"From Ancient Rituals to Modern Miracles: The Extraordinary Story of Cannabis" Justin Benton explores the historical significance of cannabis, also known as the Miracle Plant, and its role in human civilization for thousands of years. He delves into Chris Bennett's latest book, "Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World," highlighting the multifaceted uses of cannabis in ancient cultures. Benton discusses the plant's presence in religious rites, as food, fiber, and medicine, emphasizing its sacred nature. The episode addresses the plant's disappearance from historical records, potential mistranslations, and the importance of presenting cannabis in its whole plant form for optimal therapeutic benefits. Justin passionately advocates for the destigmatization of cannabis and its recognition as a powerful and holistic healing tool.
"From Ancient Rituals to Modern Miracles: The Extraordinary Story of Cannabis"
Justin Benton explores the historical significance of cannabis, also known as the Miracle Plant, and its role in human civilization for thousands of years. He delves into Chris Bennett's latest book, "Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World," highlighting the multifaceted uses of cannabis in ancient cultures. Benton discusses the plant's presence in religious rites, as food, fiber, and medicine, emphasizing its sacred nature. The episode addresses the plant's disappearance from historical records, potential mistranslations, and the importance of presenting cannabis in its whole plant form for optimal therapeutic benefits. Justin passionately advocates for the destigmatization of cannabis and its recognition as a powerful and holistic healing tool.
Welcome to the miracle plant podcast. The show that inspires, promotes, and gives you a daily dose of inspiration from the people who have used cannabis to change their lives in extraordinary ways. Here's your host, Justin Benton.[00:01:00]
Welcome back to the Miracle Plant Podcast, where we discuss this miracle plant with so many names and how it's helping people. In so many extraordinary ways. Well, you know, I'm just sitting here getting ready to do this podcast. The sun's rising out here in Southern California and I'm thinking about the name Miracle Plant and obviously those that know our story about how this miracle plant helped heal my son from a severe autism diagnosis.
Uh, I'm thinking about the name Miracle Plant and I know we've talked about this a few times about. Cannabosum and how the translation and how this plant, uh, was hidden from us for the past 1700 years. Uh, and we've talked about Chris Bennett and his previous books. He has a new book, uh, that's coming out and I want to talk about it.
It was, uh, featured in, uh, with the organization Project CBD, uh, which we've been partners with. And, uh, it's a really, it's, it's [00:02:00] more, uh, just information, more research, more. Uh, you know, for us to process and understand about this miracle plant with so many names. And I wanted to talk about the article, um, and I wanted to talk about the new book and I wanted to share this with you because I know for the, for a lot of you, this is probably the first time you've ever come across this.
Obviously we've talked about it in the past on the podcast, but there's more information. Um, about this miracle plant and cannabosum dating back tens of thousands of years, uh, as we see people who are, you know, sick now with different diseases that I can't even pronounce and, uh, you know, new diagnosis is coming up and, and frankly, Western medicine is failing at, um, at, at dealing with them because they're trying to put a bandaid.
on, um, a much deeper issue. You know, you're, you have to go upstream to figure out what caused these [00:03:00] autoimmune diseases. And obviously we know what they are. The reasons is, uh, you know, are based on what we eat, what we consume, um, you know, the water, the food, especially here in the United States is toxic.
Um, you know, these processed foods and refined sugars, uh, it's, it's, You know, causing inflammation. It's causing our bodies to break down. It's overwhelming our digestion, uh, you know, liver, kidneys, um, heart, all the major nine systems. And so let's get into it. I want to talk a little bit about this miracle plant and, and, and let's bring, you know, shed light on, on how this plant and how it's helping so many people.
Uh, and let's, let's get into it. So biblical scholars have written about, the role of cannabis as a sacrament. And, um, for, you know, tens, like I said, thousands of thousands of years, scriptural references indicate that cannabis was a key ingredient in the [00:04:00] holy anointing oil, uh, employed in religious rites, which we've discussed quite a bit.
Uh, the name of Chris Bennett's latest book is Cannabis, Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World. Uh, and a quote from the book is, Humankind's connection to cannabis reaches back tens of thousands of years. The role of cannabis in the ancient world was manifold, with its nutritious seeds, an important food, with its long, pliable, strong stalks, and important fiber, as well as early medicine from its leaves and flowers.
