• Is it true Germany legalised the weed?

    From unu@WEEDNET/IMZADI to All on Mon Apr 1 21:18:43 2024
    Hello All,
    pasting the original. I hope You woldn't mind the unmodified original.

    -- CUT HERE--
    Cannabis zu besitzen und anzubauen, ist jetzt legal. Doch die neuen Regeln enthalten zahlreiche Einschr„nkungen. Ein Blick ins Gesetz verr„t, welche Details eine Rolle spielen.
    Neues Cannabis Gesetz: Was sich mit der Legalisierung „ndert - ZDFheute https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/cannabis-legalisierung-regel n-deutschland-ueberblick-100.html
    Teil-Legalisierung von "Gras":Was das Cannabis-Gesetz erlaubt und was nicht
    Jan Henrich
    von Jan Henrich
    01.04.2024 | 06:46
    -- CUT HERE --

    Please, could be anyone so kind and explain it to me?

    Thank You very much in advance

    unu

    ... That's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
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  • From Roon@WEEDNET/IMZADI to unu on Tue Apr 2 22:54:56 2024
    Hello unu,

    01 Apr 24 21:18, you wrote to All:

    Hello All,
    pasting the original. I hope You woldn't mind the unmodified original.

    -- CUT HERE--
    Cannabis zu besitzen und anzubauen, ist jetzt legal. Doch die neuen
    Regeln enthalten zahlreiche Einschr„nkungen. Ein Blick ins Gesetz
    verr„t, welche Details eine Rolle spielen. Neues Cannabis Gesetz: Was
    sich mit der Legalisierung „ndert -
    ZDFheute https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/cannabis-l egalisierung-regel n-deutschland-ueberblick-100.html Teil-Legalisierun
    g von "Gras":Was das Cannabis-Gesetz erlaubt und was nicht Jan Henrich
    von Jan Henrich
    01.04.2024 | 06:46
    -- CUT HERE --

    Please, could be anyone so kind and explain it to me?

    yep, germany seems to be a better place since 2 days :)

    https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-celebrates-legal-cannabis-possession/a-68711348

    Regards,
    --
    dp

    telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

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  • From acn@WEEDNET/IMZADI to unu on Wed Apr 3 17:41:00 2024
    Am 01.04.24 schrieb unu@420:2/4 in WEED_GENERAL:

    Hallo unu,

    Hello All,
    pasting the original. I hope You woldn't mind the unmodified original.
    [...]
    Please, could be anyone so kind and explain it to me?

    Yes, it is true - Cannabis is partly legalized in Germany since April
    1st - and it's no April Fool's prank.

    But the important note is that it is only partly legalized:
    You are allowed to carry 25g of cannabis with you. At home, you may
    have 50g (or 'another 25g'? I don't know exactly).
    It's legal to smoke weed outdoors, but not within a 100m distance to a
    school or children's playground ("line of sight" also applies).
    It's also forbidden to smoke weed in a pedestrian area
    ("Fuág„ngerzone") between 7am and 8pm.

    You are allowed to own 3 female cannabis plants and grow your own
    weed, and starting July 1st, there will be cannabis social clubs ("Anbauvereinigungen") where you can become a member and then get your
    weed from the club.

    There are no other legal ways to get cannabis yet, so no 'coffee
    shops' or something like that, sadly.

    The social clubs are quite expensive and also require you to work
    there for some hours per month.

    So I don't think that the black market will disappear soon, as it is
    not possible to just buy weed somewhere legally if you just want so
    smoke cannabis every now and then.

    So maybe I'll be buying some plants and homegrow - let's see :)

    Regards,
    Anna

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  • From phigan@WEEDNET/TACOPRON to acn on Wed Apr 3 09:50:46 2024
    Re: Re: Is it true Germany legalised the weed?
    By: acn to unu on Wed Apr 03 2024 05:41 pm

    So maybe I'll be buying some plants and homegrow - let's see :)

    This is the best, especially if you are only occasional smoker.
    If you can dedicate a room to a tent setup, you can make it very nice and self-contained.

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ TIRED of waiting 2 hours for a taco? GO TO TACOPRONTO.bbs.io
  • From unu@WEEDNET/IMZADI to Roon on Fri Apr 5 20:14:46 2024
    yep, germany seems to be a better place since 2 days :)

    https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-celebrates-legal-cannabis-possession/a-6871134

    This is very nice to hear. When I was like 18 years old I travelled for the weed tourism to the Netherlands. It was a long distance (for me) travell withing London, Amsterdam, Paris and I wanted to visit Berlin but I didn't make it.
    So this is definitely a reason for me to buy a railroad ticket and get a ride to the nearest Geman village. :-D

    Have a nice day and thank You very much for the response

    unu

    ... Tech support is just a busy signal away

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  • From unu@WEEDNET/IMZADI to acn on Fri Apr 5 20:17:39 2024
    So I don't think that the black market will disappear soon, as it is
    not possible to just buy weed somewhere legally if you just want so smoke cannabis every now and then.

    That is the very same as my opinion. It is definitely a big deal when You cannot criminalize weed. Here it is the following (approx.)... the night
    stores intoduced HHC... so by laws HHC was forbidden... suddently it appeared HHC-P (god knows what that genetic modification on nano-scale it is) and afterwards I discovered "wonderful" (very very very much sarcastic) new mushroom chewings... so I really appreacite this move from Germany.

    And yet... the weednet can come alive ...
    Do You know what the Tree of Life in Bible is?

    Thank in advance for any response and have a nice day

    unu

    ... Enter any 12-digit prime number to continue.

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  • From acn@WEEDNET/IMZADI to unu on Tue Apr 9 13:50:00 2024
    Am 05.04.24 schrieb unu@420:2/4 in WEED_GENERAL:

    Hallo unu,

    That is the very same as my opinion. It is definitely a big deal when You cannot criminalize weed. Here it is the following (approx.)... the night stores intoduced HHC... so by laws HHC was forbidden... suddently it appeared HHC-P (god knows what that genetic modification on nano-scale it is)

    AFAIK HHC is also forbidden here now. I don't know anything about
    HHC-P...

    And yet... the weednet can come alive ...

    :)

    Do You know what the Tree of Life in Bible is?

    No, I'm not into fantasy so much. ;-)

    Have a nice day!

    Regards,
    Anna

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Imzadi Box -*- WeedNet FTN hub (420:2/1.1)
    þ Synchronet þ Imzadi Box -*- box.imzadi.de
  • From unu@WEEDNET/IMZADI to acn on Wed Apr 10 07:48:36 2024
    AFAIK HHC is also forbidden here now. I don't know anything about
    HHC-P...

    You are very lucky. That's the path when the government is now fighting against the weed and the vietnamesse traders in the evening shops are exploring new opportunities how to overcome the law.

    Do You know what the Tree of Life in Bible is?

    No, I'm not into fantasy so much. ;-)

    I am uncertain if that is a fantasy. But I was reffering to the Holy Bible.

    To clarify the situation I will give You my greetings and attach BIBLE.POT to the end of this messages.

    Have a nice day and hope to hear from You soon.

    unu

    -- BIBLE.POT CUT HERE --


    This is my second attempt to post this, apparently my first
    failed. (So if it turns up in alt.druids don't blame me)

    Because I origionally posted to
    soc.religion.christianity.bible-study, I included a disclaimer
    in the header telling the moderator to look it over and
    decide whether it was appropriate.

    I didn't expect any trouble with the other groups as it evidently
    has a lot to offer them. I'm pretty sure my posting problems
    were of a technical nature, though

    My organization does not support or affiliate with ANY religion.


    Brian
    ----------------
    The following is the text of a pamphlet entitled "Marijuana and
    The Bible" published by the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church.


    MARIJUANA AND THE BIBLE
    by
    The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church



    OFFERINGS OF DEVOTION

    With offerings of devotion, ships from the isles will meet to
    pour the wealth of the nations and bring tribute to his feet. The
    Coptic Church believes fully the teachings of the Bible, and as
    such we have our daily obligations, and offer our sacrifices, made
    by fire unto our God with chants and Psalms and spiritual hymns,
    lifting up holy hands and making melody in our hearts.

    Herb (marijuana) is a Godly creation from the beginning of
    the world. It is known as the weed of wisdom, angel's food, the
    tree of life and even the "Wicked Old Ganja Tree". Its purpose in
    creation is as a fiery sacrifice to be offered to our Redeemer
    during obligations. The political worldwide organizations have
    framed mischief on it and called it drugs. To show that it is not
    a dangerous drug, let me inform my readers that it is used as food
    for mankind, and as a medicinal cure for diverse diseases. Ganja
    is not for commerce; yet because of the oppression of the people,
    it was raised up as the only liberator of the people, and the only
    peacemaker among the entire generation. Ganja is the sacramental
    rights of every man worldwide and any law against it is only the
    organized conspiracy of the United Nations and the political
    governments who assist in maintaining this conspiracy.

    The Coptic Church is not politically originated, and this was
    firmly expressed when we met with the political directorate of the
    land during the period of pre-incorporation. We support no
    political organization, pagan religion, or commercial institution,
    seeing that religion, politics, and commerce are the three unclean
    spirits which separate the people from their God. Because of our
    non-political stand, the church has received tremendous opposition
    from the politicians, who do not want the eyes of the people to be
    opened. Through its agency, the police force, the church has been
    severely harassed, victimized, and discriminated. Our members have
    passed through several acts of police brutality, our legal
    properties maliciously destroyed, members falsely imprisoned,
    divine services broken up and all these atrocities performed upon
    the Church, under the name of political laws and their justice.

