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Abstract
In India, Cannabis Indica has been used for literally thousands of years in the worship of the god Shiva. Cannabis is used in an orally administered form called bhang which can be either the wet resinous leaves formed into pills of a drink made of milk, cannabis, and various spices consumed by worshipers of Shiva on festival days or by smoking the flowering buds of cannabis—a practice generally reserved for holy men who dedicate their lives to ascetic practice and the worship of Shiva. This practice is codified in the Vedas as well as in legends about the origin of cannabis and its relationship to Shiva.
Notes
1 The lingam is a symbol of Shiva in his temples. It is considered a phallic symbol of creativity and is generally a cylindrical penis-shaped stone located under the temple spire to represent the navel of the world.
2 There is an interesting folktale, supposedly from Tibet or Northern India, about the dangers of alcohol. A monk is confronted by a woman who gives him three choices: slaughter her goat, have sex with her, or drink a cup of beer. He rejects the first two out of hand as very serious violations of his vows; about the third he thinks that the worst that can happen is that he will become a little intoxicated and will be harming no one but himself. So he drinks the beer, becoming very intoxicated and in this state kills the goat and rapes the woman.