No other plant has been with humans as long as hemp. Says, Ethno botanist Christian ratch. Entire generations have revered it as sacred. The power of hemp has been praised in hymns and prayers. Um, again, we continue on with Um, in the Dragons of Eden, uh, this book, Speculations of Evolution of Human Intelligence, the late Carl Sagan conjectured that early man [00:05:00] may have begun the agricultural age by first planting hemp.
Sagan, who was known to have a fondness for cannabis himself, cited the pygmies. From Southwest Africa, to demonstrate his hypothesis, the Pygmies had been basically hunters and gatherers until they began planting hemp, which they used for religious purposes. Uh, the Pygmies themselves professed that at the beginning of time, the gods gave them cannabis so they could both be healthy and happy.
Professor Richard E. Schultz of Harvard University, considered the father of modern ethnobonotany. Believed it was likely in the search for food that humanity first discovered cannabis and its protein rich seeds. Today, hemp seed products are touted as a modern superfood due to their richness in essential fatty acids.
A hemp rope dating back to 26, 900 BC was found in Czechoslovakia. [00:06:00] It's the oldest evidence of hemp fiber. Much older tools for breaking hemp stock into fibers indicate humanity has been using cannabis for cloth since 25, 000 B. C. at least, according to prehistoric textiles expert Elizabeth Wayland Barber.
Cannabis was also among our first medicines. A recent study by Washington State University scientist Ed Hagen suggests that our prehistoric ancestors may have ingested cannabis as a means of killing parasites. We do know that references to cannabis medicine appear in the world's oldest pharmacopoeias, such as China's Shen Nong Ben Kao Jing.
And it goes on. Uh, and these cultures have influenced the Hebrews use of the plant as a key ingredient in the holy anointing oil applied as a topical to heal the sick and reward the [00:07:00] righteous. Compelling evidence of the ritual use of cannabis in ancient Israel was reported in a 2020 archaeological study.
Cannabis and frankincense at the Judahite shrine of Arad by the Journal of Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. The authors noted that two altars with burnt plant residues had been found in a shrine at an ancient Hebrew outpost in Tel Arad. One of the altars tested for frankincense, a well known biblical term, and the other altar tested positive for cannabis resin.
Why doesn't the Bible mention the use of cannabis as a substance used in rituals, just as it does numerous times in frankincense? Well, the answer like we've talked about before is the disappearance of canum. Actually, several scholars have drawn attention to indications of cannabis use in Bible Polish anthropologist and [00:08:00] etymologist.
Ula bonnet contends that the Hebrew term canna boso refers to cannabis. The nay identified five specific references in Hebrew Bible, a k, A, the Old Testament. Exodus 30, 23, Song of Songs 4, 14, Isaiah 43, 24, Jeremiah 6, 20, and Ezekiel 27, 19. That mentioned Cana and Canabosim. However, when one reads these passages individually and compares them, a stark contrast emerges.
In Exodus 30, 23, the reference to an indiv to an ingredient in the holy oil, which was in the Holy of Holies. The inner chamber of the temple in Jerusalem, whereas in Jeremiah 620, this same previously sacred substance is wholly rejected as an item of foreign influence and disdain. It appears that Yahweh, the jealous God, frowned upon the adultery use of [00:09:00] cannabis, the polytheistic drug of choice.
The identity of canna and cannabosum has long been a topic of speculation. B'nai's view was that When the Hebrew text were translated into Greek, for the Sep top cept sep , that's a tough one. A mistranslation took place, deeming it as the common marsh root calamus. This mistranslation followed into Latin, and then in English translations of the Hebrew Bible.
It should be noted that other. Botanical mistranslations from the Hebrew to Greek in the Hebrew Bible have been exposed. So there you have it. That's some excerpts from the article there from Project CBD, talking about cannabis, the lost sacrament of the ancient world. And, uh, Chris's new book can, uh, which is, which is entitled that.
So, again, I'm excited [00:10:00] to talk about, uh, Cannabosum. I, I wanted to bring you just more historical evidence. And, and share it with you so you have, uh, you can do your own research. You can look up these names. You can, we'll have the transcript of the podcast, uh, along with summaries. To, to continue to, uh, you know, maybe talk to people that aren't, um, As well versed about cannabis or cannabosum and how important of a role it's been in our human existence Because of its many uses but specifically as a medicine You know, that's what we talked about mostly here on the miracle plant podcast is how this miracle plant helps our body heal And, uh, how important it has been, uh, as a healing plant for, you know, tens of thousands of years.
