Does the Bible Talk About Weed?

Every Moving Thing That Lives Shall Be Food For You. And As I Give You the Green Plants, I give You Everything – Genesis 9:3

If you were to ask ten people about their opinion on marijuana, you would likely get ten different answers. With cannabis constantly in the limelight, and gaining more traction as it becomes more widely accepted, it seems that more diverse groups are starting to discuss the plant.

With the history of the marijuana plant dating back many thousands of years, it seems that people are now debating the plant’s role in the Bible. But did Jesus smoke weed? Opinions amongst religious groups are pretty split on this one, and to be clear, there’s no real way to know for sure!

While there are a growing number of religions that openly embrace cannabis – the Rastafarian religion being perhaps the best known of the lot – it is interesting to know what the Bible says about our favorite plant. In this article, we are going to take a look at what the most famous book in the world has to say about the most controversial plant in history, and if in fact, marijuana was ever mentioned explicitly in the bible.

Cannabis and Other Religions

Before we jump right into the scriptures of Christianity, it seems only right first to take a look at how cannabis is received amongst other religious groups as a whole.

Along with many well-known religions such as the aforementioned Rastafarian religion (who make a point of incorporating cannabis into most of their religious rituals), there are now a number of religions that center massively on marijuana. These modern faith groups have come together to celebrate religion and cannabis!

Groups such as; THC Ministries, Cantheism, The Cannabis Assembly, The Church of the Universe, The Free Marijuana Church of Honolulu, and The First Church of Cannabis concentrate on cannabis, just to name a few!

Among these are also other well-known religions that date back centuries who benefit from cannabis as part of their spiritual healing. Taoism, which originates back to 4th century China, uses cannabis incense as a cleansing tool while in Norse mythology the cannabis plant relates to beauty, fertility, and love.

These are merely a few examples of cannabis being implemented into the holy and ancient rituals of religion. But where does it fall with Christianity and the Bible?

Cannabis and Christianity

When it comes to Christianity, cannabis has caused a rift over the years between Christians who believe marijuana use is a sin, and those who believe God created marijuana for us to benefit from. Of course, opinions differ across the different Christian sects that are around, with many finding evidence from the Bible to argue their case.

It is interesting to note from the Bible does not clearly reference the word ‘cannabis’ at any point, and that the only openly referenced substance is in fact alcohol. However messages about intoxication can be at times conflicting in the various readings, the overall message being that any kind of intoxicating substance is sinful.

This confusion amongst the interpretation of the Bible has seen many split opinions over the years and with more and more acceptance of cannabis emerging, it is becoming a greater focus as much of the U.S. population is Christian.

While marijuana may not be openly referenced in the Bible, ‘hemp’ is frequently mentioned! What is even more interesting is that the well -known Kaneh-bosm, which was a key ingredient in the anointing oil that Jesus used to heal the masses, was supposedly the first known term for cannabis; The word ‘kan’ meaning reed or hemp, and ‘bosm’ meaning aromatic.

But what is the likelihood of cannabis being used in biblical times? Well realistically, very likely indeed! When we consider that weed has been around and utilized for thousands of years, it makes sense that those who wrote the Bible would be well aware of the plant and its effects. So when we see the frequency of the word hemp across the Bible, it makes perfect sense why so many would come to the conclusion that marijuana was condoned and created by God himself. Also, plants and their cultivation for human use is specifically referenced in all of the following passages: Genesis (1:12, 29-31), Ezekiel (34:29) and Revelation (22:1-2).

Alongside these convincing arguments in favor of marijuana as a holy flower, there are equally some strong arguments against it! Many Christians are of the opinion that just like cannabis, the harmful drugs of the world where also made by God. But that does not mean they are the wish of God for us to consume them. Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, it is made clear that drunkenness and intoxication are simply not acceptable, reaffirming the idea that marijuana also would be highly frowned upon.

There are claims that spiritual texts show that Jesus did, in fact, use cannabis and was even seen to be the first ever marijuana activist spreading knowledge of the herb with his healing oil. However, at the end of the day, these will never be more than just that — claims without clear, hard evidence.

Final Thoughts on Marijuana and the Bible

When it comes to cannabis and the Bible, there really is no right answer. The ancient scriptures are completely open to interpretation. However, there does seem to be a strong argument for cannabis and its use in biblical times.

Just like the apostle Mark wrote in Mark 6:13, to be rubbed with the Holy Plant was to “receive divine knowledge.” We couldn’t agree more!

We would like to point out that while we did our research, we are certainly not experts on religious matters. If you have additional knowledge that you feel should be added to this article, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].