In 1895 a report was presented to
the UK House of commons regarding ganja (cannabis) use in India.http://goo.gl/IRW9Y
"Ch1.9 The commission were especially enjoined to thoroughly examine the testimony in support of the commonly received opinion that the use of hemp drugs is a frequent cause of lunacy, and with this objective have made very searching inquiries."
The conclusion of the commission was to regulate and control the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis. When considering cannabis prohibition the report concluded;
"Total prohibition of the cultivation of the hemp plant for narcotics, and of the manufacture, sale, or use of the drugs derived from it, is neither necessary nor expedient in consideration of their ascertained effects, of the prevalence of the habit of using them, of the social and religious feeling on the subject, and of the possibility of it's driving the consumers to have recourse to other stimulants or narcotics which may be more deleterious. The policy advocated is one of control and restriction, aimed at suppressing the excessive use and restraining the moderate use within due limits."
"Ch1.9 The commission were especially enjoined to thoroughly examine the testimony in support of the commonly received opinion that the use of hemp drugs is a frequent cause of lunacy, and with this objective have made very searching inquiries."
The conclusion of the commission was to regulate and control the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis. When considering cannabis prohibition the report concluded;
"Total prohibition of the cultivation of the hemp plant for narcotics, and of the manufacture, sale, or use of the drugs derived from it, is neither necessary nor expedient in consideration of their ascertained effects, of the prevalence of the habit of using them, of the social and religious feeling on the subject, and of the possibility of it's driving the consumers to have recourse to other stimulants or narcotics which may be more deleterious. The policy advocated is one of control and restriction, aimed at suppressing the excessive use and restraining the moderate use within due limits."
The report elaborates on control
and restriction methods including taxation, cultivation retail etc.
However, in the House of Commons
on November 1902 the tone changes;
"Mr Earl Percy - The drug
that they do use is not spirits, but ganja, which is exceedingly deleterious;
at any rate, it is a stronger compound than the ordinary liquor."
(http://goo.gl/smA1V)
Mr William Caine "It is
a preparation of Indian hemp, and is the most noxious and maddening intoxicant
of all the varieties dealt in by the Indian Government. It cannot be procured
at any chemist's shop in this country without a medical prescription and the
customer's signature in the poison book. In Egypt it became such a curse to the
people, under the name of "hasheesh," that the Government prohibited
its sale and manufacture, employed a fleet of gunboats to stop its importation,
and sent anyone who was found with it in his possession to gaol with hard
labour for three months. The British Government places ganja on the lists of
poisons, and prohibits its sale except on medical prescriptions. The Egyptian
Government has penal laws for those possessing it, the Amir of Afghanistan
prohibits its manufacture and sale. The Christian Government of India draws its
revenue from the open sale of this virulent and maddening poison to the poor
Indian peasant, and public opinion in this country is silent and
acquiesces."
Hemp fibre was a real threat to
cotton cultivation in the West. The state demonised cannabis and
sanctioned cannabis prohibition.
It was, and continues to be, a scam to
protect Western interests from a remarkable Eastern fibre!
Source: Medical History of India
via The National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/