64,088.'

The Assam memo states that '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 reason why these five districts had a higher concentration of ganja-smoking foreigners was because of the tea plantations that employed large numbers of laborers from the neighboring states who were habituated to ganja and preferred it over alcohol or opium. The Assam memo states that '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 Burma, we see that the major ganja-smoking communities were again foreigners - the Indian soldiers from South India who were stationed there by the British. We see the same situation in Assam. The Assam memo states that 'In the three hill districts ganja is chiefly consumed by imported servants of the State—sepoys, police constables, &c.'

The religious association with ganja in Assam is similar to that of Bengal. Durga Pooja was one of the main festivals that was celebrated with the use of cannabis. The Trinath worshippers were also cannabis users as in Bengal.

Medical witnesses report its usage for treating asthma, bronchitis and dysentery.

Assam housed the Tezpur Lunatic Asylum and the records of this asylum for the year 1892 were examined by the Hemp Commission as a part of its investigation into the 'ganja causes insanity' myth. Thirteen cases were reported by the asylum for that year in which the cause of insanity was recorded as 'ganja'. In the report from Surgeon-Major J. W. U. Macnamara, the Superintendent of the Tezpur Asylum to the Hemp Commission, it was stated that for these thirteen cases the cause of insanity as ganja was entered by the Jamadar or Overseer of the asylum. In response for further information regarding this, Dr. Macnamara wrote to the Hemp Commission that 'So far all District Magistrates declare inability to get information throwing light on thirteen ganja cases, 1892. I have nothing, therefore, to base opinion on.' When we consider that the asylum statistics of the lunatic asylums of India were used to justify global prohibition of ganja, and also consider that almost none of these statistics were verifiable, the intent of the lunatic asylum statistics taken in conjunction with the advocacy of opium as a better drug than ganja by medical experts, such as Dr. Crombie of the Dacca Lunatic Asylum in the Bengal Presidency, seem to indicate that all this erroneous reporting may not have been innocuous.

By the 19th century, Assam had been effectively converted to an opium-consuming region by the British. It closely resembled Burma in terms of its opium consuming behavior. So much so, that the opium consuming regions of Assam were considered to be the largest consumers of opium in India, even more than Calcutta with its vast population, and rich upper classes and castes who mimicked every action of the British to find favor with the rulers. The Assam memo states that 'The inhabitants of the first five districts [Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, and Lakhimpur] 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'. Mr. G. Godfrey, Commissioner, Assam Valley Districts, says in his oral evidence to question 35 that 'By far the larger propoortion of the populaton of the six districts of the Assam valley consume opium; next in point of number come the consumers of country spirit, and last the wusers of ganja. The proportion of consumers of opium to those of country spirit is about as 10 to 1.' Dr. Macnamara of the Tezpur lunatic Asylum states in his evidence that 'The Assamese were an opium-eating race, but they find ganja consumption a less expensive habit, and are taking to it.' I find this statement to be possibly false. Cannabis has been used in the Indian sub-continent for possibly ten thousand years. Opium came to India from the west much later, not earlier than 500 years before Dr. Macnamara's report. So, to call the Assamese as an opium-eating race would be wrong. I suspect it was the British that made the Assamese one. What most people fail to see is that the suppression of ganja in Assam by the British and the Indian upper castes was to clear the way for opium. Cultivators in Assam were forbidden to cultivate ganja but encouraged to cultivate opium instead. This opium was procured by the government directly from the cultivators and sold directly to retail vendors after processing it. The Assam memo states that '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'.

I am most certain that the same system continues today, with the government getting a significant proportion of its opium from the cultivators in Assam. When we see this, we can understand why today Assam is a key BJP state and how the divisions between the upper castes and lower castes have enabled the introduction and consumption of opium, which the upper castes prefer, over ganja that was preferred by the lower castes, indigenous communities and outcastes i.e. those belonging to non-Vedic and non-Vaishnavite religions. Having said that, this model of using legal and illegal opium to fund the ruling political party is something that has been practiced by every government that has ruled India since independence. Hence the resistance of every government to legalizing ganja. In effect, the Indian government - and its ancillaries in various states - works faithfully for its British masters producing their opium for them legally and illegally despite 75 years of so-called independence.

