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from Weihaiwai except under licence from the Com-
missionar.
It will be seen that a complete system
of control, leading to the abolition of the consumption
of opium in the Territory, has been established;
that measures have been taken to prevent the drug
being exported from Weihaiwei.
and
The situation in Ceylon was slightly different.
Besides those persons who were habitual consumers of
opium the vederalas (or native doctors who were trained
in the traditional Ceylonese system of medicins) hab-
The
itually used opium in their prescriptions. Some diffi
culty was encountered in the settlement of the ques-
tion of what persons professing to be vederalas had
any claim to knowledge of the ancient tradition.
matter was however decided by careful enquiry and those
persons who were found to be qualified vederalas were
registered and are entitled to use opium in treating
their patients.
An Ordinanca which came into force on the 1st of
October 1910 regulates the traffic.
The
A
The right of importing opium, whether raw or prepared,
is vested solely in the Government and is delegated to
the Principal Civil Medical Officer, who has charge of
the distribution of the drug. Opium for purely
medicinal purposes may be supplied by the Frincipal
Civil Medical Officer to qualified medical men and
veterinary surgeons, and to registered vederalas. It
can only be supplied to other persons on registration
ho pessa Registration could only be
as habitual consumers.
gished except.
affected on production of saisfactory evidence that at
he was a the time when the law was passed they were habitual con-
sumers, together with evidence of the amount which sack
he
person was accustomed to consume and the manner and form
of consumption. Thus the opium consumers in Ceylon arə
a definite number, to which additions cannot be made.
The use of the drug except for medicinal purposes must
therefore disappear in course of time. Further precau-
tions against undue use of opium are taken by limiting
the annual amount allowed to a registered consumer or
vederala to eight ounces.
The importation, possession or sale of opin
except by the authorised officer (the Principal Civil
Medical