Cannabis: The Church, Bible, Moses and Jesus

The Church, Bible, Moses and Jesus

Genesis 1:29 Does, in all fairness, speak for itself. As far as the bible is concerned, there is nothing in there about - "Oh, except this one - my mistake" - Unless of course you want to make an argument for it being the Tree of Life - but I'm pretty sure that was an apple tree, and a very special one at that.

Jesus and the Holy Anointing Oil

Anointing oil, mentioned 20 times in Scripture was used in the Old Testament exclusively for the ordination of the priesthood and the Tabernacle and later extended to prophets and kings. (Exodus 25:6; Leviticus 8:30; Numbers 4:16). It was forbidden to be used on an outsider or to be used on the body of any common persons and it was forbidden for them to duplicate it for themselves (Exodus 30:32)

The holy anointing oil recipe described in Exodus 30:22-25 is:

·         Pure myrrh (mar deror): 500 shekels (about 6 kg)

·         Sweet cinnamon (kinnemon besem): 250 shekels (about 3 kg)

·         Kaneh bosem (kaneh bosm): 250 shekels (about 3 kg)

·         Cassia (kiddah) 500 shekels (about 6 kg)

·         Olive oil (shemen zayit) one hin (about 4-7 liters?)

The controversial ingredient is Kaneh bosem, which literally translates as "Sweet Cane" and has been linked to several plants, the two most credible being, Calamus and Cannabis.

Calamus

Calamus contains an ingredient called aserone. This is a hallucinogen which is metabolized in the liver as trimethoxyamphetamine or ecstasy, however, the indigenous Middle Eastern version of this plant is far more toxic being deadly to flies and other insects. In 1936, Sara Benetowa (Aka: Sula Benet) an etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences, in Warsaw argued that the translation of Calamus was a mistranslation  which occurred in the oldest Bible the “Septuagint” and the mistranslation was copied in later versions. The Exodus 30:23 reference refers to "sweet" Calamus

Cannabis

Sula Benet did a study on the word Cannabis. She demonstrated that the ancient Hebrew word for Cannabis is Kaneh-Bosem. "The sacred character of hemp in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:23, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting tent and all of its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing hemp." In the course of time, the two words kaneh and bosem were fused into one, kanabos or kannabus and according to the Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary the Hebrew for hemp is kanabos.

Jesus Healing the Sick

Many New Testament passages refer to the practice of anointing with oil; In Mark 6:13, the disciples anoint the sick and heal them. In James 5:14, the church elders anoint the sick with oil for healing. In Hebrews 1:8-9, God says to Christ as He returns triumphantly to heaven, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever," and God anoints Jesus "with the oil of gladness."

Jesus is widely reported in the Bible as being able to (miraculously) heal the following:

• Blindness - (Matthew 9:27-31, 20:29-34) (Luke 18:35-43) (Mark 10:46-52)

Patients with severe Glaucoma would in all practical ways present as being blind, or having significantly restricted vision and we know that this was one of the first conditions identified as being improved and even cured through the use of cannabis.
"The ability of cannabis to improve the symptoms of glaucoma has been demonstrated in various studies and many medical cannabis patients utilize cannabis for glaucoma, and report improvements in various symptoms."

• Helping the crippled to walk, and other physical disabilities (Matthew 12:10-13) (Mark 3:1-7) (Luke 6:6-11) (Acts 14:8)

Patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, which is a neurological condition, struggle with the correct functioning of muscles and would have appeared to be "crippled" in the times.

There is a clear consensus amongst scientists and doctors that cannabis is safe and effective as a palliative treatment for MS and was the first condition for which medical cannabis was approved for legal access. GW Pharmaceutical's first full plant extract medicine, Sativex, is currently approved for MS, but is too expensive for our NHS at roughly 10 times the cost of growing your own at home.

• Cured Skin diseases Skin Diseases/Leprosy: (Matthew 8:1-4) (Mark 1:40-45) (Luke 5:12-15,  17:11-19)

Leprosy is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis, which belong to the same genus as the tuberculosis bacterium, M. tuberculosis.Cannabis is a historic treatment for leprosy, which has affected humanity for millennia, and continues to infect hundreds of thousands per year.

