God and Cannabis

8/9/2019 God and Cannabis

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What does God have to do with cannabis (marijuana)? There is no mention of hemp, cannabis, ormarijuana in our modern translations of the Bible. Or at least not in the three versions of the Biblein my possession, which are a Gideon's Bible, the King James version, and the New WorldTranslation of the Holy Scriptures used by the Jehovah Witness faith. There is a lot of symbolismattached to the text of the Bible and many different interpretations. Perhaps there is mention ofthis plant buried within the metaphoracal verses.

But before I discuss why I believe God tells us about cannabis in the Bible, I must first brieflyattack the subject of politics, big business, and cannabis in modern times in order to convey acomplete understanding of the Bible verses I cite later in this article.

There have been tens of thousands of medical studies done during the last decade to determineif the cannabis plant (marijuana, hemp, ganja, weed, pot, dope) has any healing properties andalso as to its level of risk. These studies have been conducted by highly respected andcompetent universities and independent research facilities.

When someone says to me they cannot be in favor of marijuana unless more testing is done on itto determine the risk, I scoff. How many more research studies do we need to recognize the truthabout this much-maligned plant? How many more chapters of history must we review to realizethat the hemp plant has always been widely used and accepted worldwide, not only as medicine,

but also as a source for textiles, rope, food, and more... until more recently. Many countriescontinue to openly accept this plant as a renewable source of healing and enlightenment and as ameans of sustenance.

One strong trend has emerged from all those thousands of studies. There is an undisputable truthwhich has made itself known. The results of these research studies has proven that the fruit(buds) and leaves of the marijuana plant contain medicinal and healing properties. Testing a widevariety of diseases and illnesses, over a broad spectrum of test subjects, including humans, theresults have been astounding! Every single study documented healing and improvement in theirtest subjects, much of the time with unexpectedly dramatic results!

Also, as a direct result of these studies, it is now a well accepted fact among the medicalcommunity that cannabis is NOT physically addictive and sudden discontinuance of the use of

cannabis causes little or no withdrawal or discomfort. Researchers also agree that the use ofcannabis is actually less toxic and poisonous to the body and far less dangerous than alcohol andtobacco.

Did you also know that pharmaceutical companies aren't really in business to heal and cure thesick. If they were, they'd put themselves right out of business, wouldn't they? If there were a curefor cancer developed or discovered, it would not be in the best interests of the big pharmaceuticalcompanies to embrace it, considering a huge portion of their profits comes from prescriptiondrugs, chemotherapy cocktails, etc. used to treat cancer. Not to mention the over-the-counterconcoctions intended to treat every sort of ailment also contributes a sizable portion of profit aswell.

All prescription drugs come with government-mandated patient information sheets. This is the

disclosure which reveals to you the side effects, risks, and dangers you may experience if youtake the medicine. It is meant to legally inform you that you may be poisoned or even die if youtake the drug. It's a simple disclaimer that shows you were made totally aware of the risks and ofyour own free will, you killed yourself with their medicine. A fairly simple concept, isn't it? As longas they inform you that you may die in advance, it won't really be their fault.

In 2007 Harvard University released results of a study they conducted on mice stricken withcancer. Which brings an interesting point to mind...did you know that when conducting researchon cancer and other diseases in lab animals that the researchers will actually infect the testsubject with disease cells. I just feel that's a point worth bringing to your attention. If "they" can


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infect animals with cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases, "they" also know how to infecthumans with the same diseases.

These Harvard researchers administered cannabis smoke to lab mice infected with cancer.Amazingly, even to the surprise of the researchers, the tumors in the test subjects began toshrink rapidly! With continued dosing, the tumors were reduced by 50% or more, and in someinstances, disappeared entirely! Even the number of tumors in the test subjects were reduced.

Clearly, there is a compound of some sort in cannabis, whether it is THC or any of the othercannabinoids, or simply a perfect combination of all of the properties of the plant just as Godcreated it...whatever it is that's in cannabis, it most definitely has a promising future as a cancercure and as a treatment for a huge number of diseases and illnesses, as has been proven by allthis research.

The big pharmaceutical companies haven't yet figured out how to gain control over this miracleplant. They've succeeded in helping to ban access to it for most Americans for many decades. Itdoes, after all, have the potential to turn the huge pharmaceutical conglomerates upside down.

These companies know this and will use their clout to block every attempt to legalize marijuanafor the general population. Heaven forbid we heal ourselves, as the Bible stated we should.

These greedy pharmaceutical companies want to control the health of the population becausethat is how they control their profits.

People say to me, "it's a gateway drug and leads to hard stuff". It's been proven that is false.Marijuana does not push you toward using addictive drugs any more than drinking milk makes aperson crave alcohol. It's a ridiculous theory based on lies. It's actually the drug dealers whichlead you to the hard drugs. They're after a profit too.

People claim legalizing marijuana will lead to the corruption of our society and there will be drugaddicts lying in the streets everywhere. Puh-leeeze! Obviously these people have never heard ofAmsterdam, where marijuana has been legal for years and years and that city is certainly not acrime-ridden pile of filth by any stretch of the imagination. It is a prime example that proves thisline of reasoning is totally false.

