Medical Marijuana in Ancient Egypt?

[Masato]

A Versatile Plant: What Were the Many Uses of Cannabis in Ancient Egypt?


http://www.ancient-origins.net/history- ... ypt-007733

Cannabis is widely considered to be one of the most widespread options when it comes to medicinal herbs. However, in ancient times the plant’s popularity was far greater, and its use much more common in different aspects of regular life. As things have turned out, modern laws have now prohibited a lot of the cultural and religious practices which had been a part of Egypt’s history and culture for thousands of years. It wasn’t easy to unearth the history and evidence to support these claims, but now that it has been done, let’s take a look at some of the ways in which the ancient Egyptians used cannabis.

Cannabis as Medicine in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians had uncovered and used the medicinal properties of cannabis even beyond what modern medical science has been able to do so far. The Ebers Papyrus was written roughly around 1550 BC and is one of the oldest finished medical textbooks to have been found so far. It mentions a number of formulas which make use of hemp to alleviate pain and inflammation caused by various diseases and injuries. Apparently, women in particular used marijuana as a way to waive off depression and other psychological problems in the early days of Egypt.


Ebers Papyrus from National Library of Medicine, Found in Egypt in the 1870s. This prescription for an asthma remedy is to be prepared as a mixture of herbs heated on a brick so that the sufferer could inhale their fumes.

The oldest medicinal use of the herb in the region may date back even further, to 2000 BC, when it might have been used to treat glaucoma, cataracts, haemorrhoids, vaginal bleeding, and even cancer. It can be estimated that cannabis was probably not a cure, but an alleviator of the symptoms in most cases. Modern medical science on the other hand, is only beginning to establish the fact that cannabis has some truly remarkable pain-relieving properties, along with being a very potent calming agent for the imbalanced nervous systems of patients suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.


Cannabis in Egyptian Religion and Culture

When the mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II was uncovered and examined back in 1881, traces of cannabis in the remains was the last thing anyone was expecting, but it was there. Since then, a lot of the uncovered mummies have shown similar traces of the herb in their systems, confirming the suspicion that cannabis was indeed a part of the regular culture in ancient Egypt.


In ancient Egypt, cannabis was used for medicinal, religious, and cultural purposes. Here is a depiction of a dude smoking a huge-ass pipe

Seshat, the goddess of wisdom, was often depicted with a leaf of the cannabis plant above her head in paintings from thousands of years ago. Bastet, the feline goddess of war, was also related to the use of cannabis in the region, but more in terms of witchcraft. Evidence also suggests that worshippers may have consumed marijuana in one form or the other during certain religious festivities and rituals.


Seshat, the ancient Egyptian goddess of record-keeping and measurement with a colorful cannabis leaf over her head.


Practical Uses of Cannabis

Although it may sound strange if you have not heard about it before, cannabis was actually used in the production of ropes, sails, and fabric in particular. In fact, research suggests that ancient workers used a meticulous technique with the cannabis fiber to break down larger rocks before transporting them to constructions sites. The technique generally involved hammering down the dry cannabis fiber into the cracks of the larger rocks, before soaking them thoroughly in water. As the fabric began to expand it was strong enough to fracture the giant rocks.


Original knots which were joining the main pieces of the Khufu Boat. The cedar timbers of the boat’s curved hull were lashed together with hemp rope in a technique used until recent times by traditional shipbuilders on the shores of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean.

The herb was so popular in the old days of Egypt that the famous Roman Emperor Aurelian practically imposed a tax on it!


References

BAHAR YEŞILNUR (2014). An ancient treatment from the pages of the Ebers Papyrus. Daily Sabah. Available from: https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2014 ... rs-papyrus

Claire Rankin (2016). Marijuana use in ancient Egypt. Newstarget. Available from: http://www.newstarget.com/2016-02-26-ma ... egypt.html

Royal Queen Seeds. Cannabis in Egypt. Available from: https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/blog-ca ... egypt-n162

[Megaterio Llamas]

Royal Queen Seeds eh. I'm not familiar with them, I wonder if they offer authentic Egyptian genetics?

*Nah, I just looked. It seems like the usual hybrid genetics.

[Vutulaki]

I doubt they had weed in ancient Egypt, I dont think it spread to Northern Africa until the Islamic conquests much later


Interestingly enough though the Aussie Abo claims weed was here before pale face turned up, they even have a common word for it "yani"

[Megaterio Llamas]

Does this mean the Muslims introduced hashish to Morocco and Lebanon? I guess that makes sense when you consider the indica hashplant is native only in North India and Central Asia. I would have thought the Persians would have introduced it to the Middle East well before Muslim times though.

[Vutulaki]

Does this mean the Muslims introduced hashish to Morocco and Lebanon? I guess that makes sense when you consider the indica hashplant is native only in North India and Central Asia. I would have thought the Persians would have introduced it to the Middle East well before Muslim times though.

Do you mean introduced to the arabs?

