LEAGT'E OF NATIONS Communicated to the C.11.M.11.1946.XI. Council and the Members (0.C/A.K.1942/57) of the League. ANNEX (Issued in English only). Geneva, January 22nd, 1946. TRAFFIC IN OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS. ANNUAL REPORTS BY GOVERNMENTS FOR 1942. INDIAN STATES. Communicated by the Government of India. Note by the Acting,. Secretary-General. In accordance with Article 21 of. the Convention of 1931 for limiting the Manufacture and regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs, the Acting Secretary-General has the honour to communicate the above-mentioned report to the parties to the Convention. The report is also communicated to other States and to the Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium and other Dangerous Drugs. (For the form of annual reports, see document.0.C .1600). NOTE ON PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, IMPORT AND EXPORT, ETC. OF OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS IN INDIAN STATES RELATING TO THE YEAR 1942.. NOTE.- Wherever figures for the calendar year‘-1942 are not available they have been given for the Hindi Sammat 1999 which corresponds closely to the British Indian financial year 1942-43. In certain cases they have.also been given for the State financial year 1941-42 which generally began either from October 1st or November 1 st, 1941. 1. General position regarding use., manufacture and sale of each drug separately.- The position during the year under report was practically the same as reported in the ’Note' for the previous year. The States are now fully conscious of the evil effects of drug addiction and the measures which they have adopted to suppress this pernicious habit have been-satisfactory. This resulted in a further decrease in the level of consumption of dangerous drugs. A slight increase in the consumption of opium can, however, be noticed during the year under review and this may be accounted for by the influx of the evacuees, the addition to the number of labour population and lastly due to the stoppage of supply of charas from Central Asia whereby certain addicts in that drug have taken over to opium. Statements II and IV show the extent to which opium and hemp drugs were consumed^ in the States during the year. In the States where the r e t ail-sale, - - price was fixed, the fluctuation varied between Rs.22 and Rs .240 vide Statement III. In one of the Punjab Hill States viz* Rawingarh the licensee purchase price of opium was Rs.18 per seer (935 grammes). - 2 - 2. Opium and Hemp drugs production in Indian States.- Figures showing the area under cultivation, the outturn and stocks of opium for the year 1942 are given in Statement I attached. It will be observed that the Tcultivation' and ’yield’ during 1942were 33,568 acres (13,427 hectares) and 6,343 maunds (237,216 kilogrammes) against 24,309 acres (9 ,724 hectares) and 3,644 maunds (136,278 kilogrammes) re­ spectively in 1941 # It is significant to note here that the maximum area once cultivated in these States was as high as 562,000 acres (224,800 hectares). The Government of India purchased the following quan­ tities of opium from the contracting States for use in their factories at Ghazipur and Neemuch:- Ghazipur Neemuch (in maunds) 1341 ... 1,988 715 (74,347 kilogrammes) (26,740 kilogrammes) ■*’ 1942 ... 4,798 537 (179,436 kilogrammes) (20,083 kilogrammes) Hemp drugs.- Ganja and Bhang were grown in the fol­ lowing States, viz. Balsan, Bansw&ra Bundi, Cutch Dewas State (Junior Branch) (Bhanjars) Dungarpur, Gondal, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jhalwar, Jodhpur, Junagadh, Karauli, Khairpur, Kolhapur, Kotah, Lawa, Mandi (Bhang is cultivated here in small quantities in the areas where snow falls and it is generally used for making ropes), Kvjaharsain (Indian Hemp is manufactured in this State for use as fibres for ropes and seldom consumed), Mysore, Partabgarh, Sailana, Sirohi and Udaipur (Mewar) The rest obtained their supplies frpun. the producing States or from British India. The Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa L) grew wild in the Hill States of Khasi and Manipur in Assam. It is as good as an intoxicant having the same flavour as that of Excise ganja and it is often used as a cheap substitute. In the Manipur State Resin was produced but no preparation was made from it. Bhang of spontaneous growth but of inferior quality grows wild in small quantities^ of Cooch-Behar, Kapurthala , Madhan and Rampur and also in some of the North-West Frontier States, viz»» A m b , Dir and Swat. Char as . - Since the stoppage of supply of this drug from Central Asia the demand for the drug has gone down .jd-1 whatever quantity was required for consumption was obtained from Ware­ houses in British India. ' 3. Import and Export.