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12. The conclusions I have come to in this matter, but which, in view of the difficulty of the question put to me, I have diffidence in stating, are:—
(1.) That it is undesirable, except by supervision, to interfere with the use of opium, and (2) that measures, such as I have just described, should be tried for the suppression of the use of bhang and ganja.
SIR,
Enclosure 1 in No. 6.
I have, &c.
A. E. HAVELOCK.
Colombo, December 4, 1893. We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 10th November, and to reply as follows :—
1. The inquiries that we have subsequently made strengthen us in the opinions expressed in our former report.
2. These opinions may be summarised as follows:-There is no satisfactory evidence that the abuse of opium, as distinguished from its use, is on the increase in the island, nor is there any evidence to show that the abuse of opium has ever extended beyond a very small section of the community,
3. The reports annexed show that the admissions to prisons, to asylums, and to hospitals have not, to any practical extent, been influenced by the abuse of opium.
4. On the other hand, it is unnecessary for us to dwell on the enormous benefits which result from a judicious use of this drug.
5. We think it right to point out that there is some reason to suppose that a not inconsiderable portion of the opium imported has been used for the treatment of the diseases of animals.
6. With reference to bhang we entertain a very different opinion. The injurious effects of bhang are infinitely greater, the medicinal uses of bhang are infinitely less, than those of opium. The importation of bhang we regard as almost an unmixed evil. We are not satisfied that any considerable diminution in the importation of opium would not involve a considerable increase in human and animal suffering.
7. We do not believe that the use, or even abuse, of opium has tended in any way to increase crime or insanity, though in certain cases it may have exercised an enfeebling influence over mind and body.
8. There are several cases on record in which the use of bhang has been the immediate cause of crimes of violence, and the effects of this drug are such that its abuse is likely at any time to lead to such crimes. We believe that much mischief has been done by the popular opinion that opium and bhang are very similar in their nature and effects. This is far from being the case. They have, indeed, very little in
common.
9. While the use of bhang cannot be too much restricted, we are not at present prepared to advocate any measures which tend greatly to check the importation of opium.
We are, &c.
The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
W. R. KYNSEY, P.C.M.O. and I.G.H..
F. R. ELLIS,
D. Gen. of Prisons.
REPORT of Dr. J. L. VANDERSTRAATEN, Colonial Surgeon, Colombo.
1. Of the use and abuse of opium and bhang, and their effects upon the system. Opium and bhang are used by the Malays of the lower classes, who do not touch alcoholic stimulants. During my experience in the gaols of Colombo and Galle, opium eaters" who consumed either of the above drugs were found on admission to be emaciated, and incapable of hard work from disease of the nervous system. When opium was stopped, they became nervous, excitable, and sleepless. In the beginning, it had to be administered in small quantities, and gradually stopped. After some daya the opium eaters could do without the drug, but they were liable to diarrhoea. When they were seriously affected by diarrhoea, opium had not the desired effect, and they
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died of serous diarrhoes. The number admitted was very small; they were the habitual thieves, who came in and out of gaol frequently. I have known opium eaters to live to a good old age, but they are generally shrivelled and infirm. I know of only one habitual criminal who was sent to the lunatic asylum.
2. Whether these drugs are excessively used by any race in particular.
The lower classes of Malays, viz., constables, soldiers of the Rifle Regiment, mounted orderlies, and labourers. They use opium in the form of a liquid extract. Bhang is used by Bengalees and Afghans. One Afghan was in gaol for years, having run amuck in Kandy. Opium-smoking is carried on in a house kept by a Chinaman in 5, Cross Street.
3. Whether their use is increasing.
The Sinhalese vederales prescribe opium for chronic rheumatism, and the only Sinhalese that I know who use it say it was prescribed for them. More opium shops are to be seen now, but I believe it is because the sale is regulated by the municipality, and made in public in licensed places.
N.B.-I knew of only one burgher gentleman who smoked opium. He died at the age of 60 of serous diarrhoea. He learned the use of it from Chinese sailors who were. wrecked in the s.a. "Erin" at Kalutara.
SIR,
General Hospital, Colombo, October 18, 1893..