    Walter Wells -- Elder Priest of the
    Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church of
    Jamaica, West Indies




    THE USE OF MARIJUANA IN ANCIENT TIMES

    The use of marijuana is as old as the history of man and dates
    to the prehistoric period. Marijuana is closely connected with the
    history and development of some of the oldest nations on earth.
    It has played a significant role in the religions and cultures of
    Africa, the Middle East, India, and China

    Richard E. Schultes, a prominent researcher in the field of
    psychoactive plants, said in an article he wrote entitled "Man and
    Marijuana":

    "...that early man experimented with all plant materials that
    he could chew and could not have avoided discovering the
    properties of cannabis (marijuana), for in his quest for seeds
    and oil, he certainly ate the sticky tops of the plant. Upon
    eating hemp the euphoric, ecstatic and hallucinatory aspects
    may have introduced man to an other-worldly plane from which
    emerged religious beliefs, perhaps even the concept of deity.
    The plant became accepted as a special gift of the gods, a
    sacred medium for communion with the spiritual world and as
    such it has remained in some cultures to the present."

    The effects of marijuana was proof to the ancients that the
    spirit and power of the god(s) existed in this plant and that it
    was literally a messenger (angel) or actually the Flesh and Blood
    and/or Bread of the god(s) and was and continues to be a holy
    sacrament. Considered to be sacred, marijuana has been used in
    religious worship from before recorded history.

    According to William A. Embolden in his book Ritual Use of
    Cannabis Sativa L, p. 235:

    "Shamanistic traditions of great antiquity in Asia and the
    Near East has as one of their most important elements the
    attempt to find God without a vale of tears; that cannabis
    played a role in this, at least in some areas, is born out in
    the philology surrounding the ritualistic use of the plant.
    Whereas Western religious traditions generally stress sin,
    repentance, and mortification of the flesh, certain older non-
    Western religious cults seem to have employed Cannabis as a
    euphoriant, which allowed the participant a joyous path to the
    Ultimate; hence such appellations as "heavenly guide".

    According to "Licit and Illicit Drugs" by the Consumer Union,
    page 397-398:

    "Ashurbanipal lived about 650 B.C., but the cuneiform
    descriptions of marijuana in his library "are generally
    regarded as obvious copies of much older texts." Says Dr.
    Robert P. Walton, an American physician and authority on
    marijuana, "This evidence serves to project the origin of
    hashish back to the earliest beginnings of history."


    THE USE OF MARIJUANA AS INCENSE


    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: "Pharmacological
    Cults"

    "...the ceremonial use of incense in contemporary ritual is
    most likely a relic of the time when the psychoactive
    properties of incense brought the ancient worshipper in touch
    with supernatural forces."

    In the temples of the ancient world, the main sacrifice was
    the inhalation of incense. Incense is defined as the perfume or
    smoke from spices and gums when burned in celebrating religious
    rites or as an offering to a deity. Bronze and gold incense
    burners were cast very early in history and their forms were often
    inspired by cosmological themes representing the harmonious nature
    of the universe.

    The following piece was taken from "Licit and Illicit Drugs",
    page 31.

    "In the Judaic world, the vapors from burnt spices and
    aromatic gums were considered part of the pleasurable
    act of worship. In proverbs (27:9) it is said that
    'Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart.' Perfumes were
    widely used in Egyptian worship. Stone altars have been
    unearthed in Babylon and Palestine, which have been used
    for burning incense made of aromatic wood and spices.
    While the casual readers today may interpret such
    practices as mere satisfaction of the desire for pleasant
    odors, this is almost certainly an error; in many or most
    cases, a psychoactive drug was being inhaled. In the
    islands of the Mediterranean 2,500 years ago and in
    Africa hundreds of years ago, for example leaves and
    flowers of a particular plant were often thrown upon
    bonfires and the smoke inhaled; the plant was marijuana."
    (Edward Preble and Gabriel V. Laurey, Plastic Cement: The
    Ten Cent Hallucinogen, International Journal of the
    Addictions, 2 (Fall 2967): 271-272.

    "The earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia brewed
    intoxicating beer of barley more than 5,000 years ago;
    is it too much to assume that even earlier cultures
    experienced euphoria, accidentally or deliberately,
    through inhalation of the resinous smoke of Cannabis?"
    (Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L, p. 216.)

    "It is said that the Assyrians used hemp (marijuana) as
    incense in the seventh or eighth century before Christ
    and called it 'Qunubu', a term apparently borrowed from
    an old East Iranian word 'Konaba', the same as the
    Scythian name 'cannabis'." (Plants of the Gods -- Origin
    of Hallucinogenic Use by Richard E. Schultes and Albert
    Hoffman)

    "It is recorded that the Chinese Taoist recommended the
    addition of cannabis to their incense burners in the 1st
    century as a means of achieving immortality." (Marijuana,
    the First Twelve Thousand Years by Earnest Abel, page 5)

    "There is a classic Greek term, cannabeizein, which means
    to smoke cannabis. Cannabeizein frequently took the form
    of inhaling vapors from an incense burner in which these
    resins were mixed with other resins, such as myrrh,
    balsam, frankincense, and perfumes." (Ritual Use of
    Cannabis Sativa L)

    "Herodotus in the fifth century B.C. observed the
    Scythians throwing hemp on heated stone to create smoke
    and observed them inhaling this smoke. Although he does
    not identify them, Herodotus states that when they "have
    parties and sit around a fire, they throw some of it into
    the flames. As it burns, it smokes like incense, and the
    smell of it makes them drunk, just as wine does us. As
    more fruit is thrown on, they get more and more
    intoxicated until finally they jump up and start dancing
    and singing." (Herodotus, Histories 1.202.)


    EVIDENCE INDICATING THE SEMITIC ORIGIN OF CANNABIS

    The name cannabis is generally thought to be of Scythian
    origin. Sula Benet in Cannabis and Culture argues that it has a
    much earlier origin in Semitic languages like Hebrew, occurring
    several times in the Old Testament. He states that in Exodus 30:23
    that God commands Moses to make a holy anointing oil of myrrh,
    sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosm, and kassia. He continues that the word
    kaneh bosm is also rendered in the traditional Hebrew as kannabos
    or kannabus and that the root "kan" in this construction means
    "reed" or "hemp", while "bosm" means "aromatic". He states that
    in the earliest Greek translations of the old testament "kan" was
    rendered as "reed", leading to such erroneous English translations
    as "sweet calamus" (Exodus 30:23), sweet cane (Isaiah 43:24;
    Jeremiah 6:20) and "calamus" (Ezekiel 27:19; Song of Songs 4:14).
    Benet argues from the linguistic evidence that cannabis was known
    in Old Testament times at least for its aromatic properties and
    that the word for it passed from the Semitic language to the
    Scythians, i.e. the Ashkenaz of the Old Testament.

    Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in
    Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying:

    "The astonishing resemblance between the Semitic 'kanbos'
    and the Scythian 'cannabis' leads me to suppose that the
    Scythian word was of Semitic origin. These etymological
    discussions run parallel to arguments drawn from history.
    The Iranian Scythians were probably related to the Medes,
    who were neighbors of the semites and could easily have
    assimilated the word for hemp. The Semites could also
    have spread the word during their migrations through Asia
    Minor.

    Taking into account the matriarchal element of Semitic
    culture, one is led to believe that Asia Minor was the
    original point of expansion for both the society based
    on the matriarchal circle and the mass use of hashish."

    The Ancient Israelites were a Semitic people. Abraham, the
    father of the Israelite nation, came from Ur, a city of Babylonia
    located in mesopotamia. The Israelites migrated throughout Asia
    Minor and could easily have spread the religious use of marijuana.


    THE ISRAELITE USE OF INCENSE

    It was said that Moses, at the direction of Almighty God,
    first brought in the use of incense in public worship, and that
    the other nations of antiquity copied the practice from him. It
    was however a practice that began with Adam. The "Book of
    Jubilees", an Apocryphal book, (the Apocrypha was considered
    canonical by the early church and is to this day by the Ethiopian
    Zion Coptic Church) states that "on the day when Adam went forth
    from the Garden of Eden, he offered as a sweet savour an offering
    of frankincense, galbanum, and stacte, and spices, in the morning
    with the rising of the sun, from the day when he covered his
    shame." And of Enoch we read that "he burnt the incense of the
    sanctuary, even sweet spices, acceptable before the Lord, on the
    Mount."

    Incense was assigned miraculous powers by the Israelites. It
    was burned in golden bowls or cauldrons placed on or beside the
    altar. It was also burned in hand-held censers. In the Blessing
    of Moses, a poem belonging to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and
    written about 760 B.C., the sacrificial smoke is offered to the God
    of Israel.

    Let them teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law;
    Let them offer sacrificial smoke to thy nostrils, and
    whole burnt sacrifice upon thy altar.

    Throughout the Bible the ancient patriarchs were brought into
    communion with God through smoking incense and at Mt. Sinai God
    talked to Moses out of a bush that burned with fire (Exodus 3:1-
    12). After Moses brought the Israelite people out of Egypt he
    returned to Mt. Sinai at which time God made a covenant with Moses
    in which the Ten Commandments were revealed. Exodus 19:8 describes
    the conditions at the time of this covenant.

    Exodus 19:8 "And Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke,
    because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke
    thereof ascended as smoke of a furnace, and the whole
    mount quaked greatly.

