Marijuana: Difference between revisions

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The use of marijuana as a drug in China was mentioned in a Chinese herbal from 2737 B.C. The use of the drug as an intoxicant seems to have begun in India about 1000 B.C. It was cultivated in temple gardens by priests who made it into a liquid called bhang, which was used in association with religious ceremonies.

From India, marijuana spread to the Middle East. Since the Moslem faith specifically forbids the use of alcohol, marijuana was accepted as a substitute, and its use “thoroughly permeated Islamic culture within a few centuries.”<ref>National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, ''Marihuana: A Signal Misunderstanding'' (1972), part one, section I.</ref> Because of the euphoria it induced, the Arabs described it as the “joy-giver,” “sky-flyer” and “soother of grief.”<ref>J.M. Campbell, “On the Religion of Hemp,” quoting the Makhvan, in ''Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report'' (Simla, India: 1893–94), 3:252.</ref>

From India, marijuana spread to the Middle East. Since the Moslem faith specifically forbids the use of [[alcohol]], marijuana was accepted as a substitute, and its use “thoroughly permeated Islamic culture within a few centuries.”<ref>National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, ''Marihuana: A Signal Misunderstanding'' (1972), part one, section I.</ref> Because of the euphoria it induced, the Arabs described it as the “joy-giver,” “sky-flyer” and “soother of grief.”<ref>J.M. Campbell, “On the Religion of Hemp,” quoting the Makhvan, in ''Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report'' (Simla, India: 1893–94), 3:252.</ref>

According to marijuana researcher Dr. Gabriel Nahas, the greatest effects of widespread marijuana use were felt in Egypt: