A Gift from the Gods: The History of Cannabis and Religion

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By: Sara Dilley 12/19/2013



The holiday season is all about family, good food and, for some, religious tradition. In the spirit of the holidays, we at Leafly were curious about cannabis and religion. As a topic that’s seldom discussed, we wondered if cannabis had any ties to religion. What we found may surprise you.

Cannabis has not only been used in religious ceremonies, it has a long-standing tradition in numerous world faiths. Let’s start with the area it’s been used the longest: China. Taoist shamans used cannabis in combination with ginseng to reveal truths about the future, believing the plant had the ability to cast their spirit forward in time. In Taoism, cannabis consumption was reserved for religious officials and not shared with common people, which might explain its strange exclusion from ancient texts. By 200 C.E., the Han Dynasty of Imperial China had embraced Confucianism, abandoned Taoism and, with it, cannabis.

While spiritual Chinese cannabis consumption may have ended by 200 C.E., it was just coming into its own in India. It is said that the gods sent hemp out of compassion for the human race so that they may attain delight, lose fear, and increase sexual desires. Other Hindu stories suggest cannabis originated from a spot of nectar dropped from Heaven. More popular is a theory that both gods and demons churned the milk ocean to obtain amrita, Sanskrit for immortality, and received cannabis as a result. Whichever story you believe, there’s no doubting that cannabis holds a scared spot in the Hindu faith. In practice, the locally favored Hindu diety was given offerings of cannabis drinks during religious festivals; community members took part as well, sharing cannabis bowls amongst one another.

India and Tibet share not only a border, but also a rich tradition of religious cannabis consumption. Tibet is a historically Buddhist nation. In Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two main branches of the religion, it is said that Guatama Buddha subsisted on one hemp seed a day for six years to aid in his path to enlightenment. Buddha is sometimes depicted holding a bowl of “soma” or cannabis leaves. Buddhist practitioners would often consume cannabis to facilitate meditation or heighten awareness during religious ceremonies.

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