We have the honour to submit the following report, as called for by your letter of the 9th instant :—
1. We find, as the result of our experience, that opium is rarely used unnecessarily, i.e., from choice, for the intoxicant effect produced by it. On the contrary, where habit of taking the drug is engendered, it is usually the sequence of its adminis- tration medicinally in the first instance. Such cases are not uncommon, and in them the beneficial effects of the drug seem to us to more than counterbalance any of its supposed deleterious effects. In a good many instances, we have ascertained that, with the cessation of the disease or disorder which necessitated a resort to the drug, its use has been abandoned. That the drug, however, gains after a time a strong hold on the patient taking it cannot be gainsaid, but yet it is rarely used unnecessarily or in too large quantities, and even then it produces much less effect upon the morala, mind, and body of the patient than alcohol.. A person addicted to the habitual use of opium, and who has persisted in the habit for a considerable period, presents the appearance of being below par mentally and physically. Most cases of chronic disease, particularly those in which pain is a prominent phenomenon, have had recourse to opium, upon either the advice of sympathising friends, of those who have personal knowledge of the effects of the drug, or of the village medical attendant. In the wards of our hospitals, it is rare to meet with chronic cases, such as those of rheumatism, neuritis diabetes, &c. in which opium has not been used more or less habitually. As opposed to this, and in proof that the drug is not abused, we have not had any cases of opium-poisoning, except accidental or with suicidal intent. In fact, in our opinion, opium is not abused, ie., it is not used needlessly, or in the sense that alcohol is abused. It does not fill the same place in the social life of the Ceylonese that alcohol does in that of the European. Even in this respect Ceylon compares very favourably with other countries in the Orient, opium eating and smoking being a comparatively rare vice as compared with the ingestion of alcohol.
As a drug, opium is a most important one to medical men.. The experience of the physician is that in a variety of conditions it is frequently essentially useful, and that in the diseases which afflict those already addicted to its use it is invaluable. In the hands of the surgeon, it is indispensable; and if there be one remedy more than any other which he uses, it is opium. As regards the deleterious effects of the long- continued use of opium, we may state that they are much less marked than those of alcohol, and that, unlike alcohol, which is distinctly injurious to all the tissues of the body, and a fertile cause of disease, it cannot be said of opium that it is ever or solely responsible for any disease. The effects opium produces are purely functional. There is no organic, change produced by it, and so, with a cessation of its use, no-after effects are left.
As regards bhang, our experience is that its use is solely for the pleasureable sensa- tions it is said to produce. As a drug, it is used to a comparatively limited extent.
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2. We believe that the Malays use opium more freely than the rest of the Ceylonese racer. It is very infrequent amongst the burghers, and among them it is used under medical advice, such as in cases of diabetes. As regards the Sinhalese and Tamila, they cannot be regarded by any means as being addicted to the habit, although there are a large number among them who use it.
artent
3. As regards opium, we believe that its use is increasing, but not to any unexpected
We are, &c.
THOMAS F. GAVIN, M.B.,
Senior Physician, Gen. Hospital. W. G. ROCKWOOD, M.D.,
Surgeon, Gen. Hospital. CHAS. DE SILVA, L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S.
Junior Physician, Gen. Hospital.
REPORT Of Dr. SOLOMON FERNANDO, Medical Officer in charge of Gaols, COLOMBO. With regard to the use of opium, I have nothing to add to what has been said by Dr. Vanderstraaten.
In the Welikada gaol, there are about 16 men in the penal stage, which consists of about 450 men who have been habitual “ generally been using the drug in the belief that it gives them strength, increases the ganga eaters or smokers. They have appetite, soothes pain, and clears the intellect. They speak of no injurious effects, except amongst those who use the pure leaf, which excites the men to a "maniacal con- dition. The ganga eaters now in gaol are not, generally speaking, physically inferior to their fellow prisoners. However, there is one man, Jalal, who, after about three months of imprisonment, has still a sleepy look, will work provided he could do it with tolerable ease, but will not put on exertion to do a full task. He was a man subject
to ganga intoxication, under which he set fire to a house. He is now intelligent, shows no signs of any other derangement of mind.
Nagabadeen was another led to acts of violence under the drug. He stabbed a police constable, he assaulted a gaol officer, occasionally grew violent in gaol, but generally was quiet, morose, willing to do an easy task, but would not exert himself to do a forced task. He latterly showed symptoms of being subject to delusions, became semi-melancholic, and was transferred to the lunatic asylum.
Miskin is the only other man whom I have known to be subject to insanity. He is now 38 years old, looks stupid and quiet. He took to ganga when he was seven years old. He committed a murder four years ago, but denies having done it under ganga influence. He was shortly after conviction treated for insanity (not violent), and recently too he was suspected of insanity.
REPORT of Dr. F. KETT, Colonial Surgeon, Kandy, Dr. GRATIAEN, in charge, General Hospital, Kandy, and Dr. DE LIVERA, in charge, Central Gaol, Kandy.
We have the honour to inform you that our experience of the effects of opium and bhang in hospital, gaol, and private practice has been limited.
