Paniteowl
Reclaiming the Wise Woman and Cunning Man
The Wise Woman and Cunning Man were once integral parts of society. Paniteowl writes about the new role of these venerated magic workers.
Susan Pesznecker
Hibernation: Embracing Winter
Does the heavy winter snow make you want to hibernate until spring? Maybe you should follow those instincts instead of fighting them.
Denise Dumars
Magical Ecotourism
Inspried by her love for hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Denise Dumars explores motivations and methods of doing good while vacationing.
Jhenah Telyndru
Making Space Sacred
Anywhere can be your place of worship if you choose to make it a sacred space.
The Lunar Calendar
September 2011 to December 2012
September 2011 to December 2012 Calendar
Moon Void-of-Course Tables
Community Forum
Provocative Opinions on Contemporary Topics
Cannabis and
the Environment
Melanie Marquis
It can end world hunger, clean the air, reduce pollution, restore depleted soils, and save forests. It provides a quickly renewable source of fiber, fuel, energy, and complete nutrition, and it can grow nearly any place on Earth. Talk about a magickal plant! Cannabis, considered sacred by many witches for its value in spellcraft and ritual, can also play a major role in healing the planet. As more and more localities around the globe welcome the growing and use of cannabis, it’s time to take another look at the environmental (and magickal) benefits of the herb we call Herb.
An Herb Most Magickal
As one of humankind’s first domesticated crops, cannabis has helped man survive and thrive for thousands of years. Cannabis cultivation began in China around 8000 bce and spread to surrounding regions. It became a common crop throughout Asia, used for fiber, oil, food, medicine, and ritual. In Japan, cannabis was an early and important element of the native religion of Shinto, where it was considered sacred to the solar goddess Amaterasu and used also for purification, banishing, and summoning spirits of the dead. Cannabis made its way to England around ad 70, and by the sixteenth century, cannabis crops dotted the landscape in Russia, North America, and Europe. Early American colonists grew hemp for its useful fiber. It has been regarded as one of Earth’s most useful and sacred plants for thousands of years. Yet today, cannabis is regulated by law, and permits to grow it are difficult or impossible to come by in many places around the world.
But times are changing, and cannabis is making a comeback as governments and populations conclude that the benefits of this plant far outweigh objections. As we observe more and more effects of man’s greed and devastation of the environment, we come to reject the current order and open our minds to other possibilities. Cannabis offers a key to a greener and friendlier planet, capable of repairing man’s relationship with the natural world. As witches, we specialize in independent thinking—decide for yourself what you think about the cannabis plant, then let your voice be heard.
What’s In a Name?
Hemp, cannabis, marijuana—what’s the difference? The distinctions can be confusing but are nonetheless important to understand due to governmental restrictions pertaining to various classifications of the herb. Marijuana (which is psychoactive) and hemp (which is not) share the scientific name, Cannabis sativa. Strains of cannabis are custom-bred into either marijuana for
recreational or medicinal use, or into hemp for industrial or nutritional use. Although hemp won’t get anyone stoned, looks distinctly different, and would be avoided like the plague by any serious marijuana grower (placing marijuana plants near a hemp crop would yield very seedy buds), many governments fail to make exceptions for hemp in their anti-marijuana provisions, classifying both hemp and marijuana as cannabis, thereby shutting down what could otherwise be an incredibly profitable industry.
Was it an accident or simple oversight that allowed industrial hemp to be demonized along with its high-inducing sister? Hemp had, after all, been in use for thousands of years without stirring up a fuss. So what happened?
In the United States, hemp cultivation was an active and promising industry until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, imposing a hefty tax on hemp, which made it less profitable to produce. This move coincided with the rise of timber and oil interests, companies whose products directly competed with the more environmentally friendly and (previously) cheaper-to-produce hemp products. Economic giants—including William Randolph Hearst, who owned a thriving timber business, and DuPont, which procured patents in 1937 for making plastics from petroleum and coal—engaged in a propaganda campaign against the evils of “marijuana,” a term not commonly known at the time.
Advocates for the hemp industry are therefore adamant about drawing clear lines between high-inducing marijuana and industrial hemp, asserting that hemp and marijuana are entirely different plants. Personally, I find no reason to draw distinctions; I feel that advocates on every side of the marijuana and/or hemp legalization movement could better accomplish their aims by working together. People today can understand that just as other crops can be bred into certain varieties with particular characteristics, the versatile cannabis plant can be bred in a multitude of ways for a multitude of purposes. The fact that certain varieties of it can catch someone a buzz should not overshadow cannabis’ greater applications in providing for the needs of humans while healing the planet.
Weed Can Feed
Hunger and malnutrition still plague humans, and cannabis could provide the cure. Growing in nearly any weather, thriving in poor soil conditions, reaching full maturity in only 120 days, and naturally resistant to weeds, diseases, and pests, cannabis gardens could provide a renewable, high-yield food source in barren areas where good soil and precipitation are scarce. One tiny cannabis seed contains 25–35 percent protein, and just a handful of these little beauties a day is enough to sustain an average adult. Second only to soy in protein content and easier to digest, this botanical has even been called a super food, as it is the only single food source that supplies all of man’s daily nutritional requirements necessary for survival.
Marijuana (which is psychoactive) and hemp (which is not) share the scientific name, Cannabis sativa.
Cannabis seeds contain
