Medicine - Drugs > Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895 > Volume I
(273) Page 240
Download files
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
240 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [CH. XII.
Hack Tuke's Dictionary of
Psychological Medicine; article "Statistics of In-
sanity"). The author of this article points out that "the
reluctance of the
relatives of patients to give information on this painful point
leaves the propor-
tion undoubtedly far too low." In view of this, it cannot be denied
that the
influence of heredity is in India practically neglected. The
importance of
giving due weight to this factor becomes the more manifest when it
is considered
that a cause which in a normally healthy brain would produce no
effect is suffi-
cient to overthrow the mental equilibrium of a person with
hereditary predis-
position.
Alcohol.
524. There are eighteen
of these mixed cases in which alcohol has been ascer-
tained to be a possible factor. In view of the con-
nection between alcohol and insanity as established
in Europe, and in view of the clear evidence that brain lesions are
directly caused
by alcohol, there seems certainly not less reason for ascribing
these cases to
alcohol than to hemp drugs. The English statistics show percentages
of 19.8
and 7.2 of cases as due to alcohol for males and females
respectively. The
Commission are of opinion that such high percentages cannot be
expected in
India; for, although the action of alcohol is more injurious in the
tropics, the
people of this country are generally much more abstemious. The
percentage of
cases attributed to alcohol in each province in 1892 is given
below, and for
purposes of comparison the percentage of the accepted hemp drug
cases (in-
cluding the "mixed" cases) is also shown:—
|
Province. |
Percentage
of |
Percentage
of |
Total of |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Bengal |
10.7 |
2.1 |
12.8 |
|
Assam |
6.9 |
6.9 |
13.6 |
|
North-Western Provinces |
7.7 |
3.5 |
11.2 |
|
Punjab |
10.6 |
1.5 |
12.1 |
|
Central Provinces |
8.0 |
8.0 |
|
|
Madras |
2.8 |
2.8 |
5.6 |
|
Bombay |
8.2 |
7.2 |
15.4 |
|
Burma |
2.9 |
11.7 |
14.6 |
|
Total |
7.3 |
4.4 |
11.7 |
The figures in regard to
alcohol cannot be accepted as quite satisfactory,
because they have not been tested. But the tendency of the figures
as they
stand is to show that in the provinces where hemp drugs are the
less used,
alcohol is the more frequently assigned as the cause of insanity,
and vice versá.
It is possible either that the figures
to a certain extent reflect the facts, or
merely that those who have to account for insanity turn most easily
to intoxi-
cants, and came that intoxicant which most readily occurs to
them.
Set display mode to: Large image | Zoom image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. 
| India Papers > Medicine - Drugs > Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895 > Volume I > (273) Page 240 |
|---|
| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74574612 |
|---|---|
| Description | Chapter XII, cont. |
| Description | [Volume 1]: Report. |
|---|---|
| Attribution and copyright: |
|
More information
|
|
| Description | Report is based on research conducted August 1893-August 1894. The Commission interviewed nearly 2000 witnesses from medical officers to missionaries in 30 cities across India. Covers in detail the effect of hemp drugs (‘ganja’) on physical, mental and moral wellbeing. |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | IP/DA.1 |
| Additional NLS resources: | |
|
More information
|
|
| Description | The Drugs collection consists of 9 volumes from British India, dating from 1867 to 1903. Extensive research on hemp and opium usage, cultivation of cinchona trees and reports from Nilgiris plantation. Includes medicinal plants. Chloroform anaesthesia research described plus clinical trials and debates on its safety. |
|---|---|
|
More information
|
|
| Description | The India Papers collection contains publications of the central (Imperial) Government and many Indian states. Most states came under British rule. Much of the collection dates from between the post-Mutiny re-organisation of the Indian Government and Indian Independence in 1947. Some items published in London by John Murray. |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | India Papers |
| Additional NLS resources: | |
|
More information
|
|