Spirit Science ~ Cannabis

Hey there everyone! As you might be aware, Canada just legalized cannabis! As residents of this country, the Spirit Science crew felt there was no better time to make a video all about it!

Appearing in ancient and historical references throughout time, the benefits and practical uses of Cannabis seem to be limitless. From healing to athletic conditioning, see how this original medicine’s resilience has continued to influence our society.

It’s really important that we discuss all of the aspects of cannabis, the positive and the negative, the challenges and the solutions. More importantly, it’s time that we changed the stereotypes around cannabis, what it’s used for, and why.

Historically, Cannabis has been used to provide a wide variety of things, from practical uses like fabrics, ropes and textiles, all the way to medicine and a psychoactive spiritual tool. As civilization spread across the world, cannabis often came with them, and even at the dawn of the United States, it was one of the most valuable plants to those settlers. The very first western cannabis law was actually the European king declaring that settlers had to grow it and export it back to Europe!

When we look at why Cannabis was made illegal at all, what we find is rather shocking. It all comes down to racism and control. In the 1800s, Cannabis was used as a medicine with the US citizens, but smoking cannabis was not something they did often. When Mexican immigrants moved to the United States in the early 1900s, they brought smoking the plant with them, and it began to grow popular.

In an effort to demonize ethnic minorities, a great deal of propaganda and fear started surfacing around the smoking of Cannabis, which ultimately led to it being banned in several states locally, and eventually a strong federal ban took place by the hands of a man named Harry Anslinger, and it stayed this way for a really long time.

However, fast forward to today, thanks to an abundance of studies going back as far as the 1940’s, as well as the power of the internet, there is a massive discussion around Cannabis, as the world realizes that it’s not only hardly harmful at all, it also has tremendous benefits when used properly.

Read Carl Sagan’s Essay on Cannabis Here!
http://marijuana-uses.com/mr-x/

This is now the most important thing we can do for ourselves and each other is to educate ourselves with a clear understanding of what Cannabis specifically is, so that we can make the best choices on how to use it. While smoking it can be used recreationally, unconsciously, or habitually, it can also be used for creative and spiritual purposes.

By our collective respect of this plant and using it with holistic intent, we can completely change the stereotypes of “stoner” and “pothead” that exist and bring about a new era of understanding of plant medicine.

Thank you so much for watching this video! If you want to learn more, we highly recommend watching Gaia’s Psychedelica series!! You can see one episode for free on our shared page, gaia.com/spiritscience. If you subscribe through this link, your contribution will go to supporting our studio as well.

Also, please check out the other videos we referenced in this episode! The full-length versions are all quite good, and very educational!

Sources:

Videos

Alan Lightman & Richard Dawkins on Science & Religion
How to: Academy, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSCDfjTDVCk

The Sinister Reason Weed is Illegal,
Adam Ruins Everything, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJlqsdezhhk

Psychedelica – Cannabis
http://bit.ly/AllAboutCannabis

David Schmader,
Stoners Coming Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfXGpVi-YRs

Ben Cort,
Shocking Truths about Legalizing Cannabis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmqtPaMMVuY

3 Arguments why Marijuana should stay illegal Reviewed
Kurzegstag, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP15q815Saw

Sources

Marijuana Reconsidered – Carl Sagan
https://www.scribd.com/document/91244267/Marijuana-Reconsidered-Carl-Sagan

History of Hemp
PuffMama
https://www.puffmama.ca/201310/timeline-history-of-hemp

Scotty Hendricks
Carl Sagan on why he liked smoking Cannabis
Big Think, 2018
https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/carl-sagan-on-smoking-marijuana

Other Side Farms
Hemp on the 10 Dollar Bill
https://othersidefarms.com/blog/1914-10-dollar-bill-was-printed-on-hemp-paper/

National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1973

Diverse uses of Cannabis over the Course of History
Dinafem, 2018
https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/historical-uses-marijuana-cannabis/

Agata Blaszczak-Boxe
Marijuana’s History: How one plant spread through the world
LiveScience, 2014
https://www.livescience.com/48337-marijuana-history-how-cannabis-travelled-world.html

Effects of Cannabis on the Teenage Brain
NCPIC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvszaF4vcNY

How does Pot affect the teenage brain?
CBC News – The National
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXEA8WqjHlY

Alyssa Pagano
The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibitions
Business Insider, 2018
https://www.businessinsider.com/racist-origins-marijuana-prohibition-legalization-2018-2

How Marijuana Became Illegal
Ozarkia
http://www.ozarkia.net/bill/pot/blunderof37.html

Sara G. Mille
LiveScience, 2016
https://www.livescience.com/53550-marijuana-verbal-memory.html

Jim Finnel
Anslinger and Mellon Connection,
420 Magazine, 2008
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/anslinger-and-mellon-connection.79470/

Why is Marijuana Banned? The Real Reasons are Worse than you Think
Huffington Post, 2017
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-influence/real-reasons-marijuana-is-banned_b_9210248.html

Amanda Lewis
Racist Origin of Pot Prohibition,
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/blunt-talk-the-racist-origins-of-pot-prohibition-122212/

Harry Anslinger
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger#Rise_to_prominence

Controlled Substances Act
Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act

Tom LoBianco
Report: Aide says Nixon’s war on drugs targeted blacks, hippies
CNN, 2016
https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html

Raymond Cushing
Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew in ’74
Alternet, 2000
https://www.alternet.org/story/9257/pot_shrinks_tumors%3B_government_knew_in_%2774

The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24625/the-health-effects-of-cannabis-and-cannabinoids-the-current-state

10 Most Common Conditions Medical Cannabis is Prescribed For
Canabo Medical Clinic,
https://www.canabomedicalclinic.com/10-common-conditions-medical-cannabis-prescribed-for/

United Patients Group
Illnesses Treatable with Medical Cannabis,
https://unitedpatientsgroup.com/resources/illnesses-treatable-with-medical-cannabis

10 CBD Facts You Need to Know
CBD Oil Review,
https://cbdoilreview.org/cbd-cannabidiol/10-cbd-facts-you-need-to-know/

Jon Johnson
Does CBD oil work for chronic pain management?
Medical News Today, 2018
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319475.php

Bailey Rahn
Cannnabis’ Entourage Effect: Why Whole Plant Medicine Matters
Leafly, 2015
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-entourage-effect-why-thc-and-cbd-only-medicines-arent-g

How does Marijuana produce it’s effects?
National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/how-does-marijuana-produce-its-effects

World Drug Report, 2014
http://www.unodc.org/wdr2014/

Amy Eisinger
Here’s what Actually Happens when you Smoke Weed,
Greatist, 2016
https://greatist.com/health/your-brain-on-marijuana

Cannabis Studies Worldwide
Spectrum Cannabis,
https://spectrumcannabis.com/canada/en/research

Ernest Abel
Marijuana – The First Twelve Thousand Years,
UK Cannabis Internet Activist
https://www.ukcia.org/research/abel/1.php

ASAP Science
Your Brain on Drugs: Marijuana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeF6rFN9org

Melanie Pinola
What Marijuana Actually Does to your Brain & Body
Lifehacker, 2016
https://lifehacker.com/what-marijuana-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body-1693986467

Deborah Anderson
129 Facts about Cannabis you may or may not know
Civilized, 2016
https://www.civilized.life/articles/129-cannabis-facts-should-know/