• Demonic Healings - (Matthew 9:2-18) (Mark 1:23-28, 2:3-12) (Luke 4:31-36, 5:17-26) - and many many more

Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, Anxiety, Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses could and would all have been diagnosed in those times as "Demonic Possession". 

Epilepsy 

Individual reports of children with refractory (or intractable) epilepsy who have tried cannabis, usually with high ratios of cannabidiol to THC, have reported marked improvements in seizure frequency, including a report describing the results of Charlotte, a girl with Dravet's syndrome.

Alzheimer's Disease

Research published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease “strongly suggest that THC [the main active ingredient in marijuana] could be a potential therapeutic treatment option for Alzheimer’s disease through multiple functions and pathways.”

Anxiety

It can be a debilitating disorder that affects how people socialize and cope with daily stress. And though there are pharmaceutical options available—including benzodiazepines such as Xanax—the fact of that matter is, those drugs are highly addictive and dangerous. Marijuana is non-toxic and non-addictive, and it is still an effective form of treatment.

Schizophrenia

GW Pharmaceuticals have unveiled trial data raising hopes that its cannabis-based drug cannabidiol might prove an effective treatment for schizophrenia. The placebo-controlled clinical trial involved 88 patients with schizophrenia who had previously failed to respond adequately to first-line treatment with anti-psychotics.

"These findings further reinforce the potential role of cannabinoids in the field of neuropsychiatric disease," said GW’s chief executive Justin Gover. “We believe that the signals of efficacy demonstrated in this trial, together with a notably reassuring safety profile, provide GW with the prospect of new and distinct cannabinoid neuropsychiatric product pipeline opportunity”

Moses, Mount Sinai and The Burning Bush

All we really know is that Moses got the inspiration to lead his people out of Egypt after travelling to the top of Mount Sinai (Aka: smokey mountains), where he was confronted by a burning bush that spoke to him with the voice of God. 

When he came down, he made the first menorah, an oil lamp with seven flames which could be a reference to the seven points of a cannabis leaf and "smokey mountain" of Mount Sinai could actually be a reference to cannabis intoxication. It was only after becoming intoxicated with cannabis smoke that Moses received the inspiration to make a menorah and lead his people out of slavery. 

Today, many people recognize the inspirational powers of cannabis. For example, Carl Sagan attributed all his important scientific discoveries to inspiration he received after smoking a joint. Louis Armstrong and John Lennon also spoke of the inspirational powers of cannabis. And wherever you find cannabis use, you’ll find spiritual cultures seeking to throw off the chains of oppression, whether it be Rastas in Jamaica or hippies in North America.

Summary and Conclusion

The conspiracy theory that the Church has suppressed the use of cannabis in their Holy Anointing Oil in order to both protect the miracle healing power of Jesus and to keep this privilege to the highest members of the church is feasible but in the absence of a more credible alternative explanation for all of these events and stories, Kaneh Bosen actually being cannabis, used by a healer to heal many sick people from a wide range of illnesses and disabilities does seem most credible, given the growing evidence we have of its therapeutic benefits. 

In addition, anyone who identifies as a Christian and has an issue with the use of cannabis should have a bit of a think about that.

Jon Liebling – Political Director of United Patients Alliance

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Thank you to the following sources:
https://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/jesus-healed-using-cannabis-study-shows/
https://stevenhager420.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/the-true-story-of-mount-sinai-and-the-burning-bush/
http://stronginfaith.org/article.php?page=9
http://www.gotquestions.org/anointing-oil.html
http://contextout.blogspot.co.uk/p/moses-used.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

The Government have responded - May I retort?

On Monday 12th October from 16:30-19:00 MPs will debate the Legalisation of the Production, Sale and Use of Cannabis in Westminster Hall.

