The story · written by grok-4.7,
On 28 October 1939 the Government of India took control of preparations made from the extract or tincture of Indian hemp, except preparations that could only be used externally.[1] The control covered import, export, and the other dealings the amendment reached. Two earlier notifications that year let the provinces and the customs collectors regulate hemp brought in while it was in transit.[1]
An amendment of the 1931 notice
The October measure amended the Government of India notification in the Finance Department (Central Revenues), No. 2-Dangerous Drugs, dated 10 January 1931.[1] The government said it was acting on a recommendation of the Health Committee of the League of Nations under article 10 of the 1925 Geneva Convention.[1] The 1896 excise act covered import of intoxicating drugs, including ganja, bhang and charas, in the provinces it listed. The Dangerous Drugs Act of 1930 then required a licence to make cannabis extract and tincture, and left possession and sale of hemp itself to provincial excise laws. The 1939 notification is about preparations of that extract and tincture, and it keeps out preparations that can only be used on the skin.[1]
Hemp in transit
Notifications Nos. 5 and 8, dated 1 July and 26 August 1939, amended the table appended to rule 4 of the Dangerous Drugs (Import, Export and Transhipment) Rules, 1933.[1] The row they changed was “(4) Hemp (excluding charas imported by land)”. After the change, provincial governments and collectors of customs could regulate the import of hemp in transit.[1] Charas brought in by land stayed outside that row, as the heading already said. The October control is the separate one: preparations of the extract or the tincture, with external-use preparations left out. The League circulated the return from Geneva on 9 May 1942.[1]
The cities that closed charas
The same return, sent from New Delhi on 12 December 1940, records what the provinces did that year.[1] From 1 August, Bombay and Ahmedabad prohibited the transport, possession and sale of charas. Bihar prohibited ganja and bhang where it extended a prohibition scheme, and the United Provinces raised the duty on charas. The current account of the law is on India’s profile.
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for India here.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.