- A quantity of 44,373 kilogrammes of opium was imported into Indian States from British India during the year under report against 46,054 kilogrammes in 1941. 4. Smuggling from Indian States into and outside India.- A certain amount of opium from Indian States is smuggled into British India, which has been detected by the Ajmere-Merwara Railway Police. No other case has however found its way into the illicit international traffic from these Indian States. - 3 - The number of prosecutions and convictions and the quantities seized by the Department are given below : - Cases detected Persons involved Quantities of opium and other dangerous drugs (in seers) seized. 30 32 158 ( 147 kg. 730 gr.) Statement V shows the total number of prosecutions, convictions, the quantities of drugs seized and the' penalties imposed in the various States during the year 1942. 5. Steps taken by the Government of India to ensure stricter regulation of dealings in opium in Indian States. - 4 The position is the same as reported in the Note for the year 1937 : 6 . New legislation and important regulations during the year, Baoni. - The limit of lawful possession of raw opium by an individual is 2 tolas (2 ; M grammes) . But to place mom restrictions Opium booking Act just on the lines of far;tish India, has been enacted from February 1st, 1942. Bastar.- (a) The issue price of opium has been raised from Rs.90 to Rs. 95 per seer (935 grammes). (b) The limit of private possession of opium, which i s .also the limit of the retail sale, has' been reduced from 2 tolas (23.4 grammes) to 1 tola (11.7 grammes) . Dewas (Junior Branch). - 3 masas of opium of the other States if found in the custody of traveller for his own use was declared legal. Mandl.- (a) The Punjab Government raised the rate of transport fee from Es. 20 to Rs. 40 per seer and (b) enhanced the retail price of charas from Rs. 1/8/- to Rs. 1/12/- per tola with effect from April 1st, 1942. Nawanagar.- The cost price at Rajkot wherefrom the State received its stock was Rs. 12/1/8 up to March 31st, 1942 and now it has been lowered down to Rs. 11/5/3 from April 1st, 1942. Ra.jgarh. - The retail-sale price of ganja has been increased from 2 annas to 2 annas 3 pies per tola. Rewa .- Since April 1st, 1942, the sale of charas has been abandoned in the State - Tehri-Garhwal.- The U-P. Government reduced the quota import of charas of this State from 1 maund 10 seers (46 kg. 748 gr.) to 13 seers (12 kg. 155 gr.) and consequently the sale price of charas has had to be increased from Rs.l/8/- to R s .4/- per tola by the contractor and from 12 annas to Rs. 3/- by the Tahabil. Sale of charas was restricted only at 2 shops in the main towns Tehri and Narendranagar. *T~~N^teT by "the "secretariat : See document C.84♦M .44.19?9• XI - 0 .C./A.R .1937/H — --- - - 4 - 7. Opium Smoking.- The import, export and sale of pre­ pared opium are absolutely prohibited in almost all the States. The manufacture and possession by individuals, permitted during the year, for their personal use of a quantity of prepared opium not exceeding the prescribed limit varied between ^ (2.9 grammes) and ten tolas (117 grammes). The following were the States which have absolutely prohibited the smoking of opi in their territories : - Akalkot, Alirajpur, Athgarh, Athmalik, Aundh, Bahawalpur, Baramba, Baria, Baroda, Bhummat 5!amnia, Cambay, Chotta Udaipur, Daspalla, Dewas (Senior Branch), Dewas (Junior Branch), Dharampur, Dhrol, Dungarpur, Gwalior, Jaffrabad, Jashpur, Jawahar, Jodhpur, Kapurthala, Karauli , Kathiwara, Khandpara, Kharaswan, Kotah, Koti, Lodhika Thana, Maihar, Makrai, Malerkotla, Kandwa, Mandi, Mayurbhanj, Miraj (Junior), Mudhol, Kuhammadgarh, Nawanagar, Nayagarh, Partabgarh, Pataudi, Phaltan, Porbandar, Raigarh, Rairakhc Rajgarh, Rajkot, Rajkot Civil Station, Ramdurg, Ranpur, Sachin, Sailana, Sangri, Sant, Sayla, Sitamau, Sonepur, Surguja, Taraon, Tigiria, Udaipur (Môwar) 'and Vala. The smoking of opium in company of two or more person was penal in the following States : - Bamra, Bahawalpur, Bhopal, Dholpur, Hyderabad, Kalsia, Kanker, Kashmir, Kawardha, Keonjhar, Korea, Karwai, Narsingpur, Patiala, Raigarh, Sakti and Sarangarh. Generally speaking, the public have now realised that the habit of opium smoking is a real evil and the indulgence i the habit, which was once a live problem in the Indian States, is now very much looked down upon. STATEMENT I, Statement showing the actual area of land under p o p p v cultivation, the total, yield of opium and the stook of opium in the poppy cultivating Indian States during the year 1942, Area of : Ascertained Stook of jland yield of opium at the Name of State iunder ; opium. close of the : ’poppy year 1942, cultimtian.