    The Mysterious smoke mentioned in the covenant on Mt. Sinai
    is also referred to as a cloud.

    Exodus 24:15 "And Moses went up into the mount, and a
    cloud covered the mount. 16 And the glory of the Lord
    abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six
    days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of
    the midst of the cloud.

    Scriptures make it abundantly clear that the clouds and the
    smoke are related to the burning of incense. Exodus 40:26
    describes Moses burning incense, a cloud covering the tent of the
    congregation and the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle.
    Leviticus 16:2-13 describes how God appeared in a cloud and refers
    to it as the clouds of incense. Numbers 16:17-19 describes how
    every man of the congregation had a censer full of burning incense
    and that the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
    Isaiah 6:4 describes how Ezekial saw God in a smoke-filled inner
    court. Numbers 11:25 describes how God was revealed to moses and
    the seventy elders in a cloud; that the spirit rested upon them and
    that they prophesied and ceased not.

    The Book of Grass by Andrew and Vinkenoog includes a section
    on Ancient Scythia and Iran by Mircea Eliade, one of the foremost
    experts on the history of religions. On pages 11 and 12 is the
    following:

    "On one document appears to indicate the existence of a
    Getic shamanism: It is Straho's account of the Myssian
    KAPNOBATAI, a name that has been translated, by analogy
    with Aristophanes' AEROBATES, as 'those who walk in
    clouds'; but it should be translated as 'those who walk
    in smoke'! Presumably the smoke is hemp smoke, a
    rudimentary means of ecstasy known to both the Tracians
    and the Scythians..."

    This passage should be carefully noted. Biblical passages
    make it abundantly clear that the ancient Isrealites also walked
    in clouds and in smoke. In fact it was in the clouds of smoke that
    God was revealed to the ancient Isrealites. The words "smoke" and
    "smoking" appear fifty times in the King James Version of the Bible
    and two separate times the Bible says of the Lord, "There went up
    a smoke out of his nostrils." II Samuel 22:9, Psalms 18:8.

    There are numerous other places in the Bible that mention the
    burning of incense, the mysterious cloud, and smoke. This common
    thread is found throughout the Bible, including the New Testament.

    St. Matthew 24:30 "And then shall appear the sign of the
    Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of
    the Earth morn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming
    in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory."

    Revelations 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every
    eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and
    all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
    Even so, Amen."

    Revelations 8:3 "And another angel came and stood at the
    altar, having a golden censer: and there was given unto
    him much incense, that he should offer it with the
    prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was
    before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which
    came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before
    God out of the Angel's hand."

    Revelations 15:8 "And the temple was filled with smoke
    from the glory of God, and from his power."



    THE SYMBOLISM OF FIRE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

    The word "fire" is mentioned several hundred times in the King
    James version of the Bible. The sacrifice of the Lord is made by
    fire (Exodus 29:18, 25; Leviticus 2:10-11; Leviticus 6:13; Numbers
    28:6; Deuteronomy 4:33; Joshua 13:14; I Samuel 2:28; II Chronicles
    2:4; Isaiah 24:15; Matthew 3:11; Luke 1:9; Revelations 8:4-5)

    Abraham, the father of the Israelite nation, came from Ur
    which was a city of Ancient Sumer in South Babylonia. For the
    Babylonians, fire was essential to sacrifice and all oblations were
    conveyed to the gods by the fire god Girru-Nusku, whose presence
    as an intermediary between the gods and man was indispensable.
    Girru-Nusku, as the messenger of the gods, bore the essence of the
    offerings upward to them in the smoke of sacrificial fire.

    At Babylon: "The glorious gods smell the incense, noble
    food of heaven; pure wine which no hand has touched do
    they enjoy." (L. Jeremias, in Encyclopedia Biblica, i.v.
    4119, quoting Rawlinson, Cuneif. Inscrip. IV, 19 (59).)

    The most important of the ancient Indian gods was Agni, the
    god of fire, who like the Babylonian god Girru-Nusku acted as a
    messenger between men and the gods. The fire (Agni) upon the altar
    was regarded as a messenger, their invoker.

    "...For thou, O sage, goest wisely between these two
    creations like a friendly messenger between two hamlets."

    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the section on
    "mysticism":

    "The Vedas (Hindu sacred writings) are hymns to the
    mystic fire and the inner sense of sacrifice, burning
    forever on the 'altar Mind'. Hence the abundance of
    solar and fire images: birds of fire, the fire of the
    sun, and the isles of fire. The symbol system of the
    world's religions and mysticisms are profound
    illuminations of the human-divine mystery. Be it the
    cave of the heart or the lotus of the heart, 'the
    dwelling place of that which is the Essence of the
    Universe, "the third eye", or the eye of wisdom' -- the
    symbols all refer back to wisdom entering the aspiring
    soul on its way to progressive self-understanding. 'I
    saw the Lord with the Eye of the Heart. I said, "Who
    art thou?" and he answered, "Thou"'."

    The ancient Indian mystics said,

    "...that in the ecstasy of bhang (marijuana) the spark
    of the Eternal in man turns into light the murkiness of
    matter or illusion and the self is lost in the central
    soul fire. Raising man out of himself and above mean
    individual worries, bhang makes him one with the divine
    force of nature and the mystery 'I am he' grew plain.
    (Taken from the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report which
    was written at the turn of the twentieth century.)

    The concept of spiritual or inner light was found throughout
    the ancient world. As we shall see that spiritual light was
    directly related to the burning of incense. According to Lucie
    Lamy in "Egyptian Mysteries", page 24:

    "The Pharaonic word for light is akh. This word, often
    translated as 'transfigured', designated transcendental
    light as well as all aspects of physical light; and in
    the funerary text it denotes the state of ultimate
    sublimation.

    "The word akh, first of all, is written with a glyph
    showing a crested ibis, ibis comata. This bird -- the
    name of which was also akh -- lived in the southern part
    of the Arabian side of the Red Sea (near Al Qunfidhah)
    and migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) during the winter.
    Both these places are near the regions from which sacred
    incense came, and were called the "Divine Land". The
    bird's crest, together with its dark green plumage shot
    with glittering metallic specks justifies the meanings
    'to shine', 'to be resplendent', 'to irradiate'; of the
    root akh in the hieroglyphic writing.

    "Akh indeed expresses all notions of light, both
    literally and figuratively, from the Light which comes
    forth from Darkness to the transcendental light of
    transfiguration. It is also used to designate the 'third
    eye', the ureaeus, related in old tradition to the pineal
    body and to the spirit."

    In the next chapter we will see that the sacred cloud of
    incense was instrumental in the transfiguration of Christ.

    Note that Ethiopia was referred to as the "Divine Land" and
    that it was the source for the sacred incense. The ancients also
    referred to Ethiopia as the "Land of God".

    The ancient Egyptians believed that they had received their
    divinities from Ethiopia and have always held to the ancient and
    honored tradition of their southern origin. Ethiopia is so
    important in ancient history that it is mentioned as being in the
    Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:12).

    The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote:

    "The Ethiopians conceived themselves to be of greater
    antiquity than any other nation; and it is probable that,
    born under the sun's path, its warmth may have ripened
    them earlier than other men. They supposed themselves
    to be the inventors of worship, of festivals, of solemn
    assemblies, of sacrifice, and every religious practice."


    MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT

    According to Jack Herer in The Emperor Wears No Clothes or
    Everything You Wanted to Know About Marijuana But Were Not Taught
    in School, "The Essenes, a kabalistic priest/prophet/healer sect
    of Judaism dating back to the era of the Dead Sea Scrolls, used
    hemp, as did the Theraputea of Egypt, from where we get the term 'therapeutic'."

    The Theraputea of Egypt were Jewish ascetics that dwelt near
    Alexandria and described by Philo (1st century B.C.) as devoted to contemplation and meditation. Alexandria is where St. Mark is
    traditionally held to have established the Coptic Church in 45 A.D.

    The Coptic Church has been neglected by Western scholars
    despite its historical significance. This has been due to the
    various biases and interest of the Catholic Church which claimed
    Christianity for its own. The result is that for the Coptic Church
    there is very little history. It is however assumed that the
    Coptic religious services have their roots in the earliest layers
    of Christian ritual in Jerusalem and it is known that the Coptic
    church is of ancient origin going back to the time of the first
    Christian communities and even before.

    Tradition states that "Coptic" was derived from "Kuftaim",
    son of Mizraim, a grandchild of Noah who first settled in the Nile
    valley, i the neighborhood of Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt.
    At one time Thebes was the greatest city in the world and history
    records that by 2200 B.C. the whole of Egypt was united under a
    Theban prince. The splendor of Thebes was known to Homer, who
    called it "the city with a hundred gates". (Richard Schultes
    states that in ancient Thebes marijuana was made into a drink.)

    According to E.A. Wallis Budge in The Divine Origin of the
    Herbalist, page 79, "The Copts, that is to say the Egyptians who
    accepted the teachings of St. Mark in the first century of our era,
    and embraced Christianity, seem to have eschewed medical science
    as taught by the physicians of the famous School of Medicine of
    Alexandria, and to have been content with the methods of healing
    employed by their ancestors."

    The Essenes were an ascetic sect closely related to the
    Theraputea that had established a monastic order in the desert
    outside of Palestine and were known as spiritual healers. It has
    been suggested that both John the Baptist and Jesus may have been
    of the Essene sect as they were both heavily dependent on Essene
    teachings. The scripture makes no mention of the life of Jesus
    from the age of 13 to 30. Certain theologians speculate that Jesus
    was being initiated by the Essenes, the last fraternity to keep
    alive the ancient traditions of the prophets.

