A report on Cannabis (drug) and Shamanism

The earliest known depiction of a Siberian shaman, by the Dutch Nicolaes Witsen, 17th century. Witsen called him a "priest of the Devil" and drew clawed feet for the supposed demonic qualities.

Main short-term physical effects of cannabis

A shaman, probably Khakas, Russian Empire, 1908

A joint prior to rolling, with a paper handmade filter on the left

A tableau presenting figures of various cultures filling in mediator-like roles, often being termed as "shaman" in the literature. The tableau presents the diversity of this concept.

Addiction experts in psychiatry, chemistry, pharmacology, forensic science, epidemiology, and the police and legal services engaged in delphic analysis regarding 20 popular recreational drugs. Cannabis was ranked 11th in dependence, 17th in physical harm, and 10th in social harm.

Flowering San Pedro, an entheogenic cactus that has been used for over 3,000 years. Today the vast majority of extracted mescaline is from columnar cacti, not vulnerable peyote.

South Moluccan shaman in an exorcism ritual involving children, Buru, Indonesia (1920)

Present-day map of the Jirzankal Cemetery, site of the earliest evidence of cannabis smoking

A shaman of the Itneg people in the Philippines renewing an offering to the spirit (anito) of a warrior's shield (kalasag) (1922)

Cannabis sativa from Vienna Dioscurides, c. 512 CE

A shaman doctor of Kyzyl, 2005. Attempts are being made to preserve and revitalize Tuvan shamanism: former authentic shamans have begun to practice again, and young apprentices are being educated in an organized way.

Cannabis indica fluid extract, American Druggists Syndicate (pre-1937)

Process of making bhang in a Sikh village in Punjab, India. On the Hindu and Sikh festival of colors called Holi, it is a customary addition to some intoxicating drinks.

countries that have legalized medical use of cannabis

Example of a container and the recreational cannabis purchase in Canada.

Woman selling cannabis and bhang in Guwahati, Assam, India

Cannabis has held sacred status in several religions and has served as an entheogen – a chemical substance used in religious, shamanic, or spiritual contexts – in the Indian subcontinent since the Vedic period.

- Cannabis (drug)

Examples of substances used by some cultures as entheogens include: peyote, psilocybin and Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushrooms, uncured tobacco, cannabis, ayahuasca, Salvia divinorum, and iboga.

- Shamanism

3 related topics with Alpha

Psychoactive drug

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Psychoactive_Drugs_Legend.jpg: 1. caffeine

Zoloft (sertraline) is an SSRI antidepressant.

Timothy Leary was a leading proponent of spiritual hallucinogen use.

Illustration of the major elements of neurotransmission. Depending on its method of action, a psychoactive substance may block the receptors on the post-synaptic neuron (dendrite), or block reuptake or affect neurotransmitter synthesis in the pre-synaptic neuron (axon).

Comparison of the perceived harm for various psychoactive drugs from a poll among medical psychiatrists specialized in addiction treatment (David Nutt et al. 2007).

These substances may be used medically, recreationally, or spiritually; to purposefully improve performance or alter one's consciousness; as entheogens for ritual, spiritual, or shamanic purposes, or for research.

Popular campaigns to decriminalize or legalize the recreational use of certain drugs (e.g. cannabis) are also ongoing.

Mazatec people performing a Salvia ritual dance in Huautla de Jiménez

Entheogen

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Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwise in sacred contexts.

Brugmansia suaveolens, one of a group of species referred to as angel’s trumpets. Brugmansia plants are rich in the chemical compound scopolamine, an example of an entheogen. Brugmansia has been cultivated by native tribes in South America for this reason.

Laboratory synthetic mescaline. Mescaline was the first (1887) psychedelic compound to be extracted and isolated from nature (from peyote).

2C-B is an entactogen commonly used at public places, like rave parties.

The shrine at Tel Arad, where the earliest use of cannabis in the Near East is thought to have occurred during the Kingdom of Judah

Fresco of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, flanking an alleged "mushroom tree" at Plaincourault Chapel, a 12th-century chapel of the Knights Hospitaller in Mérigny, Indre, France.

A Native American peyote drummer Quanah Parker (c. 1927)

Mandala-like round window above the altar at Boston University's Marsh Chapel, site of Marsh Chapel Experiment

Anthropological study has established that entheogens are used for religious, magical, shamanic, or spiritual purposes in many parts of the world.

Bhang is an edible preparation of cannabis native to the Indian subcontinent.

Trance

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State of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli or is selectively responsive in following the directions of the person (if any) who has induced the trance.

(see Yoga, Sufism, Shaman, Umbanda, Crazy Horse, etc.)

Gustatory: driving through the sense of taste and indigestion; including: starvation, herbs, hallucinogens and drugs. As the intake of food and beverage entails intra-bodily chemical reactions through digestion, some infer that all food may be considered medicine or drugs and therefore contribute to the induction of discernible psycho-physical states (see Ancient Medicine). Trance states can be attained through the ingestion of psychoactive drugs, particularly psychedelics, such as cannabis, ketamine, LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, and MDMA.