Name, race,
occupation,
district, age, and
register
number of
lunatic.
|
Alleged
cause of
insanity.
(Statement
VII.)
|
Type of
insanity
(Statement
VI.)
|
State of
health on
admission.
|
Facts ascertained from the
papers.
|
Asylum history and facts
ascertained from
registers and from enquiry
from
Superintendent.
|
6. Sheikh
Waris-contd.
|
Ganja
|
Good
|
he has been insane since
Asarh
1298 (June 1891) and "no
par-
ticular cause" is assigned
for
his insanity. "He is not
at
present addicted to
intoxicants,
but, as he stated in his
statement,
used to smoke ganja." It
was
"not known" whether any
of
his relatives were
insane.
|
We have examined the
records in
this case. The only mention
of
ganja is by the Civil
Surgeon in
his evidence before the
Joint Ma-
gistrate. He said: "I had
this
man under my observation
for
some days in Jail. He showed
no
signs of insanity. He may be
a
ganja-smoker, but I cannot
say."
This was on 10th February
1892.
On the same day the
prisoner
said, "I do smoke ganja
some-
times. I had not smoked
ganja
on the day that I took
these
things." On the first idem
he
had said "I have committed a
sin
and ask for pardon. I was
mad
and lost my senses. I am
not
mad now and want to go
home."
He made no mention of ganja
on
this earlier occasion. There
is no
ground in the record to
connect
the alleged insanity with
hemp
drugs.
|
7. Durga
Churn
Chunga; Hindu;
not known;
Dacca;
48; No. H
337.
|
Ganja
|
Toxic
insanity.
|
Fair
|
On 26th August 1889 this
man
was admitted to the
asylum.
The papers show that his
family
history was "not known,"
that
the man "smokes ganja
at
times," and that the cause
of
insanity is "not known."
Yet
the entry made in the
register
on his admission there is
as
follows:—
"This man is said to have
been
insane for 1½ years, and
ganja-
smoking is assigned as the
cause
of his insanity."
"He suffered from
'recurrent ma-
nia,' but after a long lucid
in-
terval he was discharged on
25th
November 1890. He was
re-ad-
mitted on 2nd April 1892,
and
the Descriptive Roll
shows that he
had been insane 'since ten
or
twelve years,' and that
'luna-
tic's brother was insane for
some
time.' It is stated that it
is 'not
known' whether the lunatic
was
addicted to intoxicants, and
the
cause of insanity is 'not
known.'"
Dr. Nicholson (Civil
Surgeon and
Superintendent of the
Asylum)
adds in his certificate:
"He
has on previous occasions
been
in the Asylum, his insanity
being
induced by ganja." But there
is
no authority given for this
state-
ment, which is probably
based on
the entry in the Asylum
regis-
ter quoted above.
|
Since his readmission
this man has
had three fits of recurrent
mania.
During fits he is very
excited, dir-
ty, abusive, restless, and
violent.
When we visited the asylum
he
was in a terribly maniacal
condi-
tion, pacing up and down his
cell
and shouting and beating
the
wall.
|
8. Madhavram
Dev;
Hindu;
Cultivator;
Sylhet; 45; No.
L
215.
|
Ganja
|
Toxic
insanity.
|
Good
|
In the Descriptive
Roll this man is
said to have been insane for
two
years, and "consumption
of
ganja" is assigned as the
cause
of his insanity. He has a
"scar
on centre of forehead." He
has
not had epilepsy. He is
violent
at times, and struck a boy
and a
man with sticks and caused
a
slight wound to the
former.
Sometimes goes naked. Is
filthy
|
The Overseer entered
"ganja smok-
ing" as the cause of
insanity on
the patient's admission into
the
Asylum, but left the disease
blank.
This blank the
Superintendent
subsequently filled in with
"Toxic
insanity?" (as doubtful).
The
man's Asylum history is
thus
summed up. "Subject to fits
of
excitemtent. Fits last about
a
month or six weeks, and
the
|