    Every prophet, however great, must be initiated. His higher
    self must be awakened and made conscious so that his mission can
    be fulfilled. Amongst the Essenes' ritual lustrations preceded
    most liturgical rites, the most important one of which was
    participation in a sacred meal -- an anticipation of the Messianic
    banquet.

    Throughout the ancient world sacrifice was a sacramental
    communal meal involving the idea of the god as a participant in
    the meal or as identical with the food consumed. The communion
    sacrifice was one in which the deity indwells the oblation so that
    the worshippers actually consume the divine. The original motive
    of sacrifice was an effort toward communion among the members of
    a group, on one hand, and between them and their god, on the other.
    At its best, sacrifice was a "sacrament" and in one form or another
    life itself.

    The central focus of the early Christian church was the
    Eucharist or the "body and blood" of the Lord. This was
    interpreted as a fellowship meal with the resurrected Christ. In
    meeting the Resurrected One in the Eucharist meal the Christian
    community had the expectation of the Kingdom of God and salvation.

    Christ communicated life to his disciples through the
    Eucharist or Christian sacrament. Christ said in describing the
    sacrament, "Take, eat, this is my body, this is my blood. Do this
    as often as you will in remembrance of me." (I Corinthians 11:24-
    25)

    Baptism is defined as the Christian sacrament used in
    purification and the spiritual rebirth of the individual. I
    Corinthians 10:1 makes it clear that the smoking cloud of incense
    was directly related to baptism.

    I Corinthians 10:1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that
    ye should be ignorant, how that our fathers were under
    the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all
    baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the sea; 3 And
    did all eat the same spiritual meat: for they drank of
    that Spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was
    Christ.


    In the Biblical story of Creation, God said, "Behold, I have
    given you every herb bearing seed and to you it will be for meat."
    (Genesis 1:29) Marijuana is technically an herb and was considered
    a spiritual meat in the ancient world.

    From this passage in Corinthians we see that the spiritual
    cloud resulting from the burning of incense was instrumental in
    the baptism of the Israelites. This baptism is also compared to
    the "eating and drinking" of the spirit of Christ.

    Spirit is defined as the active essence of the Deity serving
    as an invisible and life-giving or inspiring power in motion.
    Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the sacrificial cloud or
    smoke contained the Spirit of God (Christ) and was instrumental in
    inspiring, sanctifying, and purifying the patriarchs.

    In Numbers 11:25 the cloud results in the Spirit resting upon
    Moses and the seventy elders. This passage indicates that they
    prophesied ecstatically. "Prophesy" is defined as follows: to
    utter or announce by or as if by divine inspiration; to speak for
    God or a deity; to give instruction in religious matters.
    Throughout the Holy Bible prophets of God spake as they were moved
    by the Holy Spirit. The smoking burning cloud of incense contained
    the spirit and was instrumental in bringing about the spiritual
    revelations of the prophets. In the ancient world marijuana was
    used to reveal the future. The virtues of marijuana include
    speech-giving and inspiration of mental powers.

    "Psychoactive" is defined as effecting the mind or behavior.
    When we of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church think of mind or
    behavior we think of that inward essence or element that makes up
    the individual. This is the person's spirit. We are all spiritual
    beings. It is just as important to keep the spiritual part of a
    person healthy as it is to keep the physical body healthy and in
    fact they are related. Hence marijuana and its relationship to
    spiritual food.

    In the Apocrypha (Book of Jubilees), Chapter 10, God tells an
    angel to teach Noah the medicines which heal and protect from evil
    spirits. Surely God taught Noah about marijuana. In the ancient
    world marijuana played an important role in purification and
    protecting from evil influences.

    Note the following concerning the transfiguration of Christ:

    St. Matthew 17:1 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter,
    James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into
    a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before
    them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment
    was white as light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto
    them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered
    Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to
    be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three
    tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses, and one for
    Elias. 5 When yet he spake, behold a bright cloud
    overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud,
    which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
    pleased; hear ye him."

    The Bible Dictionary by John McKenzie, page 898, says
    concerning the transfiguration that the cloud and the formula of
    the utterance of the Father are derived from the baptism of Jesus.
    He says that the change described in the appearance of Jesus
    suggests the change which is implied in the resurrection
    narratives.

    Some of the synonyms for transfiguration are transformation, metamorphosis, transubstantiation, and avatar. These terms imply
    the change that accompanies resurrection or deification. Across
    the world, legends of godlike men who manage to rise, in a state
    of perfection go back to an era before human beings had cast away
    from the divine source. Hence the gods were beings which once were
    men, and the actual race of men will in time become gods. Christ
    revealed this to the people of his day when he told them to whom
    the word of God came, "Ye are gods." (St. John 10:34)

    St. Matthew 17:2 says that during the transfiguration of
    Christ that his face did shine as the sun. The face of Moses also
    shone when he returned from the cloud on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 30:34).
    The shining countenances are the result of their resurrections, of
    their being spiritually illumined in the cloud of smoking incense.

    Most people are under the impression that Christ baptized with
    water. As you can see from the following account of John the
    Baptist this isn't so. John the Baptist baptized with water and
    Christ baptized with fire.

    St. Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water into
    repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than
    I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize
    you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

    It is only logical that this baptism with the Holy Spirit and
    with fire is related to the baptism of Christ in the burning,
    smoking cloud of incense and to the baptism of the patriarchs in
    which the patriarchs did all eat of the same spiritual meal
    (incense). In the section dealing with the "Holy Spirit" the
    Encyclopedia Britannica states that Christian writers have seen in
    various references to the Spirit of Yahweh in the Old Testament an
    anticipation of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It also says that
    the Holy Spirit is viewed as the main agent of man's restoration
    to his original natural state through communion in Christ's body
    and, thus, as the principle of life in the Christian community.

    The patriarchs were recipients of a revelation coming directly
    from the Spirit (incense) and this was expressed in the heightening
    and enlargement of their consciousness. It is clear from Scripture
    that this spiritual dimension was also evident in the life of
    Jesus, in whom the experience of the Hebrew prophets was renewed.
    Through the Eucharist Christ passed this spiritual dimension on to
    his apostles. One of the apostles even makes mention in
    Philippians 4:18 of a sweet smelling sacrifice that is well
    pleasing to God.

    Christ compares this baptism to the drinking of a cup.

    St. Mark 10:38 "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not
    what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?
    and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
    with?"

    This cup is referred to as the cup of salvation in Psalms
    116:12.

    Psalms 116:12 "What shall I render unto the Lord for all
    his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation
    and call upon the name of the Lord.


    It is called the cup of blessing in connection in connection
    with the eucharist.

    1 Corinthians 10:16 "The cup of blessing which we bless,
    is it not the communion of the blood and the body of
    Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body;
    for we are all partakers of one bread.

    Here we see a connection between the cup of blessing and the
    communion of the blood of Christ. Blood is the life-giving
    substance of the living being. Christ communicated life to his
    disciples through the Eucharist or Christian sacrament.

    In I Corinthians 10:16 we note the mention of bread as the
    communion of the body of Christ and that we are all partakers of
    one bread. This is the spiritual bread or food used by Christ and
    his disciples. (A synonym for the Eucharist or the Body and Blood
    of the Lord is the bread of life.) It is interesting to note that
    the finest marijuana in Jamaica is called Lamb's bread.

    1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all
    baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentiles,
    whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to
    drink into one Spirit.

    1 Corinthians 11:25 "After the same manner also he took
    the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New
    Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,
    in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this
    bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death
    till he come.

    If these passages are compared to 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, it is
    plain that the "eating of one bread" is the same as the patriarchs
    "eating the same spiritual meat" and the "drinking of one Spirit"
    (the cup) is the same as the patriarchs "drinking of the Spiritual
    Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." By making this
    comparison we see that the terminology of the Eucharist is directly
    related to the smoking cloud of incense used in the baptism of
    Christ and the patriarchs.

    It is interesting to note that smoking was referred to as
    "eating" or "drinking" by the early American Indians. Peter J.
    Furst in Hallucinogen and Culture states the following:

    "Considering its enormous geographic spread in the
    Americas at the time of European discovery, as well as
    the probable age of stone tobacco pipes in California,
    the inhaling (often called "drinking" or "eating") of
    tobacco smoke by the Shaman, as a corollary to
    therapeutic fumigation and the feeding of the gods with
    smoke, must also be of considerable antiquity."

    In Licit and Illicit Drugs, page 209, the following is quoted:

    "Columbus and other early explorers who followed him were
    amazed to meet Indians who carried rolls of dried leaves
    that they set afire -- and who then "drank the smoke"
    that emerged from the rolls. Other Indians carried pipes
    in which they burned the same leaves, and from which they
    similarly "drank the smoke".

    The Encyclopedia Britannica states in the section on
    "Sacrifice" that the interpretation of sacrifice and particularly
    of the Eucharist as sacrifice has varied greatly within the
    different Christian traditions because of the sacrificial
    terminology in which the Eucharist was originally described became
    foreign to Christian thinkers.

    We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare that the true
    understanding of the Eucharist has been passed down from generation
    to generation so that we are able to give an accurate
    interpretation of the sacrificial terminology used to describe the
    Eucharist. We have shown, using history and Biblical passages,
    that his terminology is directly related to burning smoking
    incense. We have shown that the "eating" or "drinking" contained
    in the terminology concerning the Eucharist is associated with the
    inhalation of smoke. We have shown that marijuana was used as
    incense and that it was the number one spiritual plant of the
    ancient world.