(1.) Cases of chronic painful diseases, such as rheumatism, cancer, &c. have come under our observation when opium has been taken medicinally to mitigate pain, and where the habit thus acquired has been lasting, with apparently no bad effecta.
Our experience of the abuse of opium and bhang is too limited to enable us to express our opinion as to their effects.
(2.) The races chiefly addicted to the excessive use of opium and bhang are Malays and Moors.
(3.) From inquiry made in the town, we are given to understand that the pernicious habit of using opium is extending among the native villagers.
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MEMORANDUM on the use of Opium and Bhang in Ceylon, by John AttyGALLE, M.D., M.R.C.S., Eng., Colonial Surgeon, Northern Province.
Although the use of opium was known to the ancients of Western Europe, Egypt, and Asia Minor from very remote times* it did not come into use in India, either medically or otherwise, till a comparatively very recent period, .., about the close of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century, when it was brought there by the Moham- medan conquerors. In fact, the very Sanscrit name, Abephena, is derived from the Persian Afyan, which is, no doubt, again derived from the Greek oros. No mention of opium is made in any of the early works on medicine extant, either among the Hindoos or Sinhalese. In Ceylon, except medicinally, the use of opium in any shape as a vice was all but entirely unknown till about 40 or 50 years ago. The first people who took to its use in that way were Malay soldiers of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment, who returned to the island about 1850 or 1851 from Hong Kong, where they had been stationed for several years previously. These men contracted the habit of smoking opium in particular whilst serving in China and Labuan, at the first instance, it is said, under medical advice, more as a prophylactic than otherwise, against beri-børi, from which disease many of them suffered, and not a few fell victims to it. As a matter of course, the use of it was continued by the men who returned to the island, and from them gradually the practice appears to have found its way to the indigenous population, and within the last few years it is also possible that a great impetus has been given to it in that respect by the presence of a large number of opium-smoking aliens, especially in Colombo; but still, so far as my observation goes, it does not prevail to such a large extent as has been alleged by some would-be philanthropists, either among the Sinhalese or Tamils. In fact, as regards the Sinhalese, concerning whom I may speak with authority and confidence, the use of opium is almost unknown among the respectable folks, and those of them who indulge in it are those of the lower classes, chiefly found in several of the chief towns, especially Colombo.
There are two circumstances which seem to militate against its general adoption by the Natives as a mere vice. One is, that apart from the inherent cost of the drug itself, which is beyond the means of many a native, there is a very prevalent belief to the effect that its use must be accompanied with high living. The second is, the practice of taking opium is considered to be infra dignitate, and is always associated with men of questionable character, and no respectable native indulges in it for its own sake.. When such people are induced to take it medicinally they do it with the greatest circumspection and secrecy.
The opium is either smoked or taken solid by the mouth. For smoking, a strong extract is prepared by dissolving the crude opium in water, straining it, and evapo rating the filtrate to a proper consistence. This extract is what is technically known.se chandoo," and is amoked in a peculiar fashion by means of a bamboo pipe about a cubit in length. This pipe is closed at one end, and about 2 inches from. this closed: extremity there is a small hole, on which is placed, by means of a wire, a little of the extract made into a round ball of the exact size of the opening. This is held over the flame of a lamp with a small cotton wick, and in which some bland oil, such as coconut oil, is burnt. The opium is ignited, and the resulting smoke is inhaled in one mouthful by the operator. The operation requires some practice and nicety to be performed successfully, and it is repeated till the smoker thinks he has had a sufficient number of inhalations. The ash left after the extract has been burnt, with the residue adherent to the sides of the pipe, is carefully collected, and is eaten by some. It is known as "Tai Chandoo," but I imagine it could contain very little of the active principle of the drug, and is much milder in its effects than the real extract.
Those who take opium by the mouth use generally a orude extract, which the sellers are known to adulterate invariably by the addition of some harmless substances, such as ripe plantains, in order to increase both the bulk and weight. The opium is taken twice a day, and on inquiry, those who take it in this way are always found to have taken to the practice as a remedy for some ailment or other under the advice of native vederalles. I have known several auch persons, and they appear to have suffered chiefly from rheumatic pains, especially at night, and the use of opium in small quantities, they assured me, gare them absolute relief, and made their lives, - which were a burden to them before, quite enjoyable. And this was borne out by the
Theophrastas, who lived in the third century, B.C., was acquainted with opium under the name of quinier, and later on about the year 77, A.D., Discorides plainly distinguished the juice of the capsules under the name of we, from which tha word opium is derived.
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