Cannabis
9 Clues That Jesus Used Cannabis
While it’s impossible to prove beyond all doubt that cannabis played a part in Jesus’s life, there are some pretty interesting clues.
3. Holy Anointing Oil Made With Cannabis
According to a handful of scholars, cannabis may have played a key role in ancient Judaism. In particular, the plant may have been used to make holy anointing oil. In Exodus 30:22-36, God gives the ancient Israelites directions for making this holy oil. Biblical scholars have easily identified most of the ingredients. But there’s one that has been a little controversial.
These verses mention the use of something called “kaneh-bosm.” And while a lot of scholars have concluded that this term describes a plant called calamus, others think it could actually be cannabis. Scholar Sula Benet was the first to come up with this translation. Here’s what she said about it:
“In the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, there are references to hemp, both as incense, which was an integral part of religious celebration, and as an intoxicant.”
Since Benet, there have been a handful of other scholars who have agreed. If these researchers are correct, then ancient Jews regularly used cannabis to make sacred anointing oil. And that’s precisely the context in which Jesus grew up.