    We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare that the cup
    that Christ baptized his disciples with in the baptism of the Holy
    Spirit and fire was in fact a pipe or chillum in which marijuana
    was smoked. This is a bottomless cup and soon as it is emptied,
    it is filled again and passed in a circle. There is a picture of
    this cup or pipe below, as well as on the cover. Like the pipe of
    the ancient North American Indians, this cup was a portable altar.











    Christ was the Father of the doctrine of the Eucharist which
    is the communion that Jesus gave his brethren. Jesus taught that
    the communion is his body and blood. Jesus was not speaking of His
    physical body and blood. He was speaking of His spiritual body and
    spiritual blood that was the communion of his holy church. The
    supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples "on the night that
    he was betrayed" (1 Corinthians 11:23) inaugurated the heavenly
    meal that was to be continued.

    1 Corinthians 11:23 "For I have received of the Lord that
    which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night
    in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given
    thanks, he brake it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is
    broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same
    manner also he took the cup, which he had supped, saying, This cup
    is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink
    it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and
    drink of this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27
    Wherefore whosoever shall eat of this bread, and drink of this cup
    of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of
    the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and let him eat of the
    bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh
    unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not
    discerning the Lord's body.

    Christ said, "Do this in remembrance of me." Here the
    original unity of man with God is restored. In general the
    reception of the Holy Spirit is connected with the actual
    realization, the inward experiencing of God.

    Marijuana has been referred to as a mild euphoric (the
    producer of a feeling of well-being) that produces a profound
    religious experience of a mystical and transcendental nature. This
    religious experience is said to be brought about by the stirring
    of deeply buried, unconscious sensitivities so that one experiences
    ultimate reality or the divine and confirms the feeling of the
    worshipper that he has been in the presence of God and has
    assimilated some of His powers.

    To be lifted above sense to behold the beatific vision and
    become "incorporate" in God is the end sought in ecstasy. The
    priest or mystic in enthusiasm or ecstasy enjoys the beatific
    vision by entering into communion with God and by undergoing
    deification. The experience of ecstasy, states Mircea Eliade, one
    of the foremost authorities on religion, is a timeless primary
    phenomenon. Psychological experience of rapture, he continues, are
    fundamental to the human condition and hence known to the whole of
    archaic humanity. (Some of the synonyms of rapture are bliss,
    beatitude, transport, exaltation.)

    Baudelaire, a member of the Club Des Hashichins (Hashish Club)
    founded in Paris around 1835 and writer of Artificial Paradises
    states the following about hashish: Hashish is the unadulterated
    resin from the flowering tops of the female hemp plant.

    "One will find in hashish nothing miraculous, absolutely
    nothing but an exaggeration of the natural. The brain
    and organisms on which hashish operates will produce only
    the normal phenomena peculiar to that individual --
    increased, admittedly, in number and force, but always
    faithful to the original. A man will never escape from
    his destined physical and moral temperament: hashish will
    be a mirror of his impression and private thoughts -- a
    magnifying mirror, it is true, but only a mirror.

    He cautions that the user must be in the right frame of mind
    to take hashish, for just as it exaggerates the natural behavior
    of the individual, so too does hashish intensify the user's
    immediate feelings. Baudelaire describes three successive phases
    a hashish user will pass through. He says the final stage is
    marked by a feeling of calmness, in which time and space have no
    meaning, and there is a sense that one has transcended matter. He
    says that in this state, one final supreme thought breaks into
    consciousness. "I have become God."

    Realization of one's union with God is necessary in
    understanding the true Christian sacrament. The understanding of
    man's relationship to God and God's relationship to man (God in
    Man and Man in God) was quite prevalent in the ancient world,
    particularly among the religions that utilized marijuana as part
    of their religious practice.

    Said the great Hindu sage, Manu, "He who in his own soul
    perceives the Supreme Soul in all beings and acquires equanimity
    toward them all, attains the highest bliss." To recognize oneness
    of self with God was contained in all the teachings of Gautama
    Buddha. In the Liturgy of Mithra (the Persian god of light and
    truth) the suppliant prays "abide with me in my soul; leave me
    not," and "that I may be initiated and the Holy Spirit may breathe
    within me." The communion became so intimate as to pass into
    identity: "I am thou and thou art I." Athanasius, a theologian,
    ecclesiastical statesman, and Egyptian national leader who was
    closely tied to the Coptic Church in Egypt said, "Even we may
    become gods walking in the flesh," and "God became man that man
    might become God."

    Western theology (Catholic and Protestant) teaches that the
    spirit created matter but remained aloof of it. In Hinduism and
    other Eastern religions, the spirit is the inside, the matter is
    the outside; the two are inseparable. Eastern theologians hive
    rightly perceived that the God one worships must posses all the
    aspects of his worshippers' nature as well as his own divine
    nature. Otherwise, how can he create beings whose nature is
    entirely foreign to his own? What, then, would be the meaning of
    the Biblical phrase: "God made man in his own image"?

    The fact that modern Christendom has no sense of union with
    God has led to numerous churches without the understanding for
    building a Christian culture and kingdom to replace the confusion
    of modern politics. This lack of understanding was not lacking in
    the ancient church and was a major source of enthusiasm for the
    prophets of old. In fact, the power of the early church was
    manifested due to this understanding of the spirit of God dwelling
    in man, the temple of God. To the ancient prophets it was not a
    God above, nor a God over yonder, but a God within. "Be still and
    know that I am God" -- for the visionaries and mystics of every
    time and place, this has been the first and greatest of the
    commandments.

    In 1 Corinthians 11:28 Christ said, "Let a man examine
    himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup."
    Probably the most relevant study to date about what might be
    considered typical marijuana experience concludes that marijuana
    gives spontaneous insights into self (Dr. Charles Tart, "On Being
    Stoned: A Psychological Study of Marijuana Intoxication", Science
    and Behavior, 1971).

    The sacramentality of marijuana is declared by Christ himself
    and can be understood only when a person partakes of the natural
    divine herb. The fact is communion of Jesus cannot be disputed or
    be destroyed. Marijuana is the new wine divine and cannot be
    compared to the old wine, which is alcohol. Jesus rejected the old
    wine and glorified the "new wine" at the wedding feast of Cana.
    Cana is a linguistic derivation of the present day cannabis and so
    it is. (Some Biblical scholars -- and there is a certain amount
    of support in early tradition of the view -- have looked upon the
    miracle of Cana as a sign of the Eucharist.)

    Note the references to new wine in the Bible:

    Isaiah 65:8 "Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is
    found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for
    a blessing is in it; so will I do for my servant's sake"

    Acts 2:13 "Others mocking said, "These men are full of new
    wine."

    Isaiah 65:8 declares that the new wine is found in the cluster
    and that a blessing is in it. When one mentions clusters, one
    thinks of clusters of grapes. Webster's New Riverside Dictionary,
    Office Edition, defines marijuana: 1. Hemp 2. The dried flower
    clusters and leaves of the hemp plant, esp. when taken to induce
    euphoria.

    The Encyclopedia Britannica says the following about hemp:
    Seed producing flowers form elongate, spike like clusters growing
    on the pistillate, or female plants; pollen producing flowers form
    many branched clusters or staminate, on male plants. Here and in
    Webster's, marijuana fits the description of the new wine and as
    history has shown a blessing is in it.

    Baudelaire said the following about the effects of hashish:

    "This marvelous experience often occurs as if it were
    the effect of superior and invisible power acting on the
    person from without...This delightful and singular
    state...gives no advance warning. It is as unexpected
    as a ghost, an intermittent haunting from which we must
    draw, if we are wise, the certainty of a better
    existence. This acuteness of thought, this enthusiasm
    of the senses and the spirit must have appeared to man
    through the ages as the first blessing."

    In the books of Acts the apostles were accused of being full
    of new wine. Acts 2:13 was the time of pentecost when the Holy
    Spirit descended upon the apostles. Numerous outpourings of the
    Spirit are mentioned in the Acts of the apostles in which healing,
    prophesy, and the expelling of demons are particularly associated
    with the activity of the Spirit. Incense (marijuana) was used by
    the ancients for healing, prophesy, and the expelling of demons.
    -- CUT HERE --

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Infolinka BBS (420:2/4)
    þ Synchronet þ Imzadi Box -*- box.imzadi.de
  • From unu@WEEDNET/IMZADI to unu on Wed Apr 10 07:59:21 2024
    Due to message limitation I guess the message has been shortened, continuting the rest... I hope it finally flew over the wires. I do not want this to be considered as a Holy Grail. Just sending for the mentions and refference in the doubt weed hasn't been here since forever.

    Thank You and pardong for the lenghtiness

    Best regards

    unu

    -- BIBLE.POT PART 2 CUT HERE --
    In the books of Acts the apostles were accused of being full
    of new wine. Acts 2:13 was the time of pentecost when the Holy
    Spirit descended upon the apostles. Numerous outpourings of the
    Spirit are mentioned in the Acts of the apostles in which healing,
    prophesy, and the expelling of demons are particularly associated
    with the activity of the Spirit. Incense (marijuana) was used by
    the ancients for healing, prophesy, and the expelling of demons.