In response to a petition which you can read here  (Oh and whilst you have it open - SIGN IT!) the UK Government made their current position on the subject very clear, which you can read in full here 

This is a tired response from our Government filled with the usual baseless rhetoric, assumptions, half-truths and misinformation which I am going to challenge paragraph by paragraph with facts, science, evidence and experience.

"The latest evidence from the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is that the use of cannabis is a significant public health issue (‘Cannabis Classification and Public Health’, 2008)."

The ACMD, provided the Government with rather more advice, with this statement only appearing on the cover letter.  They advised the government that cannabis should be a class-c substance, which the previous labour government under Gordon Brown compltely ignored and made it a class-b anyway. They recommended that more priority be given to health and social based interventions over the current legal ones. They also suggested that a further review be done in 2 years. It never has, of course, subequently, in April 2014, Les Iversen, Chairperson of the ACMD and expert in the medicinal benefits of cannabis, stated in a public meeting that "cannabis was no longer an issue for the ACMD because the it had become “politicised” and thus was out of their hands" - How inconvenient to have an expert drug policy group that doesn't feel it can comment on an aspect of drug policy?

A "significant public health issue" is meaningless and needs quantifying. Peanut allergy is a significant public health issue too, but it doesn't mean we prohibit them, and when you think about it, other than drug misuse, I am not aware of any other health issue for which we use the law as our primary approach to? 

"Cannabis can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society. Legalisation of cannabis would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families."

There is in reality no compelling peer reviewed or widely accepted evidence of cannabis being the cause of any harms, physical, mental or social and it is certain that law enforcement does far more harm to all three.
The two recent questionable studies that our government and the mainstream media refer to when highlighting the harms to mental health, from Professor Robyn Murray and Professor Wayne Hall have both been debunked by the NHS and The Lancet respectively.

There is, in fact, far more and better and more recent evidence showing quite the opposite. The most you could say about the impact on mental health is that unlike most things out there that would have a detrimental impact such as socio-economic background, alcohol or tobacco the only people who are at risk are a tiny minority of the population who have a genetic predisposition for a mental illness and start consuming large quantities of the most potent forms of cannabis by smoking with tobacco from under the age of 16 for many years.
The actual number of admissions (which are not separated from re-admissions) for the serious growing problem of "Cannabis Psychosis in under 18s last year was 38 and 24 the year before that. There are more hospital admissions for that peanut allergy I was talking about!

Nothing at all is mentioned of its benefits which, surely, one would balance against its perceived harms. There is an ever growing wealth of solid, peer reviewed evidence showing its homoeostatic and preventative applications, such as being a neuroprotectant; By being in your system, you are less likely to suffer brain injury in an accident. In addition there are over 200 recognised medical treatment benefits. 
In US states where patients can legally access cannabis, between 16% and 25% of MS patients have switched completely from their other medications to cannabis. The average cost to the NHS in pharmaceuticals for MS patients is £30k annually. That equates to a potential minimum saving of £480m just for one condition.

To say that it would not eliminate crime is disingenuous at best. Criminals are only involved in the trade because it is illegal. Legal regulation would, without doubt take about 80-90% of it out of their hands, which sounds like a great result to me.

Legalisation would also send the wrong message to the vast majority of people who do not take drugs, especially young and vulnerable people, with the potential grave risk of increased misuse of drugs. 

The message they keep speaking of, that I received as a child (yes, this cannabis nonsense has been going on that long) is that;  "The government don't listen to science or evidence, they haven't got a clue what they are talking about so they must be wrong about everything else too."  That is certainly not the message that I am going to be teaching my children. It is misguiding and it is irresponsible. We need to teach the truth and stop trying to instil fear based on lies. Kids these days have access to the internet you know? 
It is interesting to note that young people in Denmark are consuming more cannabis these days, nothing to do with the law, of course, it is as illegal there as it is here, but are consuming considerably less alcohol and significantly less "harder" drugs too resulting in huge reductions in harms. They are learning the truth and choosing a safer way of enjoying themselves. We should be so lucky?
We have reduced tobacco smoking in the UK through information, education and regulation and it has worked - We didn't have to ban a single cigarette or burn a single tobacco farm or criminalise a single consumer. 

