Notes from an excellent book!

[sylvan]

Notes from â??Marijuana Medicineâ?� By Christian Ratsch

To begin with, he makes an interesting point about the terminology of the altered stat of consciousness achieved from the use of marijuana. He feels that using the term â??intoxicatedâ?� is inaccurate, explaining that the root wordâ?� toxicâ?� implies that it is poisonous and physically damaging to the body, while there has not been one single death resulting from cannabis overdose. He consciously avoids using that word in favor of the term â??inebriatedâ?�.

The Buffalo of plants: cultural significance of hemp is similar to that of the buffalo in Native American life. It provided the Indians with everything that they needed to live. Every part of the buffalo was used.

Like the buffalo, hemp is a plant with many uses. Its seeds provide food for both humans and animals and yield anoil with a multitude of applications.
The female flowers produce resin both as a medicine and as an aphrodisiac. The roots are also used medicinally. Pastes and beverages are derived from the leaves, while the stem provides strong durable fibers for making ropes, nets, paper and clothes. It was in fact humankindâ??s first paper (made in China).

It is a plant with few needs. It does not leach nutrition form the soil, and is actually beneficial to other plants growing in its vicinity.

The book has chapters skimming itâ??s use in countries and cultures around the world including recipes of remedies .

A few interesting tid-bits:

According to the ayurvedic medical system of India: Hemp is a sacred plant because â??a guardian angel Deva lives in its leavesâ?�.

Hemp in Indian and Nepalese folk medicine:
â??To Hinduâ??s the hemp plant is holy..it cures dysentery and sunstroke, clears phlegm, stimulates digestion, sharpens the appetite, freshens the intellect, quickens the spirit, is a joy giver, soother of griefâ?¦it is used for almost every illnessâ?¦hemorrhoids, asthma, nervous diseases, malaria, gonorrhea, indigestion, anemia, migranes, acute mania, imbecility, whooping cough, crampsâ?¦ â?�

Hemp in Tibetan medicine:

Because of its gentle treatment methods, Tibetan medicine is now receiving worldwide recognition. Tibetans consider hemp to be a sacred plant, and often cultivate it in proximity to monasteries.

In the Lamaistic tradition it is said that Buddha nourished himself with hemp seeds during the 6 years preceding his enlightenment. In tantric Buddhism hemp is regarded as the â??food of the Kudiliniâ?� transforming sexual energy into spiritual experience.

Southeast Asia:
In Thailand use of hemp (gan-chaa) has been illegal since 1971. It is also illegal in Malaysia where the drug laws are the harshest in the world. (I have to interject that they could not be any worse than Saudi Arabia, where I once lived and worked).

In Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, hemp is legal as a medicine and available to all. In Cambodian restaurants, the entire dried plant is an important ingredient in spicy, stimulating soups.

The Khmer consider smoking marijuana a sign of good manners, and it is a mandatory part of social events.
In Camboida, new mothers often ingest hemp teas to restore their strength, and stimulate milk production after giving birth.

The Vietnamese primarily utilize the seeds for medicinal purposes. These are prescribed for disturbances of memory, premature aging, labor pains, amenorrhea, and blood poisoning.

Hemp is legal in Laos. The most important remedy in the country is opium.

Native Americans/Indians of the Amazon:
Hemp is a plant indigenous to North America that served as a source of fiber and medicine.

What were they smoking in those peace pipes? Different Mixtures/combinations of : tobacco, sage, bearberry, lobelia leaves, mugwort and marijuana leaves. Sitting Bull and Black Elk stuffed hemp into their sacred pipes in order to increase the intensity of their visions.

A clinic in the Amazon basin uses marijuana to treat crack addicts. They are frequently given marijuana during treatment and suffer no withdrawal symptoms.
Shamans of the Amazon use hemp medicinally and ceremonially .
Mexico:

The name Marijuan appears to have first been used in Mexico. It is a contraction of the name Maria Juana (Mary Jane).
It is used medicinally to heal from scorpion bites, tuberculosis, leprosy, all types of cramps, colic, diarrhea, sleeplessness and nervousness, as a laxative, to lower fevers, exhaustion, and general means of preserving health.

There are also interesting references to itâ??s use in Catholicism, ancient Egypt, Arabic cultures, Rastafarian â?¦and many others and an interesting chapter about homeopathic preparations of the plant.

sylvan Reviewed by sylvan on 01-12-2011. Notes from an excellent book! Notes from â??Marijuana Medicineâ?� By Christian Ratsch To begin with, he makes an interesting point about the terminology of the altered stat of consciousness achieved from the use of marijuana. He feels that using the term â??intoxicatedâ?� is inaccurate, explaining that the root wordâ?� toxicâ?� implies that it is poisonous and physically damaging to the body, while there has not been one single death resulting from cannabis overdose. He consciously avoids using that word in favor of Rating: 5

[xsnoder]

Too bad western medicine feel away from ancestral wisdom.

[sylvan]

Agreed!

[deserthealer]

yes!