    When Christ ascended into heaven in the cloud (Acts 1:9-11)
    he sent his disciples the Holy Spirit with the "gift of tongues"
    (Acts 2:3) and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a
    fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were filled with the
    Holy Spirit and were given the power to prophesy or witness.
    (Marijuana has been credited with speech giving and inspiration of
    mental powers.)

    The first two gifts of the Holy Spirit are traditionally said
    to be wisdom and understanding, which no doubt are the two things
    most needed by the human race. In Jamaica today marijuana is
    referred to as the "weed of wisdom" and is reputed to be the plant
    that grew on Solomon's grave, a man known for his great wisdom.
    Marijuana expands consciousness and enhances the capacity for
    mystical and creative inspiration.

    In Acts 2:3 Fire speaks figuratively of the Holy Spirit. Fire
    was also a means which to transport a saint to heaven.

    2 Kings 2:11 "And it came to pass, as they still went
    on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot
    of fire, and horses of fire, and parted asunder; and
    Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

    Recent writers have speculated that this passage was in
    reference to flying saucers. That is because they look at this
    passage physically. This ascension of Elijah like the ascension
    of Christ in the cloud into heaven is the "withdrawal" from the
    external or physical world, to be the inmost reality of all. This
    can be referred to as ecstasy, rapture, or transport and is a
    result of the Holy Spirit. Ecstasy, rapture, or transport therefor
    agree in designating a feeling or state of intense, often extreme
    mental and emotional exaltation. Rapture is defined as ecstatic
    joy or delight; joyful ecstasy. Some of the synonyms of rapture
    are bliss, beatitude, transport, and exultation. The true rapture
    is therefore one in which one is spiritually transported to the
    heavens. Don't expect to float up into the sky.

    Marijuana as history has shown is the catalyst used to achieve
    the spiritual journey into the heavens. That is why in India it
    was referred to as the Heavenly-Guide, the Poor Man's Heaven, and
    the Sky-flier. That is why Professor Mircea Eliade, perhaps the
    foremost authority on the history of religion, suggested that
    Zoroaster may have caused hemp to bridge the metaphysical gap
    between heaven and earth.

    One dictionary defines marijuana as the leaves and flowering
    tops when taken to induce euphoria. Euphoria is defined by the
    same dictionary as great happiness or bliss. (In India, marijuana
    has been referred to as the joy-giver and the soother of grief.)
    Bliss is defined as the ecstasy of salvation, spiritual joy. Some
    of the synonyms of bliss are beatitude, transport, rapture,
    ecstasy, paradise, heaven.

    Throughout the ancient world there is mention of "magical
    flight", "ascent to heaven", and "mystical journey". All these
    mythological and folklore traditions have their point of departure
    in an ideology and technique of ecstasy that imply "journey in
    spirit".

    The pilgrimage from earth to heaven is not a journey to some
    other place or some other time, but is a journey within. One must
    realize that "death" through which we must pass before God can be
    seen does not lie ahead of us in time. Rather it is now that we
    have a man of sin within us that must be killed and a new man free
    from sin that must be born. This is actualized in baptism and the
    sacramental life in the church. For as many of you as have been
    baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). The
    effect of baptism is spiritual regeneration or rebirth, whereby one
    is "enChristened", involving both union with Christ and remission
    of sins. In Titus 3:5 baptism is the "bath of regeneration"
    accompanying renewal by the Spirit. Some of the synonyms of
    regeneration are beatification, conversion, sanctification,
    salvation, inspiration, bread of life, Body and Blood of Christ.

    Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in
    Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying:

    "By comparing the old Slavic word 'Kepati' and the
    Russian 'Kupati' with the Scythian 'cannabis' Shrader
    developed and justified Meringer's supposition that there
    is a link between the Scythian baths and Russian vapor
    baths.

    "In the entire Orient even today to 'go to the bath'
    means not only to accomplish an act of purification and
    enjoy a pleasure, but also to fulfill the divine law.
    Vambery calls 'bath' any club in which the members play
    checkers, drink coffee, and smoke hashish or tobacco."

    St. Matthew's account of the institution of the Eucharist
    attaches to the Eucharist cup these words: "Drink of it, all of,
    for this is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many
    for the remission of sins (st. Matthew 26:27). Drinking the
    sacramental cup therefor serves like baptism (Acts 2:38) where
    Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in
    the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
    receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We of the Ethiopian Zion
    Coptic Church declare a three-part doctrine of the Holy Herb, the
    Holy Word, and the Holy Man (Woman).

    The present and future benefits to the individual communicant
    have their importance given them by Jesus, who said, "He who eats
    my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise
    them up at the last day." (John 6:54) As such we must see that the
    divine person who is active in creation, in renewal, and in human
    rebirth and resurrection, is also active in the Eucharist.

    There was a profound change in America when marijuana smoking
    started on a large scale in the late 1960's. A large number of
    people resisted the draft, resisted the war ... started letting
    their hair and beards grow ... became interested in natural
    foods... the ecology and the environment. What we really saw was
    the awakening of our generation to the beginning of Christian
    mentality through marijuana smoking. The earmarks of this
    mentality are: I don't want to go to war; I really don't want to
    be part of the political-military-economic fiasco you call society.

    Like the Indians Hemp Drug Commission three quarters of a
    century earlier, the Canadian Le Dain Commission conducted an
    inquiry into the use of marijuana. On page 156 of the report is
    the following:

    "In the case of cannabis, the positive points which are
    claimed for it include the following: It is a relaxant;
    it is disinhibiting; it increases self-confidence and
    the feeling of creativity (whether justified by creative
    results or not); it increases sensual awareness and
    appreciation; it facilitates self acceptance and in this
    way makes it easier to accept others; it serves a
    sacramental function in promoting a sense of spiritual
    community among users; it is a shared pleasure; because
    it is illicit and the object of strong disapproval from
    those who are, by and large, opposed to social change,
    it is a symbol of protest and a means of strengthening
    the sense of identity among those who are strongly
    critical of certain aspects of our society and value
    structure today."

    On page 144 of the Report, marijuana is associated with peace.

    "In our conversation with (students and young people)
    they have frequently contrasted marijuana and alcohol
    effects to describe the former as a drug of peace, a drug
    that reduces tendencies to aggression while suggesting
    that the latter drug produces hostile, aggressive
    behavior. Thus marijuana is seen as particularly
    appropriate to a generation that emphasizes peace and is,
    in many ways, anticompetitive."

    In a magazine article by G. S. Chopra entitled "Man and
    Marijuana" on page 235 is a section dealing with Human Experiments.
    One hundred persons with an established marijuana smoking habit
    smoked marijuana. They described the symptoms as follows: "I have
    done things today which I usually dislike but which I rather
    enjoyed doing today." "Nothing seemed impossible to accomplish."
    "I assumed a cool and composed attitude and forgot all mental
    worries." "I behaved in a childish and foolish manner." "It
    relieves sense of fatigue and gives rise to feelings of happiness."
    "I feel like laughing." "My head is dizzy." "I feel like taking
    more food." "The world is gay around me." "I feel inclined to
    work." "I am a friend to all and have no enemy in the world."

    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, in the section on
    "Roman Catholicism":

    "To understand the meaning and use of the Eucharist we
    must see it as an act of universal worship, of
    cooperation, of association else it loses the greater
    part of its significance. Neither in Roman Catholic nor
    in Protestant Eucharistic practice does the sacrament
    retain much of the symbolism of Christian unity, which
    clearly it has. Originally, the symbolism was that of
    a community meal, an accepted social symbol of community
    throughout the whole of human culture."

    Marijuana has been used as sacrifice, a sacrament, a ritual
    fumigant (incense), a good-will offering, and as a means of
    communing with the divine spirit. It has been used to seal
    treaties, friendships, solemn binding agreements and to legitimize
    covenants. It has been used as a traditional defense against evil
    and in purification. It has been used in divinations (1. the art
    or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or
    discover hidden knowledge; 2. unusual insight; intuitive
    perception.) It has been used in remembrance of the dead and
    praised for its medicinal properties.

    Most Christians agree that participation in the Eucharist is
    supposed to enhance and deepen communion of believers not only with
    Christ but also with one another. We must therefor ask the
    question, "What substance did the ancients use as a community meal
    to facilitate communion with the Lord?" The answer to that
    question is marijuana. Hemp as originally used in religious
    ritual, temple activities, and tribal rites, involved groups of
    worshippers rather than the solitary individual. The pleasurable
    psychoactive effects were then, as now, communal experiences.

    Practically every major religion and culture of the ancient
    world utilized marijuana as part of their religious observance.
    Marijuana was the ambrosia of the ancient world. It was the food,
    drink, and perfume of the gods. It was used by the Africans, the
    Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Asians, the Europeans, and possibly
    the Indians of the Americas. Would it be too much to suggest that
    the ancient Israelites also utilized marijuana?

    The following information was taken from the most
    authoritative books dealing with the history of marijuana. They
    are mentioned at the end of this work.

    MARIJUANA IN INDIA

    In Indian tradition marijuana is associated with immortality.
    There is a complex myth of the churning of the Ocean of Milk by the
    gods, their joint act of creation. They were in search of Amrita,
    the elixir of eternal life. When the gods, helped by demons,
    churned the ocean to obtain Amrita, one of the resulting nectars
    was cannabis. After churning the ocean, the demons attempted to
    gain control of Amrita (marijuana), but the gods were able to
    prevent this seizure, giving cannabis the name Vijaya ("victory")
    to commemorate their success.

