Scanning Electron Microscopy Ash residues of Cannabis sativa showing persistent hairs This photo technique is a valuable help

for the identification of Marihuana

Left Cystolith hair of Cannabrs sativa prepared from the adaxial surfaceof a leaf Notethenumberof basal cells which generally tend to be greater in number here than in Hops the closest relative of Hemp

mindedness, and female disorders. HoaGlio, another ancient Chinese herbaIist, recommended a mixture of Hemp resin and wine as an analgesic during surgery. I t was in ancient India that this gift of the gods found excessive use in folk medicine. I t was believed to quicken the mind, prolong life, improve judgment, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery. Because of its psychoactive properties it was more highly valued than medicines with only physical activity. Several systems of Indian medicine esteemed Cannabis. The medical work Siishriica claimed that it cured leprosy. The Bharaprakasha of about A.D. 1600 described it as antiphlegmatic, digestive, bile affecting, pungent, and astringent, prescribing it to stimulate the appetite, improve digestion, and better the voice. The spectrum of medicinal uses in India covered control of dandruff and relief of headache, mania,

insomnia, venereal disease, whooping cough, earaches, and tuberculosis! The fame of CanrzaOis as a medicine spread with the plant. In parts of Africa, it was valued in treating dysentery, malaria, anthrax, and fevers. Even today the Hottentots and Mfengu claim its eficacy in treating snake bites, and Sotho women induce partial stupefaction by smoking Hemp before childbirth. Although Carirrabis seems not to have been employcd in medieval Europe as an hallucinogen, it was highly valued in medicine and its therapeutic uses can be traced back to early classical physicians such as Dioscorides and Galcn. Medieval herbalists distinguished manured hempe (cultivatcd) from bastard hcnlpe (weedy), recommending the latter against nodes and wennes and other hard tumors, thc former for a host of uses from curing cough to

Above Cystolith hair of Hops, Humulus lupulus, on adaxial leaf surface Note warty projections basal cells, and cuticular ridges It is obvious that they differ greatly from those of Cannabis (leff)

Belowlerr C sativa Well developed hairs of glandular and non-g landu lar kinds in various stages of development
Different types of glandular hairs of Cannabis Capitate gland with a prominent pseudo-stalk o n the surface o f the anther wall that faces the center of the flower (below) Bulbous gland from adaxial leaf surface (borrom) The stalk and head are made up of two cells each The tip of the gland possesses a s m aI d is k-sha ped region below 1 which resin accumulates in the extended membrane

97

jaundice. They cautioned, however, that in excess it might cause sterility, that it drieth u p . . . the seeds of generation in men and the m i k e of womens breasts. An interesting use in the sixteenth century --source of the name Anglers Weed in England-was locally important: poured

Although C u n r d l s today is the m n c t d c ly employed of the hallucinogens, its use purely as a Ilarcotlc, except in Asia, appears not to be ancient. In classical times its euphoric properties were, however, recognized. In Thebes, Hemp was made into a drink said to have opium-like properties.

The use of Cannabis by peoples of Doth the Old World 2nd New is widespread In the Old World (leff f o nght) Cannaba IS being smoked by a Kung woman from South Africa a pygmy from the Congo, a traveler in Kashmir and North African Hashish smo kers

into thc holes of earthworines [it] will d r a w t h c n i forth and. . .fislici-iiicn and anglcrs have used this feate to baite their hooks. The valuc of Cnrmahir in folk niediciiie has clcarly been closely ticd with its cuphoric and hallucino~cl~ic properties, knowlcdgc of which m a y be as old as its usc as a source of fibcr. Priniitivc nian, trying all sorts of plant niatcrials as food, iiiust have known thc ecstatic hallucinator^ effccts of Hemp, a n intoxication introducing him to a n other-worldl), plane lcading to rciigious belicfs. Thus the p l a i i ~ early was viewed as a spccial gift of the Sods, a sacrcd medium for coiiiiiiunion with the spirit world.

