All language subtitles for Psychedelica.Series.1.07of14.Cannabis.The.Original.Medicine.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org

>> American astronomer Carl
Edward Sagan was best known

from his show called
"Cosmos," as the spokesman

for the responsible
use of science,

his interest in
extraterrestrial intelligence,

and the eloquent way he
simplified complex concepts

to the world.

However, a little known fact
about the late, great thinker

was his ritual use of cannabis.

His love for this plant
caused for a few quotes of his

to be immortalized regarding
the absurdity of its illegality,

the ability for its effects
to improve experiences

of food, art, and lovemaking.

He spoke of the
possibility that cannabis,

or the textile producing parts
of the plant known as hemp,

as humanity's oldest
cultivated crop,

and that it may have led to
the invention of agriculture,

thereby leading to its
roots of civilization.

Could a simple
psychoactive and textile

crop have been given
so much acclaim,

or is there more to this
plant than meets the eye?

>> Cannabis, in my view,
is another of the great

and powerful teacher plants.

We cannot really argue that
cannabis is a psychedelic,

although at high dosages, with--

particularly with
individuals who

are not experienced
with cannabis--

the experience is
pretty close to a full

on psychedelic experience.

It can be.

But you know, I think
that the natural world

has been bounteous to us.

It has provided us with--

well, of course, all our food
and clothing and everything

comes out of nature,
and has provided us

with these substances
that alter consciousness

as well, which humanity has
had a long relationship with.

>> There are so many terms for
this plant today that it seems

each passing generation and
cultural clique refreshes its

terminology.

>> It's called ganja.

>> The combination of
mindfulness and marijuana--

>> We hang out, we talk,
we kind of break the ice.

>> The class opens with students
sampling cannabis products.

>> But how far back can we find
evidence of man's use of hemp

or cannabis, and what might
our ancestors have called it?

>> Well, as far as
evidence of hemp--

you know, hemp fibers
and the use of hemp--

that goes back, according
to the foremost expert

on ancient textiles, Elizabeth
Whalen Barber, to about 25,000,

28,000 years ago.

And this is in the
form of tools used

for breaking up hemp fibers.

We have evidence of
hemp cloth going back

at least 12,000 years, very,
very widespread, you know.

The use of cannabis
can basically

be followed by the spread
of Indo-European language,

and we're talking about the
root language of French,

German, English, Sanskrit.

Wherever it goes,
as soon it's there,

it starts taking on new names.

You know, the giver of delights,
the end of sorrow, the gift,

the secret, you know,
all these different names

start coming into play.

>> In 1936, a Polish
entomologist an anthropologist,

Sula Benet, proposed that the
biblical term kaneh bosm was

misinterpreted by the Greek
and Latin translators as being

the marsh root calamus, which
commonly grew everywhere

throughout the Middle East.

But cannabis was not
native to this region.

>> In the Old
Testament references,

a kaneh is specifically
described as something coming

from a distant land and that's
why I would suggest that

the Indo-European term,
kaneh, followed it.

It came with that name
as an item of trade,

and we know that
Scythians and other groups

were trading in the
area of the region

from archeological evidence.

>> The term Scythian identifies
a collection of nomadic tribes

that were cannabis using tribes.

They even were over in India
and dominated in northern India

from about 400 BC
to about 200 AD.

And it's interesting,
because Ithithians in India

adopted the worship of Shiva,
a god associated with cannabis.

Some ancient texts refer
to Buddha as a Sacae,

and Sacae's the Persian
name for the Scythians.

And so there's this
whole connection

that he may have been
a Persian prince.

And in some of the
older accounts,

it's also written that he
survived on one hemp seed a day

before coming to his
divine revelations.

>> Why would this single plant
be found in so many ancient

cultures, riddled
throughout religions,

and seen as a divine sacrament?

Could a psychoactive
experience be worth enough

to trade this plant across a
5,000 mile stretch of land,

or is there more to this
plant than we've been told?

>> There are so many uses
of this amazing plant,

cannabis sativa.