    Other ancient Indian names for marijuana were "sacred grass",
    "hero leaved", "joy", "rejoicer", "desired in the three worlds"'
    "gods' food", "fountain of pleasures"' and "Shiva's plant".

    Early Indian legends maintained that the angel of mankind
    lived in the leaves of the marijuana plant. It was so sacred that
    it was reputed to deter evil and cleanse its user of sin. In Hindu
    mythology hemp is a holy plant given to man for the "welfare of
    mankind" and is considered to be one of the divine nectars able to
    give man anything from good health, to long life, to visions of the
    gods. Nectar is defined as the fabled drink of the gods.

    Tradition maintains that when nectar or Amrita dropped from
    heaven, that cannabis sprouted from it. In Hindu mythology Amrita
    means immortality; also, the ambrosial drink which produced it.
    In India hemp is made into a drink and is reputed to be the
    favorite drink of Indra (the King of Indian gods.) Tradition
    maintains that the god Indra gave marijuana to the people so that
    they might attain elevated states of consciousness, delight in
    worldly joy, and freedom from fear.

    According to Hindu legends, Siva, the Supreme God of many
    Hindu sects, had some family squabble and went off to the fields.
    He sat under a hemp plant so as to be sheltered from the heat of
    the sun and happened to eat some of its leaves. He felt so
    refreshed from the hemp plant that it became his favorite food,
    and that is how he got his title, the Lord of Bhang.

    Cannabis is mentioned as a medicinal and magical plant as well
    as a "sacred grass" in the Atharva Veda (dated 2000 - 1400 B.C.)
    It also calls hemp one of the five kingdoms of herbs...which
    releases us from anxiety and refers to hemp as a "source of
    happiness", "joy-giver" and "liberator". Although the holy books,
    the Shastras, forbid the worship of the plant, it has been
    venerated and used as a sacrifice to the deities.

    Indian Tradition, writing, and belief is that the "Siddhartha"
    (the Buddha), used and ate nothing but hemp and its seeds for six
    years prior to announcing (discovering) his truths and becoming the
    Buddha.

    Cannabis held a preeminent place in the Tantric religion which
    evolved in Tibet in the seventh century A.D. Tantrism was a
    religion based on fear of demons. To combat the demonic threat to
    the world, the people sought protection in plants such as cannabis
    which were set afire to overcome evil forces.

    In the tenth century A.D. hemp was extolled as indracanna,
    the "food of the gods". A fifteenth-century document refers to
    cannabis as "light-hearted", "joy-full" and "rejoices", and claimed
    that among its virtues are "astringency", "heat", "speech-giving",
    "inspiration of mental powers", "excitability" and the capacity to
    "remove wind and phlegm".

    Today in the Tantric Buddhism of the Himalayas of Tibet,
    cannabis plays a very significant role in the meditative ritual to
    facilitate deep meditation and heighten awareness. In modern India
    it is taken at Hindu and Sikh temples and Mohammedan shrines.
    Among fakirs (Hindu ascetics) bhang is viewed as the giver of long
    life and a means of communion with the divine spirit. Like his
    Hindu brother, the Musalman fakir reveres bhang as the lengthener
    of life and the freer from the bonds of self.

    At the turn of the twentieth century, the Indian Hemp Drugs
    Commission set up to study the use of hemp in India contains the
    following report:

    "...It is inevitable that temperaments would be found to
    whom the quickening spirit of bhang is the spirit of
    freedom and knowledge. In the ecstasy of bhang the spark
    of the Eternal in man turns into the light the murkiness
    of matter.

    "...Bhang is the Joy-giver, the Sky-filler, the Heavenly-
    Guide, the Poor Man's Heaven, the Soother of Grief...No
    god or man is as good as the religious drinker of
    bhang...The supporting power of bhang has brought many
    a Hindu family safe through the miseries of famine. To
    forbid or even seriously restrict the use of so gracious
    an herb as the hemp would cause widespread suffering and
    annoyance and to large bands of worshipped ascetics,
    deep-seated anger. It would rob the people of a solace
    on discomfort, of a cure in sickness, of a guardian whose
    gracious protection saves them from the attacks of evil
    influences...

    MARIJUANA IN CHINA

    Hemp was so highly regarded in ancient China that the Chinese
    called their country "the land of mulberry and hemp". Hemp was a
    symbol of power over evil and in emperor Shen Nung's pharmacopoeia
    was known as the "liberator of sin". The Chinese believed that the
    legendary Shen Nung first taught the cultivation of hemp in the
    28th century B.C. Shen Nung is credited with developing the
    sciences of medicine from the curative power of plants. So highly
    regarded was Shen Nung that he was deified and today he is regarded
    as the Father of Chinese medicine. Shen Nung was also regarded as
    the Lord of fire. He sacrificed on T'ai Shan, a mountain of hoary
    antiquity.

    A statement in the Pen-ts'ao Ching of some significance is
    that Cannabis "grows along rivers and valleys at T'ai-shan, but it
    is now common everywhere." Mount T'ai is in Shangtung Privince,
    where the cultivation of the hemp plant is still intensive to this
    day. Whether or not this early attribution indicates the actual
    geographic origin of the cultivation of the Cannabis plant remains
    to be seen. (An Archeological and Historical Account of Cannabis
    in China by Hui-Lin Li)

    A chines Taoist priest wrote in the fifth century B.C. that
    cannabis was used in combination with Ginseng to set forward time
    in order to reveal future events. It is recorded that the Taoist
    recommended the addition of cannabis to their incense burners in
    the 1st century A.D. and that the effects thus produced were highly
    regarded as a means of achieving immortality. In the early Chinese
    Taoist ritual the fumes and odors of incense burners were said to
    have produced a mystic exaltation and contribution to well-being.

    Webster's New Riverside Dictionary defines marijuana: 1. Hemp
    2. The dried flower clusters and leaves of the hemp plant, esp.
    when taken to induce euphoria. Euphoria is defined as a strong
    feeling of elation or well-being.

    Like the practice of medicine around the world, early Chinese
    doctoring was based on the concept of demons. The only way to cure
    the sick was to drive out the demons. The early priest doctors
    used marijuana stalks into which snake-like figures were carved.
    Standing over the body of the stricken patient, his cannabis stalk
    poised to strike, the priest pounded the bed and commanded the
    demon to be gone. The cannabis stalk with the snake carved on it
    was the forerunner to the sign of modern medicine (the staff with
    the entwined serpents.)

    MARIJUANA IN JAPAN

    Hemp was used in Ancient Japan in ceremonial purification
    rites and for driving away evil spirits. In Japan, Shinto priests
    used a gohei, a short stick with undyed hemp fibers (for purity)
    attached to one end. According to Shinto beliefs, evil and purity
    cannot exist alongside one another, and so by waving the gohei
    (purity) above someone's head the evil spirit inside him would be
    driven away. Clothes made of hemp were especially worn during
    formal and religious ceremonies because of hemp's traditional
    association with purity.

    MARIJUANA IN ANCIENT IRAN

    Ancient Iran was the source for the great Persian empire,
    Iran is located slightly to the northeast of the ancient kingdoms
    of Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria. According to Mircea Eliade,
    "Shamanistic ecstasy induced by hemp smoke was known in ancient
    Iran." Professor Eliade has suggested that Zoroaster, the Persian
    prophet, said to have written the Zend-Avesta, was a user of hemp.
    In the Zend-Avesta hemp occupies the first place in a list of
    10,000 medicinal plants.

    One of the few surviving books of the Zend-Avesta, called the
    Venidad, "The Law Against Demons", calls bhanga (marijuana)
    Zoroaster's "good narcotic", and tells of two mortals who were
    transported in soul to the heavens where, upon drinking from a cup
    of bhang, they had the highest mysteries revealed to them.
    Professor Eliade has theorized that Zoroaster may have used hemp
    to bridge the metaphysical gap between heaven and earth.

    MARIJUANA IN ANCIENT EGYPT

    In the book, Plants of the Gods: Origin of Hallucinogenic Use
    by Richard E. Schultes and Albert Hofman, page 72, it is stated
    that the specimens of marijuana nearly 4,000 years old have turned
    up in an Egyptian site and that in ancient Thebes the plant was
    made into a drink.

    MARIJUANA IN EUROPE

    According to Nikolaas j. van der Merwe (Department of
    Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa) the peasants
    of Europe have been using cannabis as medicine, ritual material,
    and to smoke or chew as far back as oral traditions go.

    Marijuana was an integral part of the Scythian cult of the
    dead wherein homage was paid to the memory of their departed
    leaders. This use of cannabis was found in frozen Scythian tombs
    dated from 500 to 300 B.C. Along with the cannabis a miniature
    tripod-like tent over a copper censer was found in which the sacred
    plant was burned.

    It is interesting to note that two extraordinary rugs were
    also found in the frozen Scythian tombs. One rug had a border
    frieze with a repeated composition of a horseman approaching the
    Great Goddess who holds the "Tree of Life" in one hand and raises
    the other hand in welcome.


    MARIJUANA IN AFRICA

    The African continent is probably the zone showing the widest
    prevalence of the hemp drug habit. When white men first went to
    Africa, marijuana was part of the native way of life. Africa was
    a continent of marijuana cultures where marijuana was an integral
    part of religious ceremony. The Africans were observed inhaling
    the smoke from piles of smoldering hemp. Some of these piles had
    been placed upon altars. The Africans also utilized pipes. The
    African Dagga (marijuana) cults believed that Holy Cannabis was
    brought to earth by the gods. (Throughout the ancient world
    Ethiopia was considered the home of the gods.)