Like we saw elsewhere, the most experienced and knowledgeable witnesses from Assam before the Hemp Commission were against prohibition. Summarizing its findings against those for and against cannabis prohibition, the Commission says 'Against prohibition we have the Commissioner of the Assam Valley, the Commissioner of Excise, the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, an Officiating Deputy Commissioner, a Civil Surgeon, an Extra Assistant Commissioner, a medical practitioner, four pleaders, and four planters. Mr. Driberg, Commissioner of Excise, says: "It would be useless to prohibit the use of ganja in a province like Assam, surrounded as it is by independent hill people, who would cultivate it in their hills and smuggle it down with little risk of detection. Any prohibition will only lead to the increase of illicit consumption and to the secret use of the drug, which would be decidedly bad; of course, stop cultivation in Bengal, and the prohibition of the use of excise ganja could be enforced; but there would be serious discontent, though in this province it might not amount to a political danger, and the prohibition would be followed by recourse to opium, and in some cases to alcohol."'

If we look at Assam today, nothing has really changed that much since the 19th century when the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission published its report that included cannabis usage in Assam.

Today, Assam is ruled by a right-wing BJP chief minister in the form of Himanta Biswas Sarma. He propagates the essential ideology of the Hindutva right-wing Union Government which protects and promotes the interests of the upper caste Hindus at the cost of every other section of society. Muslims in particular are targeted, as is the BJP recipe across India. Some of the measures taken by Sarma to consolidate the support of the Hindu upper castes in Assam are to ban the sale of beef and to push for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He has asked citizens to arm themselves for self-protection, essentially telling the upper castes to take up arms if required, in case of any threat from the other castes and outcastes. Sarma periodically appears in national newspapers in state sponsored advertisements professing his love for Siva and the various measures being taken to show his reverence for Siva. All this is optics, much like the optics of his boss, Narendra Modi. Assam continues to strictly prohibit Siva's divine herb, ganja, while its ruling elites ensure that the opium trade and culture established by the British continues to thrive. Like the upper castes of the 19th century teamed up with the British to root out the ganja that had been a long part of the Assamese culture - especially that of the indigenous communities - and replace it with opium, today's ruling castes work with the Union Government at the center to ensure that India's opium trade - legal and illegal - thrives.

Assam is one of the key components in India's opium affinity. Other components are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Manipur to a certain extent. Almost all these states are ruled by the BJP. It is through these states that opium flows in and out of India. Indian production happens legally in places like Uttar Pradesh to ensure that India is the world's leading opium producer to provide the raw material for the global opioid synthetic pharmaceutical industry. Indian production of illegal opium most likely happens in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Gujarat and Manipur. Besides this, opium and heroin flows into and out of India through all these states from the key illicit opium regions of the world - Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran and China. The legal and illegal opium trade surely significantly finances the BJP government, hence the desperation to retain political control in these states. Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur has been forcibly wrested by the Union government from the people. Barring Punjab, the other states have a BJP government or a BJP ally in control. The increased control that the BJP has secured over the opium producing and distribution states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Gujarat, etc., and the fact that it forms the central government, emboldened the party to try and penetrate further into Manipur with its opium activities through the majority Meitei community that supports the BJP. This was met with stiff resistance from the Kuki-Zho communities who have been traditional cannabis communities that have, possibly, also indulged in the illegal manufacture and trade of opium with adjoining Myanmar.

