By Morgan Roger
Now that cannabis is becoming more
legal and accepted in the United States and across the world, it’s
important to know and understand the plant’s history. Marijuana is one
of the oldest known psychoactive drugs which has been used for thousands
of years by a number of different cultures and religions. In Ancient
Egypt for example, cannabis was used as a pain-reliever rather than a
cure and traces of it is found in the remains of a number of mummies. In
Early America, the marijuana grown was cannabis sativa L, which
contains less than 1% THC,
not nearly enough for anyone to get high.
Africa is another ancient
culture where cannabis was commonly used in culture and religion.
Cannabis did not originate in Africa,
so when it was finally introduced through trading, many tribesmen
chewed the cannabis leaves until they discovered the art of smoking.
This new discovery changed African culture in many ways. For one, some
tribes and cultures in Africa began worshipping cannabis in their
religious practices. The Bashilenge tribe for instance, formed their entire religion around the use of cannabis. They called themselves Bena-Riamba, which means “the sons of hemp” because their culture regarded marijuana as a god and the pipe as a symbol of peace.
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