Enough of the politics of cannabis. You now have a good background of information to fullyunderstand how and why I connect God to cannabis and hemp.

My religious roots are in Christianity, though I've studied the beliefs of many other religions tosome extent and read many of their teachings and writings. If I had to claim any one religion asmy own, the one I most closely relate to, I would probably have to say none of them. I have myown set of beliefs, which takes a little from many different faiths, and which in my heart mostclosely adheres to the teachings of God, my Creator.

Some may read this article and call me a lunatic. Some may say I spout blasphemy. But in allreality, do ANY ONE of us truly and honestly know what happens to us after death...where wecame from...or if God even truly exists? Do any one of us, beyond a shadow of a doubt,

completely and totally understand the meaning of the Bible AS GOD MEANT IT.

No we don't. We only possess the knowledge and wisdom, the truths and lies which have beenpassed down to us through the ages. No one knows for sure if any religion or faith actually has ittotally right. So who's to say my beliefs are wrong? It is part of God's plan...that mankind mustaccept one another and love and respect all living things without judgment, for only God is judge.

I believe in living in peace and harmony with all that is in the world. I believe that is what ourCreator intended for mankind. I believe we are all brothers and sisters, no matter if we're black,white, green, or purple and that no one should cause any harm in any way to any living thing.


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I believe we should take better care of the earth, for mankind has been entrusted with thistreasure and we must preserve it and nurture it. We should not be depleting our natural resourcesor destroying our wildlife as we are in modern times. It goes against God's commandments.

Those are my basic beliefs. Peace, love, and harmony among all living things. Simple. Well, itought to be simple but there are perpetual evil forces working against that philosophy.

I don't claim to be an expert in any one religion, only a dabbler in many. I also don't claim to be anexpert on the Bible, though I've studied and read it for many, many years. Having attended manydifferent churches throughout my lifetime, with their roots all in Christianity, I've come to realizethe Bible's interpretation varies widely within the Christian religion.

I've come to believe that perhaps people have one important spiritual symbol interpretedincorrectly. This symbol or icon crops up in many different philosophies and faiths and themeanings attached to this symbol are varied. The symbol I speak of is the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life's meaning may be perceived somewhat differently by different cultures, beliefsystems, and faiths, but the underlying message from them all is basically the same...unity ofheaven and earth and all living things and that we humans should strive to live in harmony within

the world in which we live.

I have my own interpretation of the meaning behind the Tree of Life, an interpretation based onthe Bible, but cross-referenced with different religions. I was surprised to learn there are twoaccepted religions who share my interpretation of this symbol. The Rastafari movement andsome Coptic Christians also believe as I do, at least as far as the meaning of the Tree of Life isconcerned.

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of allthe earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (i.e. asource of food and nourishment) [Genesis 1:29].

"And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth

upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat and it was so. AndGod saw every thing that he had made; and behold, it was good. And the evening and themorning were the sixth day." [Genesis 1:30-31]So here it is said that God has given us every green herb to nourish all living beings. God didn'tsay he gives us ALMOST all the green herbs. No, God clearly said he gave us ALL of them and itwas good. He gave us one very special plant, the Tree of Life, which he planted in the center ofthe garden of Eden.

Obviously a tree which grants life would be a treasure desired by all creatures. Just the name,Tree of Life, holds a connotation of immortality. Indeed, Revelations 22:14 says, "Blessed arethose who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enterthrough the gates into the city."

The Ten Commandments are God's laws meant to teach mankind to live in peace and harmony.Those who keep His commandments will be rewarded with the tree of llife and allowed to enterthe Kingdom of God.

Verses 1 and 2 of the 22nd chapter of Revelations says, "And he showed me a pure river of waterof life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of itsstreet and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each treeyielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."


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Let's analyze these two verses. Forget what you may have learned in Sunday School andcatechism classes, and let's assume that instead of the tree of life symbolically representing theconcept of peace and harmony, that the Bible is referring to an actual tree, or tree-like plant.

God told us in Genesis he gave us all herbs (plants) bearing seed, which of course, includestrees. Some herbaceous plants can grow as large and as tall as trees. He gave those plants theability to produce seed in order that we may use the plants for sustenance, yet not deplete thesupply. With seeds, we can always grow more plants.

The river flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb represents the life force he breathedinto all living things and the Lamb, of course, represents God's ideal for earth...peace andharmony.

The tree of life referred to in these verses grows prolifically, as it is written that they grow alongthe roads and the rivers. This tree bears twelve fruits, yielding every month, and it's leaves are forthe healing of the nations. This tree bears abundantly, has healing properties, and it is easilygrown.

I believe the tree of life referred to in these Bible verses actually refers to the hemp, (cannabis)plant. To me, the reference is obvious. We all know hemp has been on earth since the beginning

of time and that it was used for many different purposes over the centuries by many differentcultures all over the world. Obviously hemp was grown and used during Biblical times as well.

Certain strains of hemp (cannabis) can be grown to tree-size heighth and it's easily grown in allparts of the world. Cannabis has obvious healing properties, as the results of the aforementionedstudies proves.