Assam must renew its cannabis ties and cannabis culture once again to unite the state's various communities. This will reduce much of the conflict that the state sees between its communities. For many decades now, Assam has been plagued with militancy. The root of militancy is what is perceived as oppression by the state against disadvantaged communities such as the indigenous tribes. Most often this arises when the state takes away the means of livelihood of the people forcing them to take up arms to fight for their rights. Tea cultivation, which the British introduced in Assam, has resulted in a big industry and brought jobs and revenue to the state. But tea cultivation degrades the soil and destroys the green cover of the hill regions, resulting in landslides, flooding and contamination of soil through use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Cannabis grown in Assam is likely to be of a high quality, probably a much higher quality than the famed Rajshahi ganja from Bengal that it was forced to import in the 19th century. By legalizing cannabis in Assam, the state will provide possibly millions of persons with means of sustainable livelihood through cultivation, processing, distribution and retail that covers all aspects of cannabis - industrial, medical and recreational. This will enable Assam to significantly mitigate the destruction that climate change is wrecking on the state through: sustainable agriculture of cannabis instead of resource intensive crops like rice, cotton, wheat and tea; introducing cannabis-based biodegradable plastics instead of the non-biodegradable petrochemical-based plastic; introducing sustainable construction using hempcrete instead of concrete; introducing cannabis-based textiles and fibers to replace petrochemical-based synthetic textiles and fibers; reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; carbon sequestering that is as effective as tropical forests; boosting the wellness, cosmetics, tourism, food and beverages sectors in sustainable ways; reducing the dependency on opioids and other synthetic drugs that destroy the environment with their manufacture, use and disposal; replace wood-based paper and pulp with renewable cannabis-based paper; and so on. The benefits are vast for the hill state. States such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc., have already started reaping the benefits of cannabis, albeit for only limited medical and industrial purposes only currently. Cannabis as an agricultural crop for the Assamese farmer will enable the cultivation of a valuable additional cash crop that has diverse uses - medical, spiritual, industrial and recreational. The opium habit that the British got the Assamese hooked to needs to be addressed and the switchover needs to be made, so that Assam is more like the Indian state with the rich cultural heritage that it is rather than a being like Myanmar where the military junta control the opium trade and the people are oppressed from all sides. In the 19th century, more than 20% of the revenue of the Bengal Presidency was from cannabis, despite the strict controls and curbs that had been put in place. Assam tea is world famous, but it comes at the cost of environmental degradation. The other 'tea' - cannabis - can heal all the harms done to Assam by opium, tea, and the politics of the upper classes and castes of the state.

In the following article, I have extracted content specific to Assam from the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1894-95. This includes:

the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings
the Assam Memorandum submitted to the Commission
reports from the Tezpur lunatic asylum
list of Assam witnesses who deposed before the Hemp Commission
individual witness statements of the 48? witnesses from Assam.

The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings

AREAS OF WILD GROWTH AND CULTIVATION

Assam.

36. The hemp plant grows spontaneously and in considerable quantity in all parts of Assam, including the Brahmaputra and Surma Valleys and the Hill Tracts. One witness states that the wild plant used to grow in Assam before the ganja shops were established, and this would appear to be the fact, because the plant is cultivated on the Himalayan slopes overhanging the Brahmaputra Valley; it is found growing without cultivation in the hill ranges, and in the Naga Hills it is looked upon as a jungle product.

The wild growth in the valleys.

37. The Excise Commissioner, Mr. Driberg, has served in the province for thirty years. In his written answers he passes in order over all the hill ranges within and surrounding the province, and concludes by saying that they are all ganja-producing tracts. And referring more particularly to the plain country, he says: "The hemp plant grows with equal abundance in all the districts of the province, and in the semi-independent hills beyond the frontier. It is never seen in forests or other lands remote from villages, but always near villages or on abandoned village sites . . . . In the interior, remote from tea gardens and the settlements of foreigners, it is not found. So in regard to fields, it is found chiefly where there are foreigners." On the other hand, Dr. Macnamara (20) states that he has found the plant in Assamese villages far away from places where there are foreigners; but it would be difficult to get a place in Assam very far from the gardens. Mr. McCabe, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup, being questioned about efforts that may have been made to control this spontaneous growth, says that no attempt has been made to exterminate the plant in the hills or in unoccupied lands, but any officer seeing a plant in occupied land is bound to cause it to be uprooted and to prosecute— presumably if there is any appearance of the plant having been cultivated,— and that there is now practically no growth in occupied lands. He is of course speaking of his own district. He says further that the quantity of growth in waste lands is very small and has a tendency to decrease with the spread of occupation, and that active measures of extermination are not necessary. In face of other evidence, it is questionable if this can be accepted as a correct picture of the state of the spontaneous growth in the plains. It is certain that the weedy growth in yards and enclosed ground as well as in the waste places connected with habitations, present or past, is extremely common even in Kamrup. Mr. Gait, Director of Land Records and Agriculture, after appearing before the Commission, has sent notes with reference to Mr. McCabe's statements, in which he writes that he found the plant growing luxuriantly round the Kamalpur rest-house and within a mile of the one at Tambulpur, which were two of the four camps he stayed at since he entered the district; and he was beginning to think that, if properly looked for, it would be found in almost every village in Kamrup. From the fact that he always found it close to basti land, he was inclined to think that, if it was not actually planted, it was very actively tolerated. Dr. Mullane also says that "in the Kamrup district the hemp plant springs up spontaneously in almost every patch of cultivated ground." Without accepting Mr. Gait's opinion that the growth is fostered by the villagers, the Commission think from the body of the evidence that his description of the prevalence of the growth in Kamrup is not far from the truth, and that with but slight modification it will apply to every plain district of Assam. Regarding the Surma Valley, confirmation of this view is found in the evidence of Mr. Luttman-Johnson (Bengal, 6), an officer of long experience in Assam.

