Is marijuana a staple of Hinduism?

[mindtooloud]

i visited India and from what I understood marijuana is a part of the culture and religion but i didn't fully understand how it ties to it, does anyone have any insight on this topic they could share.

[Nungali]

Its part of most cultures .    Especially  those associated with I.E.s  and as they migrated into India it was one of the  things they found there as well .  But apparently India did not offer them ephedra  ( ingredient for Soma )  as they lamented its loss .

 

As a native herb it was used in medicine . 

 

Its no big mystery ... the Indians used it as most do, as a medicine  for various things and  for its property to counteract anxiety . 

 

It is associated with Shiva 

 

"  Unfortunately, some people mislead Lord Shiva by picturizing him as smoking pot and consuming a Bhang (cannabis). I entirely agree by people associating Shiva with a Bhang, but the question is why he is related to it? Cannabis is one of the most sacred plants, and it is written in the fourth Veda that it relieves anxiety. Thus, being a sacred plant, it is used as a spiritual and religious plant.

Moreover, during the ‘Samundra Manthan’, a lethal poison named ‘Halahal’ was released, which was so poisonous that it could end the entire creation. To avoid that to happen, Lord Shiva consumed whole poison on his own and later to cool him down, gods offered him Bhang (cannabis). So, if you are consuming it over his name then always remember he also exemplifies a trademark of qualities as well, be it giving utmost respect to his wife (Shakti/Parvati Maa), generosity, mellowed, wearing a tiger skin (not precious pieces of jewellery as other gods are depicted in mythological books) implies his simplicity, and whatnot. "  

 

Now, one might ask what is this 'poison'  that afflicts us , that it is a remedy for and for which we have specific receptors .   ( Note ' To cool him down '    - chill out man )  .  But that is another and longer topic . 

[BigSkyDiamond]

On 6/14/2025 at 5:22 AM, mindtooloud said:

i visited India and from what I understood marijuana is a part of the culture and religion but i didn't fully understand how it ties to it, does anyone have any insight on this topic they could share.

 

"Cannabis, heroin, and Indian-produced pharmaceutical drugs are the most frequently abused drugs in India. Cannabis products, often called charas, bhang, or ganja, are abused throughout the country because it has attained some amount of religious sanctity because of its association with some Hindu deities.  The epidemic of substance abuse in young generation has assumed alarming dimensions in India."

 

---from this article,   Substance Abuse in India

    Pravara Medical Review,  published by the Pravar Institute of Medical Sciences in India

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by BigSkyDiamond

[Nungali]

Since, for some reason , you listed other drugs as well .... you left out  the number 1 abused drug . 

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC443486/

 

https://www.jagrutirehab.org/what-are-the-most-abused-drugs-in-india.html

 

https://socialjustice.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Survey Report.pdf

 

 

all cite alcohol as Number 1 abused drug . 

 

Then again ... what is the definition of 'abused'  , is it something that harms you or something you do the government says you should not do ?

 

Guy  gets rid of his possessions , devotes himself to Shiva , sits in the street begging and smoking a chillum  - non abuse . 

 

Another guy  holds down a job, pays tax , gets involved in community but has some anxiety ... after work he sits down for a little relaxing puff .... abuse !  

 

- things are different in India .  

 

 

 

- Not stoned, 'worshiping '  .      

[BigSkyDiamond]

33 minutes ago, Nungali said:

Then again ... what is the definition of 'abused'  , is it something that harms you or something you do the government says you should not do ?

 

Guy  gets rid of his possessions , devotes himself to Shiva , sits in the street begging and smoking a chillum  - non abuse . 

Another guy  holds down a job, pays tax , gets involved in community but has some anxiety ... after work he sits down for a little relaxing puff .... abuse !  

- things are different in India .  

- Not stoned, 'worshiping '  .    

 

maybe a good place to start is to actually know what substance abuse and addiction actually are.

so they are not conflated or confused with "worship" or "what the government says to do"

 

addiction and substance abuse are the same whether they occur in India or somewhere else in the world.  Just like the flu is the same or cancer is the same anywhere in the world.  Because human antatomy and physiology and disease and illness appear in and affect human bodies regardless of the country where those human bodies happen to be residing.

Edited 8 hours ago by BigSkyDiamond

[Nungali]

I already know and that's why I wrote what I did . 

 

and aside from this obscure diversion   ...

 

You left out alcohol !    Why is that ? 

[Nungali]

Substance abuse is different from substance use .  Abuse is when a society has members using   a substance beyond what they were previously 'acclimatized' to  and out of the range of those associated benefits to a society . 

 

If I take peyote  it can be considered part of substance abuse , if a member of the American native church does it in a ceremony it isn't substance abuse . 

[Nungali]

 In any case , this is about the cultural and religious uses of the substance in India . 

 

I don't know why you felt the need to start talking about legality and abuse of substances in India ? 

 

 

 

 

[BigSkyDiamond]

54 minutes ago, Nungali said:

Substance abuse is different from substance use .  Abuse is when a society has members using   a substance beyond what they were previously 'acclimatized' to  and out of the range of those associated benefits to a society . 

 

If I take peyote  it can be considered part of substance abuse , if a member of the American native church does it in a ceremony it isn't substance abuse . 

 

no.  that is not what substance abuse is.  

Substance abuse and addiction are not determined by religion or society or geography or culture or ethnicity or  government or laws or acclimation.   It is determined by medical and healthcare profession.  That's why research and findings from medical community are more credible than personal opinion or groups that favor and promote the use of psychotropics.

 

it is relevant to the thread topic which is marijuana, hinduism, india.

There is a correlation between the substance abuse problem in India and the use of psychotropic substances as part of the culture and religious practice in India. They are very much  related and on topic for the opening post.

 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by BigSkyDiamond

[Nungali]

Except for the number 1 abused drug -   you left that out of the above 'reason' .  

 

I'd ask what the medical difference between me taking peyote and a native American taking it  is  ... except now I know I won't be getting ANY straight answers .