You could eat the leaves.

A lot of people don't know
that just eating the leaves

could be juiced, and
made into a salad.

You can eat the seeds,
they're high in protein.

They're high in
essential fatty acids.

You could be feeding this
plant for livestock feed

to your goats and chickens
and horses and cows.

We could be using this
plant to make a rope.

It makes a very,
very strong rope.

>> The use of hemp for
cordage and rope has been seen

in hunter gatherer groups all
the way up until World War II.

>> Thus plans are afoot for
a great expansion of the hemp

industry as a part
of the war program.

This film is designed
to tell farmers

how to handle this ancient
crop, now little known

outside Kentucky and Wisconsin.

This is Manila hemp, from
the Navy's rapidly dwindling

reserve.

When that is gone, American
hemp will go on duty again.

Hemp for mooring ships,
hemp for towlines.

>> But as technology
compounded upon itself

in the post-industrial
era, newer and more useful

applications of the
hemp plant have emerged.

Radio host and
researcher Max Egan

has been using this plant
medicinally for himself

and his community
for many years,

and speaks publicly around
the world about its many uses.

>> We can make plastics
out of cannabis.

We can make paper
out of cannabis.

The best quality materials,
as strong as denim and as soft

as silk.

Everything you can think of,
we can make of this plant.

Half of old Cairo is
built from cannabis.

You can get the hurd, mix it
with lime, and it petrifies.

What other plant will
petrify into stone

and allow you to
build houses from it?

This is what this plant can
do, it's an incredible plant.

And you can grow
out in three months,

and it'll produce a crop that
will do all that stuff in three

months rather than tearing our
forests down and ripping up

our landscapes and doing
all the things we're doing.

>> Logging has become a
multi-billion dollar industry

and employs almost 1 million
people in the US alone.

In the past 30
years, human activity

has destroyed a plot
of land the size

of Germany in the Brazilian
rain forest alone.

If industrial hemp weren't
so heavily restricted

in nearly every country
as well as resisted

from corporate interests,
much of these issues

could be diminished or
resolved completely.

But for some reason,
this highly useful plant

is shunned on a cultural level,
illegal on a federal level,

and feared on an industry level.

>> The reason cannabis is banned
is because it would destroy

most of the most profitable
businesses on the planet,

were it legalized, and
unfortunately these are all

some of the most pollutive
businesses on the planet

as well.

>> So, I can see why this
is really a threat to a lot

of industries.

There's one plant that
could solve so many

of our environmental
problems and grows so easily.

I don't know another
plant that does this.

>> The benefits of cannabis have
been speculated for generations

that existed in times less bound
by the burden of scientific

proof.

Today, as several
countries around the world

are loosening the
restrictions around cannabis,

the scientific
data is pouring in.

Dr. Joe Cohen has been
researching the many healing

qualities through case studies
and personally overseeing

the results in patients.

>> Most of my research related
to cannabis actually comes from

patient experiences.

I've been practicing
cannabis medicine

for close to eight
years and I've

seen thousands of patients.

So I often see patients
with chronic pain,

and one area that I work a lot
with is autoimmune disease.

>> Autoimmune disease is
characterized by the body

producing antibodies, which in
turn attacks its own tissues.

This confusion of
the immune system

is often seen when diet is
poor, vaccines are overdone,

and the health of
the gut microbiome

has an imbalance of unhealthy
bacteria and not enough healthy

flora.

However, great advancements
in treating the symptoms

has been seen with the many
compounds found in cannabis.

>> So, there is over 400
different parts of a cannabis

plant, chemicals in the plant,
of which probably 85 to 100 are

cannabinoids, like THC,
and cannabidiol, CBD,

which has become very popular.

And then on top of that,
we have probably a couple

hundred different terpenes.

Terpenes are in a lot
of plants and fruits,

that gives flavor
and odor to things.

So when you smell
the cannabis plant,

you're actually
smelling terpenes.

They actually
modulate-- modify--

the effects of the
cannabinoids in the plant.