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly on this paragraph, exactly what message are we sending when we prevent children with severe forms of epilepsy access to a proven treatment for their condition, or criminalise someone for growing and supplying a medicine to terminal cancer patients, for whom the medical profession can only offer palliative care. 

Jeff Ditchfield at (Bud Buddies UK) said "What about the 30+ children we're currently assisting in the UK? They are terminal, they're pretty vulnerable to DYING so how are they protected by current policy?" 

More about his work can be found here.

In case you have been led to believe that claims about its effect on cancer cells are to be scoffed at, have a look at what the National Cancer Institute have to say about it: (here) 

"Despite the potential opportunity offered by legalisation to raise revenue through taxation, there would be costs in relation to administrative, compliance and law enforcement activities, as well as the wider costs of drug prevention and health services."

These comments about revenue are lazy, obvious and completely ignore the real benefit to the UK economy, in line with the experience of every US state and country that has regulated cannabis. The potential revenue added to the savings from the criminal justice system and the savings from the NHS by providing cannabis as a treatment alternative will inevitably be huge by comparison to any costs. We estimate between £7bn and £10bn per year back in the UK economy.

"The UK's approach on drugs remains clear: we must prevent drug use in our communities; help dependent individuals through treatment and wider recovery support; while ensuring law enforcement protects society by stopping the supply and tackling the organised crime that is associated with the drugs trade. The Government will build on the Drugs Strategy by continuing to take a balanced and coherent approach to address the evolving challenges posed."

The UK's approach to drugs is a costly and entirely ineffective waste of time and money and does more harm than good.If we really want to reduce harm caused by misuse off all drugs including alcohol, tobacco, sugar and caffeine using the best scientific evidence whilst educating the public about the real dangers and helping the small number who get into difficulties by supporting and guiding them towards treatment without fear of being criminalised. 
Whilst I am talking of those who get into difficulties, we rarely hear about those who don't; The UNODC published their figures on global problematic drug use in 2013, which showed that only 5%-10% of illicit drug use is problematic (only 2%-4% for cannabis), though based on their definitions of problematic these are likely to be high. So 96-98% of the people of the world who choose to consume cannabis in whatever form or strength will not have any problems! (Remember those peanuts....)

Criminalisation pushes the entire market into the hands of criminals which does far more harm than the drugs themselves ever could as well as putting further life at risk through the lack of quality control. A criminal will only care if you have money to pay, they will not care about quality and the only ID you will need is a £10 note, they will encourage greater consumption and more dangerous options. A licensed and regulated dispensary would lose its licence and business if it didn't. 
In 2001, Portugal decided to decriminalise possession of all drugs whilst offering treatment and education to those who require it and the results nothing short of astoundingly. Cannabis consumption has increased by about 2 or 3 %, however they have also seen a reduction of 50% in heroin and opiate addiction, death and overdose and up to 15% reduction in alcohol related issues. Without the threat of a criminal record, people who do have issues with drugs are coming forward voluntarily for help. Oh, and Portugal has an almost non existent synthetic substitute market. 

"There are positive signs that the Government’s approach is working: there has been a long term downward trend in drug use over the last decade, and more people are recovering from their dependency now than in 2009/10. The number of adults aged 16-59 using cannabis in the last year in England and Wales has declined over the last decade from 9.6% to 6.7%, with cannabis use amongst young adults aged 16-24 and young people aged 11-15 following a similar pattern"

These are a small subset of figures which the government has quoted from the wider subject of drug use and patterns. This does not take into account the related steep rise in use of more dangerous, synthetic legal highs, the most popular of which only exist to get around the law on cannabis and other illicit drugs. It does not mention the sharp increase (32% over last 2 years) in the deaths and addiction from harder drugs and bad quality drugs, which are on the rise in the UK. They say nothing of the increase in prescription drug use to the point where we can be called "A Nation of Prescription Drug Addicts". They do not show that cannabis and all drug use in the UK follows a global pattern with our legal approach having no impact whatsoever evidenced by the recent Home Office's own International Comparators report which shows no significant effect on drug use resulting from any form of punitive measure.