This Indian miniature from the eighteenth century shows a noble woman smoking a water pipe

Galen reported that cakes with Hemp, if catcn to cxccss, were intoxicating. The usc as an inebriant seems to have bcen spread cast and west by barbarian hordes of central Asia, cspeciallj. thc Scythians, who had a profound culturai influence 011 early Greece and eastcrn Europe. And knowledge of the intoxicating cffccts of Hemp gocs far back in Indian history, as indicated by the deep mythological and spiritual beiicfs about the plant. One prcparation, Bhang, was so sacrcd that it was thought to deter evil, bring luck, and cleame man of sin. Those treading upon the leaves of this holy p h t would suffer harm or disaster, and sacrcd oaths were sealed over Hemp. The favorite drink of Indra, god of the firmanicnt, was made from Cnrrrrabic, and t h c Hindu god Shiva commanded that the word Bhangi must be chanted repeatedly

This miniature (far nght) from a fifteenth-century manuscript of Marco Polo s travels depicts the Persian nobleman AI-Hasan ibn-alSabbah who was known as the Old Man of the Mountain enjoying the artificial paradise of Hashish eaters His followers known as ashishins consumed large amounts of Cannabe resin to increasetheir courageas they slaughtered and plundered on behalf of their leader The words assassin and hashish were derived from the name of this band

38

The Cuna Indians of Panama use Cannabis as a sacred herb This mola of applique work depicts a Cuna council meeting An orator is shown addressing two headmen, who lounge in their hammocks and listen judiciously. one smokes a pipe as he syings Spectators wander in and out. and one man ts seen napping on a bench

iI

during sowing, weeding, and harvesting of the hol) plant. Knowledge and use of the intoxicating properties eventually spread to A m Minor. Hemp was employed as an incense In Assyria in the first millennium B.c., suggesting its use as an inebriant. While there is no direct mention of Hemp in the Bible, several obscure passages inay refer tangentially to the cffects of Canna(rls resin or Hashish. I t is perhaps in the Himalayas of India and the Tibetan plateau that Cannabis preparations assumed their greatest hallucinogenic importance in religious contexts. Bhang is a mild preparation: dried leaves or flowering shoots are pounded with spices into a paste and consumed as candy-known as maap - o r in tea form. Ganja is made from the resin-rich dned pistillate flowenng tops of cultivated plants which are pressed into a compacted mass and kept under pressure cor several days to induce chemical changes; most Ganja 15 smoked, often with Tobacco. Charas consists of the resin itself, a brownish mass which 1s employed generally in smoking mixtures. The Tibetans considered Cannabis sacred. A Mahayana Buddhist tradition maintains that during the six steps of asceticEm leading to his enlightenment, Buddha lived on one Hemp seed a day. He is often depicted w7i-h ci!r;a ~ C : ~ V C C i : bi: kcg& :.:.,$1

and the mysterious god-narcotic Sonia has occasionally been identified with Hemp. In Tantric Buddhism of the Himalayas of Tibet, Caririabi$ plays a v c q significant role in the meditative ritual used to facilitate deep iiieditation and heighten awareness. Both medicinal and recreational secular use of Henip is likewise so coninion now in this region that the plant is taken for granted as an everyday necessity. Folklore maintains that the use of Hemp was introdxed to Persia by an Indian pilgrim during the reign of Khursu ( A . D . 531-579), but it is known that the Assyrians used Hemp as an incense during the first millennium B.C. Although at first prohibited among Islamic peoples, Hashish spread widely west throughout Asia Minor. In 1378, authorities tried to extirpate Hemp from Arabian territory by the imposition of harsh punishments. As early as 1271, the eating of Hemp was so well known that Marco Polo described its consumption in the secret order of Hashishins, who used the narcotic to cxperience the rewards in store for them in the afterlife. Canizabiv extended early and widely from Asia Minor into Africa, partly under the pressure of Islamic influence, but the use of Hemp transcends Mohammedan areas. It is widely believed that Hemp was introduced als 2 \.?;it5 ?.re.!-q fro:-1 Malaya. Commonly r!