And it's only been recently, since the 2018 Farm Bill has passed, that we made it completely legal, federally legal for [00:11:00] farmers to grow again, just like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson did, uh, in, you know, the colonial days, for us to grow this plant. And that's why we're seeing, you know, hearing all these miracle stories.
Uh, you know, again, part of the problem is that, that Western medicine, uh, you know, approach is, is to take this beautiful plant with 512 plant constituents and then cook it down, heat it, solvents, extract just the one compound CBD from like turns it into some white powder, uh, and, and use that as the medicine.
Well, that's not the medicine. That's not how the plant was. Um, designed, uh, for us to ingest or to consume and, and that's why you see such miracles, um, here on our podcast because we present the plant the way it was intended, which is whole plant using the whole plant, just crushing it down, cold pressing it down.
And it turns into, when you do that, it looks like a honey [00:12:00] substance. And then we just add organic cold pressed hemp seed oil. to make our products and that's why our products work so well. That's why this miracle plant works so well is because you leave it as it was intended. And so when we talk about cannabis and it's been known for thousands upon thousands of years, like I just discussed, it's possible that it was the first It was the beginning of the agricultural age for humans planting this because it had so many uses.
And again, that's why we want to talk about these things. That's why I want to bring you this information so that you're informed and that you can inform others. Uh, there's been an incredible amount of progress with, um, you know, destigmatizing this plant. But we've got a long ways to go and we've got a big fight.
To be honest, you know, you look at, you know, GW Pharma that has a product called Epidiolex, which is a white powder, single molecule, [00:13:00] you know, pharmaceutical white junk pill that is 32, 500 a year for children with epilepsy to take it. And they're seeing some moderate results. I think it's somewhere around 39%.
And as we all know, our beloved Dr. Raphael Meshulam. Uh, had, has shown that this plant has, when it's in its whole plant form, uh, you know, which the raw whole plant form, uh, it's up to a thousand times more effective because the body knows how to absorb a plant in its whole plant form versus an isolate that's been isolated to just one single molecule.
And that is what the difference is that we hear it all the time. Now, the biggest question we get is. You know, how do I know which CBD to take? What's the difference between all the CBDs? And here's the point, if you want the full potential of the plant, you, you, you should be either growing it in your backyard and, and [00:14:00] throwing it into your, your blender or your juicer and or getting a product that represents the same thing, which is cold pressed whole plant raw CBDA.
You can call it full spectrum, but it's, it's got to have the raw CBD, a, the raw whole plant. Um, that is the way that this plant was designed. It's the way we've grown together for at least the last 30, 000 years. You've been using it for medical reasons, um, documented for the last 8, 000 years. And, and, and that's why we want to talk about this because we want you to understand the power of this miracle plant.
And we can get into the specifics. You know, every mammal has what's called an endocannabinoid system, uh, which balances the other nine major systems in your body, which is why so many people will take the plant for one thing and, and, and see results and then notice it's helping for other things. Because that endocannabinoid system is like the [00:15:00] puppet master that's balancing all the other nine puppets.
And so if you get the Puppet Master healthy and happy, then it can help balance out all the other puppets that it is in control of, that it's, that it's helping balance. And so, you know, the most common thing is people come to us for severe pain, uh, back pain, things of that nature, um, arthritis. or stress, right?
So those are the top two reasons. But then they come back and they're like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe this worked because it's like sometimes like we just need some hope, you know, just some hope that there's something out there. And a lot of people who find us have kind of lost hope. Um, just because Western medicine has failed them, you know, playing the, the guinea pig game of take a pill here and see what the side effects are and then take another pill to, to, uh, you know, offset those side effects.
It's like that whack a bole game in the arcades back in the day. Whereas when you take the whole plant, when you consume the whole plant, [00:16:00] Uh, it's balancing all of these other systems in your body, including helping your brain with your circadian rhythm so people will come for pain or stress and then they'll come back and they'll be like, this stuff is amazing, uh, and I'm sleeping better, right?