And then there's flavonoids.

So, we're talking about over
400 compounds in this plant,

and they all kind
of work together

to give the effect that
you are looking for.

>> As with all other
psychoactive plants,

the different chemical
properties alter the types

of feelings and
effects one receives,

creating a symphonic effect
where no one ingredient is

given full credit for the high.

The THC molecule found in
all strains of cannabis

affects the body and mind the
same way across the board.

So, the reason every
strain of cannabis

affects people differently
has to do with the terpenes.

And this symphony
of biochemistry

also accounts for the numerous
beneficial applications being

found in clinical research.

>> The most profound thing that
I see regarding cannabis is how

it can treat so many
different disorders,

and that's really related
to the fact that we have

an endocannabinoid system.

We produce our own cannabinoids.

Animals have been
producing cannabinoids

for 600 million
years, and the plant

didn't arrive until about
25 million years ago.

>> The endocannabinoid system
in our body contains specific

receptors in the mammalian
brain and throughout the nervous

system that not only
allows humans to enjoy

the psychoactive effects,
but also serves to maintain

a healthy homeostasis
and immunity.

One of the hallmarks
of this effect

is most notable in the
increase in appetite

after ingesting cannabis.

>> Why does weed
make you hungry?

Why do you get the munchies?

And it's because you have a
chemical mechanism in you that

keeps you alive that says, hey
dude, you're kind of running

low on nutrients, and if you
want this machine to keep

running, fuel me up.

And the longer you disregard
that internal chemical message,

the more that chemical pain
increases and chemically

forces you to eat.

That's what hunger is, and
it's keeping you alive,

and it's this natural
balancing mechanism.

And it's balanced
on cannabinoids.

The heaviest amount
of cannabinoids

that humans produce
is in breast milk,

cause it feeds the building
blocks of life to children.

Balances also all
of your receptors--

your electronic mechanisms.

We were always told in
school by the $1.3 billion

monopoly a year, DARE, that
cannabis kills brain cells.

Well, it's the opposite.

It's actually
neurological protectants.

>> It's what we
call an adaptogen.

An adaptopogenic herb is
something that tries to create

balance in our body.

So, this is an herbal
medicine, a plant medicine,

that actually has
the same chemical

structure as our
own cannabinoids,

and it tries to keep
everything in balance.

Cannabinoids travel in
a reverse direction.

They go retrograde
through the synapse,

and by going retrograde through
the synapse, what they're

actually doing is they're
slowing down the hypersystem

and they're speeding
up the hyposystem,

and therefore creating balance.

>> The beauty of this
adaptogenic herb is

in the intelligence of how
it knows to bring biological

processes back into balance.

It has an ability to listen
and respond to its environment

in order to bring
balance and growth.

Through our
endocannabinoid system,

we are hardwired to
listen and respond,

meaning we have an
ancient symbiotic language

with cannabinoids.

And the fact that a
specific tree that

can grow to full maturity
in one year with healing

properties in its very structure
is truly remarkable, even

for the whole of
the plant kingdom.

Although cannabis is not
a classic psychedelic that

works on the serotonin
2A receptors,

it's the ability of the
flowers of this tree

to bend the mind in so
many different ways that

deserves deeper investigation.

>> Cannabis is much
more, in my opinion,

about sensual experience, about
realizing the full potential

of our sensuality.

And when I say sensuality,
I don't only mean sex,

I'm also talking
about appreciation

of food, appreciation of music.

Stuff that our ears and our
eyes have been shut off to

suddenly comes in and we realize
what majesty we live amongst.

Cannabis can play that role.

>> When used with the right set
and setting and the right skill

set, cannabis can
mimic psilocybin.

It can mimic Ayahuasca and DNT.

It can also mimic the
empathogens, like MDMA.

And so from my experience,
it's also a little slower

than other
psychedelics, so we can

have a capacity to develop
those skill sets like navigation

or capacity or focus in
overwhelming situations,

or the capacity to engage
strong emotional experiences.