The wild growth in the hills.

38. Neither is there any reason to doubt that the plant grows without cultivation in the hill tracts within and bordering on the province. It is cultivated in the Bhutan Hills, and cannot but run wild there, as it does in other places which are thoroughly congenial. Mr. Driberg speaks of not only the Himalayas, but all the hill ranges within and bordering Assam, as ganja-producing tracts, and it is highly probable that the plant has to a greater or less extent run wild in all of them. Mr. Luttman-Johnson knows it grows wild in the Naga Hills and Bhutan, but thinks it must be from seed accidentally sown. He has seen it wild in the Khasi Hills and in the Mymensingh jungles, presumably at the foot of the Garo Hills. Mr. Godfrey (1) believes it grows wild in the Khasi Hills. Mr. McCabe (5) has seen it wild in the lower ranges of the Naga Hills. It may be doubted if the smuggling which is carried on from the hills in all parts of the province to the plains can be of the wild ganja as stated in the Excise Commissioner's memorandum, for the produce of the wild plant is of very inferior quality, and it can be got in the plains. The smuggled plant must have been to some extent cultivated, but its existence in the hills is a decided corroboration of the evidence that the wild plant is found there also.

The spontaneous growth must be regarded as wild.

39. It is difficult then to avoid the conclusion that Assam, including both the Brahmaputra and Surma Valleys, with the hill ranges which form part of the province, ought to be classed with the Himalayas and the Terai as a region in which the spontaneous growth has run wild.

Manipur.

40. There is only one Manipur witness, and he says nothing about the spontaneous growth. Mr. Driberg classes the State as a ganja-producing tract, whence the drug is surreptitiously brought down to the plains. No other witness gives direct evidence about Manipur; but the prevalence of the spontaneous growth in the hills bordering the State on the Assam side, which is taken to be proved, justifies the inference that the growth must also be common in the State itself.

EXTENT OF CULTIVATION, AND ITS TENDENCY TO INCREASE OR DECREASE.

Assam.

101. There is no authorized cultivation in the districts of Assam which are under settled administration, and prosecutions are regularly instituted against persons in whose ground the plant is found growing, if it bears any sign of having been nurtured and tended. The result is, in Mr. Godfrey's words: "This sort of cultivation is kept in check by the district officers, so there is no considerable area of it." This opinion is to be accepted rather than that of Mr. Gait, which has been quoted above, that the growth is very actively tolerated by the villagers. The plant sows itself and grows vigorously all over Assam, and there must, of course, be many instances of the desultory sort of cultivation, for the produce of the untended growth is very inferior, and the temptation to nurse a few plants is great. But there is no winking at the practice, and it cannot be regarded as important.

102. In the Himalayan region on the northern frontier the regular cultivation probably resembles that which prevails throughout those parts of the same mountains about which there is more complete information, and consists of the more or less skilful cultivation of small patches in the immediate neighbourhood of homesteads; and it doubtless extends to the extreme north-east of the province, for there is evidence of it as far as the country of the Miris. It will probably be found also in the lofty ranges towards the Hukong valley and the north of Burma, the country of the Khamptis and Singphos. In fact, there is information of the plant being cultivated with some care for fibre and the drugs in the adjoining Kachin Hills. But the evidence regarding the hill tracts within the province and on the southern frontiers points to cultivation of a very inferior sort, if indeed the plant is tended at all. It is said that the Nagas regard the plant as a jungle product, and that the ganja smuggled from the hills is hardly distinguishable from the produce of the wild hemp.

METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH

Assam.

171. There is no regular cultivation in Assam, and the evidence gives no information about the processes employed in the illicit and hill cultivation. Mr. Anderson states that the Miris of Lakhimpur hedge in the wild growth; Mr. Godfrey that the plant is weeded. The cultivators named are, besides the Miris of Lakhimpur, the Nagas of the Sibsagar frontier. Mr. Spicer mentions Kukis, Patnies, and a few coolies, and his evidence relates to the Cachar Valley. The hill tribes of the province and its frontiers may be included in the list, and the coolies generally. The drugs produced are bhang and very inferior ganja. The two things are practically the same.

