The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, convened in 1893 by the British Raj, was a landmark investigation into the use and regulation of cannabis in colonial India. This commission was charged with assessing the impact of cannabis, known locally as “Indian hemp,” on public health and society. After extensive research and testimony, the commission’s 1894 report famously concluded that the moderate use of cannabis posed no significant health risks and advised against its prohibition. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission’s findings have had a lasting influence, often cited in contemporary debates on cannabis legalization and regulation. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and change, the commission’s work serves as a historical touchstone, reminding us of the nuanced relationship between cultural practices and legal policies. [Source: Harvard]
This article contains too many and overly lengthy quotations. (March 2021) |
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report, completed in 1894, was an Indo-British study of cannabis usage in British India.
By 2 March 1893, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom was concerned with the effects of hemp drugs in the province of Bengal, India. The Government of India convened a seven-member commission to look into these questions, commencing their study on 3 July 1893. Lord Kimberley suggested modifying the scope of the investigation to be expanded to include all of India.
The report the commission produced was at least 3,281 pages long, with testimony from almost 1,200 "doctors, coolies, yogis, fakirs, heads of lunatic asylums, bhang peasants, tax gatherers, smugglers, army officers, hemp dealers, ganja palace operators and the clergy." A sociological analysis of the report reveals that the commission's visits to asylums all over India helped to undermine the then prevailing belief that consumption of ganja causes insanity.
The president of the commission was Mr. W. Mackworth Young, and other members include H.T. Ommanney, A. H. L. Fraser, Surgeon-Major C.J.H. Warden, Raja Soshi Sikhareshwar Roy, Kanwar Harnam Singh, and Lala Nihal Chand. Serving as secretary was Mr. H.J. McIntosh.