TheCora lndiansofthesierra Madre Occidental of Mexico smoke Cannabs in the course of their sacred ceremonies Rarely is an introduced foreign plant adopted and used in indigenous religious ceremonies but it seems that the Cora of Mexico and the Cuna of Panama have taken up the ritual smoking of Cannabn notwithstanding the fact that. in both areas it was brought in by the early Europeans

THE CHEMISTRY OF MARIHUANA Whereas the psychoactive principles of most hallucinogenic plants are alkaloids, the active constituents of Cannabis are non-nitrogenous and occur in a resinous oil. The hallucinogenic properties are due to cannabinoides. of which the most effective is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC-chemically: (-)A1-3,4-transtetrahydrocannabinol. The highest concentration is found in the resin of the unfenilized pistillate inflorescence. Even though less potent, the dried leaves are also employed for their psychoactive effects. Following the elucidation of the chemical structure (see molecular model on page 172). it has recently been possible to synthesize THC.

99

This marvelous experience often occurs as if it were the effect of a superior and invisible power acting on the person from without.. . T h i s delightful and singular state.. .gives no advance warning. It is as unexpected

as a ghost, an intermittent
haunting from which we must draw, if we are wise, the certainty of a better existence. This acuteness of thought, this cnthusiasl.11 of the senses and the spirit must havc appeared to m a n through the ages as the first blessing.
~ e Parndic '4 rrlfiticlc s Charles fiaudclairc

known in Africa 3s Kif or Ilagga, the plallt has cntcrcd into prinlitive native cultures in social and religious contexts. The Hottcntots, Bushnicn, and Kaffirs uscd Hemp for centuries as a medicine and as an intoxicant. In an ancient tribal ccrcmony in the Zambesi Valley, participa~lts inhaled vapors from a pile of smoldering Hemp; latcr, rccd tubes and pipes were cniployed, and thc plant niatcrial was burncd on an altar. Thc Kasai tribes of thc Congo havc revived

an old Rianiba cult in which Hemp, replacing ancicnt fctishcs and synibols, was elcvated to a god- protector against a physical and spiritual harm. Treaties are scaled with puffs of smoke from calabash pipes. Hcnip-smoking and Hashish-snuffing cults cxist in many parts of east Africa, especially near Lake Victoria. Hcnip has spread to many areas of the New World, but with fcw exceptiolis the plant has not penetrated significalltly into niany

Drawing by W Miller Copyright@ 1978 TheNew Yorker magazine. Inc

native American religious beliefs and ceremonies. There are, however, exceptions such as its use under the name Rosa Maria, by the Tepecano Indians of northwest Mexico who occasionally employ Hemp when Peyote is not available. It has recent1y been learned that lndians in the Mexican States of Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla practice a communal curing ceremony with a plant called Santa Rosa, identified as Carrriahis s a h z , which is considered both a plant and a sacred intercessor with the Virgin. Although the ceremony is based mainly on Christian elements, the plant is worshipcd as an earth deity and is thoughr to be alive and to represent a part of the heart of God. The participants in this cult believe that the plant can be dangerous and t h a t i t can assume the form of a mans soul, make him ill, enrage him, and even cause death. Sixty years ago, when Mexican laborers introduccd the smoking of Marihuana to the United States, it spread across the south, and by the 1920s, its use was cstablished in New Orleans, confined primarily among the poor and minority groups. The continued spread of the custom in the United States and Europe has resulted in a still unresolved controversy. Carinahis sativa was officially in the United States Pharmacopoeia until 1937, reconimended for a wide variety of disorders, especially as a mild sedative. It is no longer an official drug, although research in the medical potential of some of the cannabinolic constituents or their semi-synthetic analogues is at present very active, particularly in relation to the side-effects of cancer therapy. The psychoactive effects of Cannahis preparations vary widely, depending on dosage, the preparation and the type of plant used, the method of administration, personality of the user, and social and cultural background. Perhaps the most frequent characteristic is a dreamy state. Long forgotten events are often recalled and thoughts occur in unrelated sequences. Perception of