PREPARATION OF THE RAW DRUGS FROM THE CULTIVATED AND WILD PLANT

Assam.

234. The dried tops of the wild hemp plant are used to some extent for smoking. But there is nothing to show that the article is prepared in any other way than by simple drying. The extermination of the male plant in connection with the wild growth does not seem to be practised either in the valley or on the hills within and on the borders of the province. This is an essential preliminary to the preparation of the superior form of ganja. The dried tops make bhang which may be used for smoking or drinking. Excise ganja is known among the consumers as mohini bhang. The epithet mohini or fascinating is never applied to the wild product. There is no evidence that charas is prepared or even known in the province.

TRADE AND MOVEMENT

Assam.

287. Assam draws its ganja supply from Rajshahi. The figures of import are given from 1879-80 to 1892-93. The average import of the first four years of this period was 644 maunds, of the next five years 677 maunds, and of the last five years 750 maunds. The trade therefore is growing, and the increase is doubtless connected with the development of the tea industry in Assam and the influx of coolies attending it. The drug is not exported. There is reason to suppose that the consumption of licit ganja, and therefore the import trade, is affected by the smuggling of inferior ganja from the hill countries and by the existence in the valleys of the wild growth in considerable abundance; but it is not possible to form any estimate of the extent of this interference with the legitimate business. Charas is not consumed. Licenses are not issued for the import of bhang probably because there is no demand for Bengal bhang, the local weed being far more than sufficient for the needs of the province. Nor is there any local trade in bhang. Practically bhang is not recognized as a distinct article from ganja. There is very little information about its use.

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS.

Assam.

438. In Assam, where the use of hemp drugs is but little practised by the Assamese proper, there appear to be no indigenous customs connected with the drugs. But the customs prevailing in Bengal are also found in Assam. There is evidence as to the use of bhang or siddhi at the Durga Puja, and of ganja by the worshippers of Siva. In Sylhet the Trinath form of worship appears to prevail to a considerable extent. With reference to this practice, one witness (Prasanno Kumar Das) observes that " in the Surma Valley ganja is offered in the name of Pir (Muhammadan saint) for the benefit of the cattle."

PHYSICAL EFFECTS

Assam.

501. Three commissioned and three uncovenanted medical officers were examined in Assam. Surgeon-Major Macnamara (witness No. 20) has been for thirteen years among people who make use of hemp products to a greater or less degree. He is Civil Surgeon of Tezpur, and has had opportunities of observing the effects of the drug on tea garden coolies. Regarding the effects caused by the moderate use of the drugs, the witness remarked: "I can't define moderation no more than I can in the case of alcohol. The limit is reached when any ill effects are apparent when the limit is crossed. The constitution is impaired and digestion is injured. Dysentery, bronchitis, and asthma find an easier victim." On cross-examination, the witness stated: "In regard to the effects of the drugs, I mean what I have seen in people taking the drugs just as I know the effects of alcohol. I have never seen a man actually taking ganja, although I have tried to get people to do so." Surgeon Major H. C. Banerji has had 14 years' service, out of which five years have been passed as a Civil Surgeon in Assam. This officer considers that bronchitis, asthma, and dysentery are not produced by the moderate use of the drugs. Dr. Macleod (witness No. 23) stated that bronchitis, asthma, and dysentery are caused, but fails to answer the question regarding results of excessive use; and there is every probability that he failed to discriminate between the moderate and excessive use. Surgeon-Major Mullane (witness No. 19), out of nearly 17 years' service, has spent 13 years in the plains districts of the Assam Valley. Regarding effects, he remarked: "Among natives there is a widespread belief that the mortality among ganja consumers from bowel complaints is heavy." He fails to answer the question regarding results of excessive use; and from the nature of his reply quoted it is fair to assume that he has no personal knowledge regarding effects of either the moderate or excessive use of the drugs. Dr. Partridge (witness No. 22) is an officer of 26 years' service, and stated that he has never seen the evil effects of the drug except in cases under observation for insanity; "the effects apart from that have never attracted my attention."

