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Although prohibited in most of the today’s world, cannabis and humanity have a shared history that extends far back into ancient times. Evidence of its role in the production of cloth and rope goes back more than ten thousand years. Its psychoactive properties have also long been known by humanity, and ancient man attributed a supernatural force behind such effects. Archaeological evidence of cannabis ritual use of cannabis dates back to 3500 BCE, and it became considerably widespread. Egyptians, Assyrian, Babylonian and Persians used cannabis in Temple rituals, and for medical purposes, as has long been acknowledged, . Although, it has generally been seen that the neighbours of these cultures, the ancient Hebrews, whose religious history was recorded in the Bible’s Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh, rejected these practices. However, in 1936, a little known Polish anthropologist and etymologist put forth the controversial hypothesis that the Hebrew words, kaneh and kaneh bosm, identified cannabis, and had been mistranslated as calamus. This linguistic suggestion drastically changes the story of the Bible in a number of ways, but it seemed destined to be an obscure linguistic hypothesis, until 2020, when evidence from a 2,800 year old temple site in tel Arad, Jerusalem confirmed the ritual use of cannabis Among the ancient Hebrews
"Chris Bennett’s latest offering, Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World, is by far his most focused work to date. Building on the formidable research presented in his previous efforts, Cannabis goes even further in demonstrating that hashish, without a doubt, played an important role in the religious life of the ancient Hebrews. The final nail in the coffin of the Kaneh Bosm debate, Bennett’s scholarly book challenges everything we thought we knew about both Judaism and ancient cannabis use."—P.D. Newman, author of Theurgy: Theory and Practice: The Mysteries of the Ascent to the Divine
"With legalization of cannabis a central theme in politics today, the timing could not be better for this information to reach the public. This book should be sold in every dispensary. The abundant proof from a wide variety of sources, and the internal consistency of the patterns revealed, leave little doubt that even the most illustrious among our spiritual ancestors knew not only the usefulness of hemp, and the healing qualities of cannabis, but also the entheogenic properties of THC." —Ronnie Pontiac, Newtopia Magazine
"Bennett gives us another tour de force of the deep history of Cannabis, spanning diverse societies of the Ancient Middle East."—Dr. Michael J. Winkelman, Editor of Advances in Psychedelic Medicine
"Chris Bennett’s Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World draws together scholarly and archaeological evidence for the use of cannabis in ancient magico-religious practices in a balanced, comprehensive and accessible manner. In particular Bennett explores the influence of cannabis, and cannabis occasioned altered states of consciousness, on the Judeo-Christian traditions, especially its role in facilitating a sense of communion with the divine. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in exploring the entheogenic roots of religions." —Dr.Jack Hunter, author of Spirits, Gods and Magic: An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Supernatural
"Chris Bennett has been easily the most important scholar of cannabis.... [he] has done the research to confidently argue, and maybe even prove that yes Virginia, the original tree of Life and the true Haoma/Soma of the Vedas and the Zoroasterae was Cannabis Sativa specifically"—Yoseph Leib Ibn Mardachya, Author: Cannabis Chassidis: The Ancient and Emerging Torah of Drugs"
Bennett gives us another tour de force of the deep history of Cannabis, spanning diverse societies of the Ancient Middle East. The scope of cannabis ritualization in the past elevates its current status as a perennial sacrament. Bennett totally revises the notion of what were the “Burning Times.”—Dr. Michael J. Winkelman, Editor of Advances in Psychedelic Medicine
Without a doubt one of the world's leading cannabis scholars and historians, Chris Bennett has been enlightening us for decades on the incredible depth and breadth of humanity's inextricably interwoven relationship with our (beyond) ancient plant ally. Always a clear, accessible communicator and an impeccable scholar, Mr. Bennett continues to expand on this body of knowledge in this, his fifth, book. Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancients is a fascinating read and of great value to anyone who wants to know more about how intimately cannabis has travelled with and benefitted humanity since time immeasurable.—Stephen Gray, editor/contributor, Cannabis and Spirituality: An Explorer's Guide to an Ancient Plant Spirit Ally
Projected release May 19, 2023
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