    In south central Africa, marijuana is held to be sacred and
    is connected with many religious and social customs. Marijuana is
    regarded by some sects as a magic plant possessing universal
    protection against all injury to life, and is symbolic of peace
    and friendship. Certain tribes consider hemp use a duty.

    The earliest evidence for cannabis smoking in Africa outside
    of Egypt comes from fourteenth century Ethiopia, where two ceramic
    smoking-pipe bowls containing traces of excavation. In many parts
    of East Africa, especially near Lake Victoria (the source for the
    Nile), hemp smoking and hashish snuffing cults still exist.

    MARIJUANA IN THE NEW WORLD

    According to Richard L. Lingeman in his book Drugs from A to
    Z, page 146, "Marijuana smoking was known by the Indians before
    Columbus." After the Spanish conquest in 1521 the Spaniards
    recorded that the Aztecs (Mayans) used marijuana.

    The present day Cuna Indians of Panama use marijuana as a
    sacred herb and the Cora Indians of the Sierra Madre Occidental of
    Mexico smoke marijuana in this course of their sacred ceremonies.

    In the Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L by William A Emboden,
    Jr., pages 229 and 231, is the following:

    "A particularly interesting account of a Tepehua (no
    relationship to "Tepecana") Indian ceremony with cannabis
    was published in 1963 by the Mexican ethnologist Roberto
    William Garcia of the University of Veracruz,
    northernmost branch of the Maya language family.

    "In his account of Teehua religion and ritual, Willianm
    Garcia (1963:215-21) describes in some detail a communal
    curing ceremony focused on a plant called santa rose,
    "The Herb Which Makes One Speak", which he identified
    botanically as Cannabis Sativa: According to Garcia it
    is worshipped as an earth deity and is thought to be
    alive and comparable to a piece of the heart of God."



    MARIJUANA USE BY THE MOSLEMS

    It is interesting to note that the use of hemp was not
    prohibited by Mohammed (570-632 A.D.) while the use of alcohol was.
    Moslems considered hemp as a "Holy Plant" and medieval Arab doctors
    considered hemp as a sacred medicine which they called among other
    names kannab. The Sufis (a Moslem sect) originating in 8th century
    Persia used hashish as a means of stimulating mystical
    consciousness and appreciation of the nature of Allah. Eating
    hashish to the Sufis was "an act of worship". They maintained that
    hashish gave them otherwise unattainable insights into themselves,
    deeper understanding and that it made them feel witty. They also
    claimed that it gave happiness, reduced anxiety, reduced worry, and
    increased music appreciation.

    According to one Arab legend Haydar, the Persian founder of
    the religious order of Sufi came across the cannabis plant while
    wandering in the Persian mountains. Usually a reserved and silent
    man, when he returned to his monastery after eating some cannabis
    leaves, his disciples were amazed at how talkative and animated
    (full of spirit) he seemed. After cajoling Haydar into telling
    them what he had done to make him feel so happy, his disciples went
    out into the mountains and tried the cannabis themselves. So it
    was, according to the legend, that the Sufis came to know the
    pleasures of hashish. (Taken from the Introduction to A
    Comprehensive Guide to Cannabis Literature by Earnest Abel.)

    SUMMARY

    Due to the prosecution of God's church from the beginning of
    the Christian era and due to the persecution against marijuana the
    true understanding of the Eucharist has remained hidden from
    Christendom and the world, only to be revealed in these times, the
    culmination of all human history.

    We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare marijuana for
    the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and for the
    resurrection of mankind. The fruits of the mystery are remembrance
    of the passions and death of Christ, propitiation for sins, defense
    against temptation, and the indwelling of Christ in the faithful.

    Preparations for communion consist of confession of sins,
    fasting from sin, and reconciliation with all mankind. As such
    the participant in the Eucharist will be in a condition in which
    prayer and meditation are easy and fruitful. He will find his
    emotion purified and stimulated, his spirituality quickened and
    his heart filled with love.



    SOURCES

    Richard E. Schultes, article: "Man and Marijuana"

    Richard E. Schultes and Albert Hofman, Plants of the Gods -- Origin
    of Hallucinogenic Use (McGraw-Hill Book Co. [U.K.] Limited,
    Maidenhead, England [1979]).

    G.S. Chopra, article: "Man and Marijuana", International Journal
    of the Addict,1969, 4, 215-247.

    Earnest L. Abel, Marijuana, the First Twelve Thousand Years (Phenum
    Press, New York, 1980)

    Earnest L. Abel, A Comprehensive Guide to Cannabis Literature

    Earnest L. Abel, Marijuana Dictionary: Words, Terms, Events and
    Persons Relating to Cannabis(Greenwood Press, Westpoint,
    Connecticut [1982])

    Edward M. Breecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports, The
    Consumer Union Report, "Licit and Illicit Drugs", (Little, Brown,
    and Co.)

    Louis Lewin, Phantastica, Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs: Their Use
    and Abuse, (London: Kegan, Trench, Turbner and Co., Ltd. Translated
    from the second German edition by P.H.A. Wirth, 1931) (N.Y.,
    Dutton, 1964, reprint, 1924, trans. 1931)

    Sula Benet, Cannabis and Culture, ed. V. Rubin (The Hague: Moutan,
    1975)

    Richard E. Lingeman, Drugs from A to Z, A Dictionary (McGraw-Hill
    Book Co., 1969, 74)

    John R. Glowa, The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs (Chelsea
    House Pub., N.Y., New Haven, Philadelphia, 1986)

    George Andrews and Simon Vinkenoog, The Book of Grass: An Anthology
    on Indian Hemp; Chandler and Sharp Series in Cross Cultural Themes
    (N.Y., Grove Press [1967])

    Jack Herer, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, 1985, 90, 91, 92.

    Peter T. Furst, Hallucinogens and Culture (Chandler and Sharp
    Publishers, Inc., 1976)

    Baudelaire, Artificial Paradises

    Dr. Charles Tart, "On Being Stoned: A Psychological Study of
    Marijuana Intoxication" (Science and Behavior, 1971)

    William A. Emboden, Jr. Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L

    S.I. Rudenko, Frozen Tombs of Siberia (Dent., London, 1970)

    Edward Atchley, A History of the Use of Incense in Divine Worship

    E. A. Wallis Budge, The Divine Origin of the Craft of the Herbalist

    Egon C. Corti, A history of Smoking, by Count Corti; Translated by
    Paul England (G.G. Harrap, London, England, 1931)

    Francis Robicsek, The Smoking Gods: Tobacco in Mayan Art, History,
    and Religion (University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1978)

    Diodurus, Histories 1.97.7

    Herman Scneider, History of World Civilization, 2v (New York, 1931)

    M.N. Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization (Oxford University Press,
    N.Y., 1922)

    Sir Charles Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism 3v. (Routledge & K. Paul,
    London, 1921)

    A.A. McDonell, India's Past (The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1927)

    Charles Anthon, A Classical Dictionary (N.Y., Harpers and Brothers,
    1848)

    G. Maspero, The Dawn of Civilization: Egypt and Chaldea (London,
    1897)

    Lucy Lamy, Egyptian Mysteries

    Friedrich Ratzel, History of Mankind (N.Y., Gordon Press)

    R.H. Charles The Book of Jubilees, cap, iij, (London, 1902)

    Alfred Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (London, 1987)

    Geoffrey Wainwright, Eucharist and Eschatology (Epworth Press,
    London, 1971)

    Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1966

    The Book of the Dead, Edit. E.A.W. Budge, British Museum, 1895, p.
    250

    J. Jeremias, in Encyclopedia, Iv, 4119, quoting Rawlinson,
    Cuneiform Inscription IV. 19 (59) Cnf. the story of Bel and the
    Dragon.

    John McKenzie, The Bible Dictionary (N.Y. MacMillan Pub. Co., 1965)

    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Holy Spirit" (15th Edition, 1978)
    Micropaedia, Ready Reference and Index

    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Sacrifice" (15th Edition, 1978)

    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Pharmacological Cults" (15th Edition,
    1978), p. 199
    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Coptic"

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    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Incense"

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    Encyclopedia Britannica, "Mysticism"

    King James version of The Bible

    The Apocrypha



    We hope you enjoyed this pamphlet. If you have any questions
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    Zion Coptic Church, P.O. Box 1161, Minneola, FL 34755-1161.

    We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church decided to publish this
    pamphlet in order to give the public an opportunity to study the
    church and its doctrine; not from inflated and misleading media but
    from historical and Biblical reference. The Church has received
    extensive publicity as "60 Minutes" has done a segment; Life, Omni,
    Science, Rolling Stone, and High Times magazines have all done
    articles, countless newspaper articles have been written, and
    various brothers have been on radio and TV talk shows around the
    country.

    We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church revere ganja
    (marijuana) as our "holy" Eucharist and "spiritual intensifier"
    with Biblical, historical and divine associations for its use.
    Ganja is the mystical body and blood of "Jes-us" -- the burnt
    offering made by fire -- which allows a member to see and know the
    "living God", or the "God in man".
    --
    The University of Massachusetts at Amherst | _________,^-.
    Cannabis Reform Coalition ( | ) ,>
    S.A.O. Box #2 \|/ {
    415 Student Union Building `-^-' ? )
    UMASS, Amherst MA 01003 |____________ `--~ ;
    \_,-__/ verdant@titan.ucs.umass.edu


    -- CUT HERE --

    ... Some people have no idea what they're doing, and are really good at it!

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