Three assistant surgeons were examined. Witness No. 25 states: "Moderate use has not, I believe, much to do with bronchitis, dysentery, or asthma." Witness No. 26 considers that "ganja smoking causes asthma and bronchitis," but he does not appear to discriminate between the moderate and excessive use. Witness No. 30 states that the drug "does not cause dysentery, bronchitis, or asthma; rather moderate ganja smoking allays hard breathing in asthma." Two hospital assistants were examined. Witness No. 27, after stating in his paper that in long standing cases the use of the drug is certain to cause bronchitis, asthma, and dysentery, admitted in his cross-examination: "It is no use my making any statement, because I have no experience of the effects of ganja, and in fact know nothing about it." Witness No. 28 considers that the drug causes bronchitis, asthma, and dysentery; but he fails to answer the question regarding results of excessive use, and it is fair to assume that he has not discriminated between the moderate and excessive use. Only one native practitioner was examined (witness No. 31), who considered that bronchitis, asthma, and dysentery were caused by the moderate use; but from his written statement it is obvious that he failed to discriminate between the moderate and excessive use.

POLICY OF HEMP DRUG ADMINISTRATION

Assam. Opinions in favour of prohibition of ganja.

572. The opinions in favour of prohibition of ganja in Assam are those of a Civil Surgeon, the Secretary to the Tezpur Raiyats Association, the Secretary to the Upper Assam Association, a merchant, and a pensioned Overseer, Public Works Department, and member of a Local Board. There is nothing especially to note in these opinions.

Assam. Opinion against.

573. Against prohibition we have the Commissioner of the Assam Valley, the Commissioner of Excise, the Director of Land Records and Agriculture, an Officiating Deputy Commissioner, a Civil Surgeon, an Extra Assistant Commissioner, a medical practitioner, four pleaders, and four planters. Mr. Driberg, Commissioner of Excise, says: "It would be useless to prohibit the use of ganja in a province like Assam, surrounded as it is by independent hill people, who would cultivate it in their hills and smuggle it down with little risk of detection. Any prohibition will only lead to the increase of illicit consumption and to the secret use of the drug, which would be decidedly bad; of course, stop cultivation in Bengal, and the prohibition of the use of excise ganja could be enforced; but there would be serious discontent, though in this province it might not amount to a political danger, and the prohibition would be followed by recourse to opium, and in some cases to alcohol." The evidence of planters tends generally to show that the use of ganja by the garden coolies, who (except in the western districts of the Assam Valley and those of the Surma Valley, all of which border on Bengal) are the principal consumers, produces no serious effects. There is nothing in any of the Assam evidence to controvert these views.

EXISTING SYSTEMS DESCRIBED

ASSAM.

Law in force.

602. The law in force in Assam is the same as in Bengal, and the Bengal Excise Manual is followed.

Supply of the drugs.

603. There is no licensed cultivation of hemp for the production of the drugs. Excise ganja is supplied from Bengal under pass, and pays duty in the province. The vend of charas and bhang is practically forbidden, as no licenses for their sale have been taken out. Wild hemp grows spontaneously in many parts of the province, and especially in the hill tracts. The officiating Excise Commissioner says: "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. The excise administration of the 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. The wild plant is used by habitual consumers only as a pis aller, and when their supply of the excise ganja runs short." This view is not shared by the Excise Commissioner, Mr. Driberg, who says: "I think this so-called wild hemp affects our revenue very considerably. It is used by certain consumers, and is also mixed by vendors with excise ganja and sold." Mr. Driberg states that he does not think there is any such thing as wild ganja. As a rule the plant is found in lands occupied by the owner's homestead. From this he infers that the growth is very ordinarily surreptitious. He thinks that the practice of Deputy Commissioners in treating this growth as unlicensed cultivation differs considerably. A circular issued by the Chief Commissioner in October 1882 contains a ruling which appears to be the cause of this diversity of practice. The concluding portion runs as follows: "You will observe that in rule 2, 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 by the administration.' 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 for 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 is so or not is a question of fact." Mr. Driberg, whose experience of Assam is unique, does not believe that the plant is used to any extent for cattle. He thinks that it is a mere excuse made by those who really want to use it. He thinks the circular was unnecessary, and issued on insufficient information. The subject is discussed in Chapter X.

System of vend and taxation.

604. The system of vend is the same as in Bengal. The amount of ganja which paid duty in 1892-93 was 620 maunds, representing duty to the sum of Rs. 1,39,545. License fees amounted to Rs. 1,64,088.

ASSAM MEMORANDUM

Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Assam, by Mr. J. D. Anderson, Officiating Commissioner of Excise

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. The average retail price to consumers, district by district, is given below for the past two years. The circumstances which affect the retail price have already been stated:-

(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.