Hey, what

ii

ihrr z~ufl?I r nvrkcr n e r y r h i n g I ihinh i i e m profound.

time, and occasionally of space, is altered. Visual and auditory hallucinations follow the use of large doses. Euphoria, escitenient, inner happiness-often with hilarity and laughter-are typical. In sonic cases, a final mood of depression may be csperienced. While behavior is sometimes impulsive, violence or aggression is scldom induced. h i relatively rcccnt years, the use of G ~ i r r i n his as an intoxicant has spread widely in Western society--especially in the United States and Europe-and has caused apprehension in law-making and law-enforcing circles and has created social and health problems. There is still little, if any, agreement on the magnitude of these problems or on their solution. Opinion appears to be pulled in two directions: that the usc of Canrrabis is an extreme social, moral, and-health danger that must be stamped out, or that it is an innocuous, pleasant pastime that should be legalized. It may be some time before all of the truths concerning the use in our times and society of this ancient drug are fully known. Since an understanding of the history and attitudes of peoples who have long used the plant may play a part in furthering our handling of the situation in modern society, it behooves us to consider the role of Cmrrabis in mans past and to learn what lessons it can teach us: whether to maintain wise restraint in our urbanized, industrialized life or to free it for general use. For it appears that Cannabis may be with us for a long time.

In the nineteenth century a select group of European anists and writers turned to psychoactive agents in an attempt to achieve what has come to be regarded as mindexpansion or mind-alteration Many people such as the French poet Baudelaire (lowerleft) believed that creative ability could be greatly enhancedbytheuseof Cannabs In fact Baudelaire wrote vivid descriptions of his personal experiences under the influence of Cannabis At the upper left is Gustave Dore s painting Composition on the Death of Gerard de Newal inspired probably by the use of Cannabis and Opium At the upper right is a contemporary American cartoon humorously epitomizing the recurrence of this belief It was not only among the French lirerati that psychoactive substances raised expectations In 1845 the French psychiatrist Moreau de Tours published his investigation of Hashish in

a fundamental scientific monograph Ou hachisch e t d e l alienation menrale Moreau de Tourss scientific study was the on the effects of Cannabis He explored the use of this hallucinogen in Egypt and the Near East and experimented personally with it and other psychoactive plant substances He concluded that the effects resemble certain mental disorders and suggested that they might be used to induce model psychoses

101

Caution: This book is not intended as a guide to the use of hallucinogenic plants. Its purpose is to offer scientific, historical, and culmral documentation concerning a group of plants, which are or have been of importance to many societies. Ingestion ofsome ofthese plants or plant products may be dangerous.

Picture on tidegage: Mayan "mushroom stone" from El Salvador, late formarive period (300 B.c.-A.D. 200); height 13 ! in. 4 (33.3 cm). Original concept and design: Emil M. BUhrer, Joan Halifax, and

Heding Arts Press O n e Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 Finr published by Healing Arts Press in 1992

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Copyright 0 1992 EMB-Service for Publishers, Lucerne, Switzerland

Robert Tobler Editors: Joan Halifax and David Baker Captions: Joan Halifix Managing editor: Francine Peeters Acture research: Joan Hlfx and Robert Tobler aia Picture procuration: Rosaria Pasquaricklo and Tina Crorman Rooduction manager: Franz Gisler Crnphic artisu: Franz Coray and E.W. Smith Compostion: EDV + Filmsatz AG, Thun, Switzerland Photolithography: Pesavento AG, Zurich, Switzerland

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Note to t h e reader: This book is intended as an informational guide. The

Data

Plants of the gods : their sacred, heahng, and hallucinogemc yo :i / .n h c h a r d Evans Schultes, Albert H o h a n n p. cm. Orignally pubhshed : N e w York : McGraw-Hill, 0 1979. Includes bibliographical references a.nd index.

ISBN 0-89281-406-3

Healing Arts Press is a division of Inner Traditions International, Ltd. Distributed to the book trade in the United States by American International Distribution Corporation (AIDC)

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