As for the monthly yield this biblical tree is said to bear, I believe this refers to the naturalproduction of buds on the cannabis plant. If one were to grow a cannabis plant to tree proportionsand trim it every month, it would yield every month. Consider the following Bible verse:

"For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like aclear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when

the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs withpruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches." [Isaiah 18:4-5]

The verse tells us the Lord Jesus rested in his dwelling place...clear heat upon herbs...like a"cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." Heat upon herbs refers, of course, to burning or heatingherbs in some manner. The cloud of dew metaphor is fairly obvious when taken in context withapplying heat to herbs. It refers to the smoke produced from heating the herbs, just as a mistycloud rises from the dew on a field of grain in the heat of the morning sun.

Cutting the sprigs with pruning hooks is a reference to harvesting the buds of the plant which isheated or smoked. The stems are taken away, but likely used for another purpose. All cannabissmokers know you smoke the buds and not the stems and that stems are useful for making otheritems.

Which brings us to the reference of the twelve fruits. There is no such tree which produces twelvedifferent actual fruits such as pears, apples, peaches, etc. I believe the twelve fruits is a metaphorfor twelve products derived from the plant. During Biblical times cannabis would have been usedtwelve different ways; as clothing, paper, cord, sails, fishnet, oil, sealant, incense, food, fuel forfire, as a commodity for trade, and as medicine.

The Bible also prophesies the controversy over marijuana. The apostol Paul says, "In the latertimes some shall speak lies in hypocrisy, commanding to abstain from the meats which God hathcreated to be received with thanksgiving for them which I believe and know the truth. For it is


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sanctified by the word of God and prayer. [1 Timothy 1-5]

Another reference to a healing plant, which again I believe refers to hemp (cannabis) is found inEzekiel 47:12 which states: "Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of tree withleaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear fruit every month, because thiswater comes from the sanctuary and their fruit will be good to eat and will be medicinal."

The medicinal properties of cannabis are also derived, not only from smoking it or breathing in thevapors, but also as food and many different foods can be made from cannabis. Healthy foodswith high levels of antioxidants.

Those who use cannabis report a mild feeling of euphoria, i.e. the "high". But it is also reportedthat this feeling is not as pronounced as one may be led to believe. There is no feeling of floatingor anything of that nature. Most users claim the "high" is simply a pleasant, happy feeling that isbetter than the false sense of happiness offered by any antidepressant on the market today andwithout the harsh side effects.

Cannabis is the plant of peace, no doubt, for those who partake of it feel a oneness with natureand a feeling of being at peace and in harmony. It is reported that a feeling of love andconnectedness to the "grand scheme of things" is felt.

Is this not the biggest concept taught in the Bible...that of peace, love, and harmony? Andamazingly enough, one of the plants God gave to us during the Creation is a plant that can impartexactly that frame of mind to those who use it. Is this a coincidence? I don't think so. I sincerelybelieve God meant for mankind to partake of the cannabis plant and reap all the benefits it has tooffer, including its ability to make one happy and at peace with the world.

This sense of happiness and its connection to the tree of life is mentioned in the Book of Mormon.According to this text, sometime between 600 and 592 B.C., the tree of life is shown to Lehi andalso to his son, Nephi, in a dream or vision. Lehi's description of the tree (1 Nephi 8:10) states "atree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy."

His son, Nephi, sought to learn from the Spirit what the tree of life he'd seen in his dream

represented. "10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou? 11 And I said unto him: To know theinterpretation thereof."

A vision is shown to Nephi of Mary with baby Jesus in her arms and the Spirit says to Nephi: "21Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning ofthe tree which thy father saw? 22 And I answered him saying: Yea, it is the love of God, whichsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable ofthings. 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul."

Within the practice of psychology, the tree of life is viewed as symbolic of lifetime growth anddevelopment of both the psyche and spirit. The fruits and flowers of the tree represent theemergence of a mature personality which can provide a gift to the wider world.

Cannabis users report experiences of feeling relaxed and at peace, clear of stress, which openstheir minds to deep meditation and contemplation. Users report a feeling of closeness to God andto earth. They regard the use of cannabis as a form of spiritual enlightenment which clears theirminds and hearts of all evil and brings a positive energy to their lives.

Does modern religion have it all wrong? When Paul speaks in 1 Timothy about the hyprocrisy andlies in later times, was he speaking about the prohibition of hemp and cannabis? The laws of menwhich commands us to abstain "from meats which God hath created to be received withthanksgiving"...is that a direct reference to the War on Drugs?


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Proverbs 3:13-18 tells us that the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding shall behappy. For the reward of wisdom and understanding is "better than the profits of silver, and hergain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannotcompare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, (longevity of life, health) in her left handriches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a treeof life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her."

The time is now to end the tyranny over a plant that God has provided to mankind for sustenanceand for healing. It's time to undo the evilness of greedy men who become rich by pushing theirpoisonous prescription medicines down the throats of the meek. For it is God's will that the meekshall inherit the earth.

Deborah WillisCopyright 2010All Rights Reserved

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God and Cannabis