Weed and Spirituality
4/20 has been and gone - did you celebrate it??
I love how 4/20 is even a thing now – reportedly started by five high school friends with a secret weed habit and secret code to match, 4:20 is the annual celebration of Cannabis and it’s benefits. In the UK, thousands of smokers meet in London’s Hyde Park to “pass the dutchie” and enjoy and learn more about their favourite herb in the company of like minded people - seemingly with the permission (or at least ambivalence) of the Police. In 2019, 50,00 people attended and, despite the Coronavirus lockdown this year, hundreds attended Hyde Park to celebrate 4:20, with hundreds more taking part in online events organised by prominent campaigners.
Cannabis remain a class B drug in the Uk, so it is illegal to possess or supply, punishable by up to five years in prison. However, a recent YOUGOV poll found that there is general growing support for it’s legalisation. 53% of people voted in favour of, 32% against and the rest undecided. In 2015, numbers showed 32% in favour of, 49% against and the rest undecided. So what turned the tide?
I believe these three factors have had a major influence:
The legalisation of Cannabis in other countries has had an impact on how Brits view Cannabis. Smoking holidays are almost becoming a rites of passage for Generation Z. Amsterdam and Barcelona are the new Prague, with pubs and bars swapped for cafes and Cannabis clubs.
The increasing prevalence of medical Cannabis use in the media has thrown a spotlight on the plants healing properties, gradually shifting it’s image away from the gateway drug for local layabouts to a credible alternative to modern medicine.
By 2016, “Spiritual not Religious” was practically a slogan for newly adulting millennials frustrated by the over politicised, old fashioned, and sometimes discriminatory (by millennial standards at least) offer of traditional religion. The resurgence of spiritual and holistic practice has driven a collective desire to understand ourselves better in order to transcend physical blockages and reach higher levels of consciousness. This is a tale as old as time, with people using psychedelic drugs to tune in closer to God/Spirit/the Universe for hundreds of years, from the American Indian Shaman burning Ayahuasca on the Plains to the LSD loving Hippies of the 70’s. This fact alone gives ne confidence in the effectiveness of Cannabis for enhanced spirituality – our ancestors had way less time for shits and giggles than we do today and I figure if they took the time to forage it they were confident it was aiding them in some way.
Modern spirituality promotes a return to that form which we came, Mother Earth, and encourages us to maintain the lifeline to nature that we need to achieve balance, and, as such, Herbalism is a popular strand of spiritual practice.
They say Nature has a plant for every illness. One of the most commonly used plants in Herbalism is, and has historically been, Cannabis. That being said Cannabis does feature in traditional religion:
Rastafarians use the plant for meditation and spiritual ceremonies, gathering in a “reasoning” to give praise to Jah (God), who they believe bestowed the herb to man in order to invoke thoughtful insight and self-reflection. Rastafarians believe cannabis is mentioned in the Bible in Psalm 104:14 where it was written, “he causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man….” and in Revelation 22:2 “the herb is the healing of the nations.” It was used as a sacrament by Moses and the Israelites. Rastas and some Jews believe the plant Kaneh Bosm, mentioned five times in the Old Testament, was in fact Cannabis. Some Jewish scholars disagree on the translation, but if correct it would imply that the Hebrew Bible was originally blessed with Cannabis oil.
Another well-known instance of the religious use of cannabis is found in Sufism, the “hippies of Islam,” who consume it in a liquid cocktail called Bhang.
In Sufi tradition, Cannabis is considered a vehicle to God and a “method to open the mind for the divine.” While intoxication is considered antithetical to Sharia in the minds of orthodox Muslims, Sufis interpret the Qur’an less literally. Also, they note that Cannabis isn’t explicitly prohibited, unlike alcohol.
I think a larger section of society champion the physical healing properties of Cannabis, however, religion and spirituality highlights the plants power in affecting our psychological state and subsequently our ability to transcend the 3D in to the 5D and reach higher levels of consciousness. It is almost always used as part of wider rituals and intentions such as thanksgiving, manifestation and self discovery and is widely believed to enhance the experience of these practice.
Whether you’re a smoker or not, it’s hard to deny Cannabis is a super little plant, and 4:2020 is a big fat two green fingers up at the establishment. Legal or not, with the plethora of information at our fingertips, people are much more informed about the benefits and different uses for cannabis - as opposed to say the practically non existent health benefits of totally legal alcohol consumption - and are utilising the internet to mobilise and campaign for their right to medicate and heal themselves and relax in ways that align with their personal beliefs and values. Personally, I’m a fan of what cannabis represents; it has historically been the drug of choice for the Rebels and Free Thinkers. Even its physical properties are anti-establishment, with hemp still remaining by far the most commercially viable alternative to plastic in or production processes.
4:20 will be a distant memory by the time you read this and the next one already on the horizon (am I the only one who thinks lockdown hours go really quick?). I for one don’t think we’ll be celebrating the legalisation of Cannabis in the UK by April 2021 but I do think we could see a rise in the use of Cannabis both medically and spiritually as people seek to find cleaner, healthier alternatives in a post Coronavirus world.
Written by Chloe Mckay
Hi I'm Chloe. I'm a Safeguardiung Children's Team Manager by day and a Clauraudient Tarot Reader by night. I'm passionate about all things Esoteric, raising my 13 yo old son and great food!!