There was haydar the suffi monk in Persia who was a bit of a pothead then theres this

The Gardens of Cafour

Although hashish was well known in the eastern Arab countries by the eleventh century A.D., it was not until the middle of the thirteenth century that it was introduced into Egypt. For this information, we are indebted to a Moslem botanist named Ibn al-Baytar (d. A.D. 1248).

Ibn al-Baytar was born in Malaga in Spain, apparently the son of wealthy parents for he was able to afford to travel to far-off lands. Generally, the early sightseers in the Arab world left home to make the honored pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. This was a religious duty required of every Moslem, but the farther away from these holy shrines, the more difficult was such an undertaking. For those who could afford the pilgrimage, however, the trip offered a wonderful opportunity to visit other countries and meet new people.

In the course of his journey, Ibn al-Baytar passed through Egypt where for the first time he observed hashish being eaten. The main users of the drug, he noted, were the Sufis.

According to Ibn al-Baytar, the Sufis had a special way of preparing their hashish. First they baked the leaves until they were dry. Then, they rubbed them between their hands to form a paste, rolled it into a ball, and swallowed it like a pill. Others dried the leaves only slightly, toasted and husked them, mixed them with sesame and sugar, and chewed them like gum.

The sight of these people and their unconventional clothes and behavior unsettled Ibn al-Baytar, and he voiced his opinion in his diary. "People [i.e. the Sufis] who use it [hashish] habitually have proved its pernicious effect," he writes, for "it enfeebles their minds by carrying to them maniac affections, sometimes it even causes death." Ibn al-Baytar then adds: "I recall having seen a time when men of the vilest class alone dared to eat it, still they did not like the name takers of hashish applied to them."[5] This latter comment reflects the attitude of the upper-class Moslem's opinion of the Sufis and their use of hashish. It also shows, however, that by the twelfth century, the label "hashish user" had become so derogatory that even the Sufis were upset at being so taunted.

One of the favorite gathering places for hashish users in Egypt was the "gardens " of Cafour in Cairo. "The green plant which grows in the garden of Cafour replaces in our hearts the effects of old and noble wine," states a poem written in tribute to the renowned gathering place of hashish connoisseurs. Another poem coos: "Give me this green plant from the garden of Cafour, this plant which surpasses wine itself in the number of people it enslaves."

The authorities felt differently. Unwilling to tolerate the rabble collecting in the city's garden spot, the governor of Cairo ordered out the troops. In A.D. 1253, all the cannabis plants growing in the area were chopped, gathered, and hurled onto a massive pyre the flames of which could be seen for miles around. "A just punishment of God," was the pronouncement of the more pious citizens of Cairo, as they watched the fire destroy the plants.

With Cafour gone, hashish devotees had to go elsewhere to obtain their heady rations. Their inconvenience was only temporary. Seeing an opportunity to make some easy money, the farmers on the outskirts of Cairo began sowing cannabis seeds.

At first this was a legitimate enterprise, since these farmers paid a tax for the privilege. But in A.D. 1324, the new governor decided that the situation had once more gotten out of hand. Troops were summoned into action. Every day for an entire month, the army foraged into the countryside on search-and-destroy missions; the enemy - hashish plants.

After this show of force, the fields remained barren of cannabis for a few months. Cultivation then resumed as before. There was just too much money to be made to give up production permanently. To protect themselves from renewed interference, growers and merchants offered bribes and it was business as usual.

But in A.D. 1378 another order came down from the office of the governor to destroy the cannabis fields. This time the farmers decided to resist. Not one to back down, the governor dispatched Egypt's version of a S.W.A.T. team against the hashish farmers. But the farmers were determined to preserve their lucrative business, and eventually the troops backed off and instead of fighting, decided to place the area under siege, hoping to starve the farmers into submission.

The people held out for several months, but the outcome was never in doubt. When the soldiers finally broke through the defences and poured into the valley there was no alternative but to capitulate. The resistance crushed, the soldiers placed the valley under martial law. Fields were set ablaze. Towns were either razed to the ground or placed under strict surveillance. Local cafes which had previously been known as centers for the hashish trade were closed. Proprietors of these businesses were hunted down and killed. Patrons of these shops who were known to the authorities had a different fate in store for them. All known hashish addicts were assembled in the town square, and in full view of all the townspeople, the soldiers wrenched out their teeth.[6]

By A.D. 1393, however, the hashish business was once again a thriving enterprise, a situation which prompted the Egyptian historian Maqrizi, who was a contemporary, to write: "as a consequence [of hashish use], general corruption of sentiments and manners ensued, modesty disappeared, every base and evil passion was openly indulged in, and nobility of external form alone remained in these infatuated beings."[7] But deplore the situation though Maqrizi might, hashish had become too much a part of the Arab way of life for it to be forsaken, whatever the criticisms and pressures against it.

http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/history/first12000/2.htm

[Megaterio Llamas]

Quite a few of the Iranians around here belong to a Sufi sect. Dervishes they are. And they all seem to love smoking weed, dervish or Twelver.