I am Political Director of United Patients Alliance. We are a support and campaigning community of over 8000 medical cannabis patients suffering from a range of conditions including; Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Crohns/IBD, Anxiety, Depression, Rheumatoid Arthritis, ME, PTSD, AIDS, Epilepsy, Chronic Pain, the list goes on, all of whom have found that various types and strengths of cannabis consumed in a variety of ways has proven to be more effective medicine than their legal and prescribed alternatives, including specifically Sativex, in improving their lives, reducing side effects and treating their symptoms. These patients are forced to either live in unnecessary discomfort and pain or risk dealing with criminals for their medicine and a criminal record for growing it or consuming it.

"We call on the UK Government to legalise access to cannabis. What compassionate society would allow the criminalisation of patients for consuming something with their doctors blessing that helps them manage and treat their illnesses and improve their lives?"

This response, whilst expected is very disappointing to all of us. I hope they take the debate itself rather more seriously.

Jon Liebling – Political Director of United Patients Alliance

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Product EARTH Alternative Future EXPO - Great fun....

Product Earth Expo

From the over 18 to the over 70, from a postman to an ex-chief constable, from mothers to teachers, from artists to venture capitalists from those living with cancer, to those trying to live with themselves, horticulturists to entrepreneurs, impassioned speakers to cool and groovy musicians. People. Simply people, feeling relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere, the surroundings, the tangible human friendliness and enjoyment. The freedom to let go of that small, but chronic, nagging, insidious feeling that being oneself can lead to trouble.

Did I enjoy the Hemp and Alternative Future Expo this last weekend. Oh yes I did and it moved me......several times.

It moved me because it wasn't expecting any trouble; "Oh, this event is going to be money for old rope, nobody here is going to make any trouble" said one of the security guards as we stood next to the adequately flimsy boundary fence, which I am sure didn't get touched for the whole event, however convenient it might have been, walking from camp site to venue. Respect, you see, goes both ways and when it does - everyone just gets along. It moved me to see how much effort the organisers had made, not only to look after its guests and its attendees, but also its exhibitors. The quality of the refreshments and facilities were excellent

It moved me that the only intervention I saw from security, was to bring one chap, carrying a glass beer bottle, a plastic glass to put his beer in! You see there was a visibly stated "No Glass" rule on the premises. It seems, this rule didn't apply to the hundreds of glass bongs and pipes being utilised. One can only conclude that it's only those who put alcohol in their glass that cannot be trusted. It moved me further to see a few people surreptitiously and rather guiltily carrying different types and strengths of alcohol in their bags, whilst the vast majority of the community chose a different substance to consume without fear of disapproval or, frankly, arrest.

It moved me to hear new stories meet growing and recent friends, meet and make new friends. To be able to help and guide sufferers of many conditions and from all walks of life through the maze of information and misinformation about cannabis as a choice and as a medicine, as a flowering plant and as an oil. To help those in trouble with the law as a result of possessing the medication needed to most effectively manage their symptoms, being able to point them towards another section of our community. To be able to just point to a place where a medical cannabis patient can find information on strains that help them, and to be able to acquire the seed. It moved me that all the stands were helping each other as well as festival goers, sharing with each other, that so many aspects of the hemp and cannabis movement were represented in solidarity.

It moved me to see how the entire industry is coming along. The artistry, the engineering and the manufacturing, the genetics, the technology and the horticulture. It was also pretty cool to be at an event where lighters and rolling papers were cheap :)

Those who stood up to speak moved me. So much reason, so much passion, so much compassion and so much activity. The message is hopeful, it is heartening and the volume is rising.

It moved me that this event was happening and that it was in the UK. I do hope it can happen again next year. I do hope it can get bigger and better, without interference. I hope more people in the UK can see, that all a large and wide population of cannabis consumers and enthusiasts ever seems to be, is a peaceful, accepting and welcoming community.

Thanks to the entire community for a really great weekend. Just what a lovely place to be. So full of beautiful, varied, colourful and friendly people.

Jon