Originally Posted by
LeClaires
I'm not sure about that, but it has been used thousands of years ago as a medicine, and in religious rituals.
From my project:
China: Concerned at the frequent failure of the shamans, legendary Emperor Shen Nung of the third millennium BC set off to study Chinese flora, testing the plants on himself. It has been said that he turned green and died of self-administered poisoning. The information that he collected became the standard reference work for Chinese medicine, leading Shen Nung to deification, and the title father of Chinese medicine. He advised the use of ‘hemp elixir,’ a tea made of cannabis flowers, to treat a wide range of ailments, like gout and malaria.
Chinese medicine was the most advanced in the world by the second century AD. Hua Tuo discovered cannabis resin mixed with wine made an effective analgesic, called ma yo, and created an anesthetic composed of cannabis and aconite, which he was to conduct major invasive surgery with.
Hinduism: According to the Vedas, four books of the Hindu faith:
around 1100 BC, Shiva brought cannabis down from the Himalayas for the pleasure of mankind. According to legend, cannabis was created when the gods stirred the heavenly oceans with the peak of Mount Mandara… A drop of celestial nectar, amrita, fell to earth and a hemp plant sprouted from the spot. It became the favorite drink of Indra, the Lord of Kings, and was subsequently consecrated to Shiva.
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The Atharva Veda, book four, says that one uses cannabis to commune with Shiva, and calls cannabis one of the five sacred plants which contains a prayer of deliverance from disaster, disease, and demons. Through the use of cannabis, mankind is cleansed of sin.
Zoroastrianism: lists cannabis as the most important medicinal plant of 10,000.