That was always my fun thing. I used to say in the store when I was there a lot more. Uh, which is, uh, you know, Are there any side effects? Because we're used to like, that's a question we get. Are there any side effects? How crazy is it that we, we have to like, we're so conditioned by Western medicine that our question is, Are there any side effects?
And that's like asking, Are there any side effects with eating apples? You know what I mean? It's like, this is a plant. You know, are there any side effects with eating kale? Yes, you'll be healthier. You know what I mean? You know, your digestion will work better. Your body will work better. Your body will help find homeostasis.
And, and, but that's the sad state. We've been conditioned to believe when we take something, medicine, in our [00:17:00] country, in our western medicine world, we, we are conditioned to ask, what are the side effects? Well, there shouldn't be, you shouldn't be taking medicine that has side effects. You should be taking medicine, which food is our medicine, whether it's plant based food, uh, plant based medicine, or if it's just eating healthy whole plant foods and juicing or, you know, just salad, organic salad, you know, that's your medicine.
Um, it's, it's just, uh, it's a sad state of affairs. But again, I bring this up because I just know how powerful When I read this information, when I come across this research, I want to share it with you. So you have more concrete evidence when, because you know, you may go up against a parent or spouse, a child, a doctor, um, a school teacher, uh, it could be anybody that like thinks that they're right about their view of cannabis because of [00:18:00] movies like reefer madness or nancy reagan just say no or or whatever it is however you were conditioned to believe that this plant is a gateway drug it's bad it's evil it leads to other bad things whereas It was been used for, um, like I said, 8, 000 years documented medically.
And in fact, in 1936, the American Medical Association went to Congress in 1937, I should say. And they said, how dare you take this, this tool away from us? We were using, they had, you know, two or three million prescriptions were written in 1936 for cannabis oil. In 1937, they made it illegal. With the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act, which was a made up word they found in Mexico to scare people.
Marijuana, with an H, if you look it up. And it's not even, that's not, it's just crazy. And, and people today, we get the question all the time, what's the difference between marijuana and hemp? [00:19:00] They're both cannabis. Marijuana has, has a, you know, a significant amount of THCA, which when heated turns into THC Delta 9.
And hemp is cannabis, they're all cannabis, which has significant amounts of CBDA, which should not be heated and converted into CBD, as we've talked about ad nauseum on the podcast, because you'd leave the plant the way it is, and it's up to a thousand times more powerful when you leave it in the CBDA form, consume it in the whole plant form, and that's what, if you really are looking for a miracle, and you're really looking for the best Uh, you know, CBD product out there.
There's your answer. Just leave it exactly the way it is. Either grow it in your backyard and juice it or get a product like ours that will give you the same representation of a whole plant, cold pressed raw CBD egg. So, well, there you have it. I'm excited to bring all these facts to you. If you have to listen to it again, listen to it again.
Uh, my apologies for butchering some of those, those words in [00:20:00] there. There's not the common ones that I come across every day. Uh, but like I said, the transcript will be here and, um, if you have any questions, you know, feel free to reach out, uh, to me, uh, a good email address is info at one zero one. Hemp, H E M P dot O R G and at the end of every Miracle Plant podcast we say heal the world because that is our mission to reach 1 billion people by 2025, which is next year and Just reach a billion people about the power of this Miracle Plant, especially in the raw form.
So we need your help Please rate, review, take 30 seconds And, and give us a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you're hearing this and pass it on to somebody just forward copy the link forward it to somebody who's looking for a miracle, whether it's autism, rheumatoid arthritis, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, dementia, cancer, whatever it is, this plant is going to help because this plant [00:21:00] helps supplement our endocannabinoid system, which every mammal has, every human has, Which helps balance everything else in this in the body.
So whatever it is that you're up against and if you need a miracle We implore you to try this miracle plant in the form that it was intended, which is whole plant raw CBD a just as mother nature intended. So on the count of three, we're gonna say heal the world Get out there and do that with these conversations and passing on this It's incredibly powerful information and uh, we just appreciate you listening and I look forward to running India, whether it's on email or on social media or in one of our stores on the West Coast.
Uh, I really do appreciate, uh, appreciate you. So on the count of three, let's say here the world ready. Here we go. One, two, three. Three. Heal the world! Thanks for swinging by the Miracle Plan Podcast. Be a blessing, everybody.[00:22:00]