And then those
skill sets can then

be translated to other
psychedelic medicines.

So, cannabis is like a bridge
to other psychedelic medicines,

but it's also its
own sacred substance.

Its own sacred medicine.

It's gentler on the body.

It has shorter
experiences, so people

who have compromised physical
bodies can use it safely,

and it can also be
used more regularly

than other psychedelics.

>> The fact that cannabis
can elicit different effects

depending on the
way it's ingested,

the mindset going in, and
the type of setting it's done

in, shows a versatility not
typically seen with other

psychoactive plants.

Cannabis can induce visuals,
euphoria, relaxation,

or even heightened alertness.

However, it can also
cause anxiety, paranoia,

and short term memory fog.

But these are not always
adverse side effects,

as they mimic the
ability of psychedelics

to dredge up trauma
from deep in the psyche.

Some of the skills people bring
to these kinds of difficulties

are breathing techniques or
movement like dance or Qigong.

In modern applications,
biohackers and extreme athletes

have come up with their
own uses for cannabis.

Personal trainer and
podcast host Ben Greenfield

has been using this plant
to aid in his highly

competitive sports lifestyle.

>> I'm a hard charging,
high achiever,

trying to live this limitless
life of racing and traveling

and speaking and writing, and
it's hard to turn the mind off

at the end of the day.

And I initially found cannabis,
and frankly, CBD, not even

THC to be useful for that.

I began micro dosing
with smaller amounts

prior to workouts.

CBD is an interesting
molecule in that it currently

is not banned by the World
Anti-Doping Association

or by the US Anti-Doping
Association or many

of the governing
bodies of sport,

which, for me, as a
professional athlete,

is something that's important,
because I'm able to use it

for those purposes
without having

to worry about in-season pee
tests or anything like that.

And for CBD, there's
a host of research

now on not just the relaxation
and the anti-inflammatory

effects, but also the
beneficial hormonal effects,

the beneficial effects on
muscle response the training,

the beneficial effects on
everything from testosterone

to a slight increase
in fat mobilization

to all sorts of things
that serve an athlete well.

But when you look at
something like off season use

of cannabis, I began to realize
that THC, the more psychoactive

component, is actually something
that served me quite well

for writing and for creativity.

And so I would say that from a
creative production standpoint,

I've found that both micro
and admittedly macro dosing

with THC has been
something that's been

really helpful in that regard.

>> Cannabis, in my opinion,
can be used as a performance

enhancing drug.

It tends to help me elicit
flow states more readily,

kind of calms my
mind, helps me relax.

But the mental
clarity that really

comes from it is probably
why I micro dose anything,

is for that mental clarity.

Really getting
out of my own way,

stopping the self-judgment,
stopping the self-criticism.

Those are really my
biggest barriers.

>> Flow states are spoken about
intensively in Steven Kotler

and Jamie Wheal's books,
"The Rise of Superman,"

and "Stealing Fire."

They are typified by the
zone that athletes, dancers,

musicians, and even
meditators find themselves

in when the task they're
performing becomes effortless.

Time slows down, analysis goes
quiet, and intuition guides

each decision.

And though these flow states
can be brought on simply

through mental discipline
or breathing techniques,

another reliable way is through
micro dosing psychedelic

plants.

But how is it that
cannabis can enhance

mental clarity, when the
cultural stigma claims

the opposite?

>> Innocently, they danced.

Innocent of a new and
deadly menace lurking

behind closed doors.

[GONG RINGING]

>> Marijuana, the burning
weed with its roots in hell.

>> The reefer madness stereotype
is anti-hemp propaganda,

there's no truth to it.

And now that cannabis
is legal in many places,

medical cannabis as well
as recreational cannabis,

we have statistical evidence
that violent crime is reduced,

that opiate use and
opiate deaths are reduced,

and even DUIs and intoxicated
driving is reduced.

So, the anti-cannabis
hysteria is simply

propaganda to prohibit
the production of hemp,

to protect corporate interests.

They used racism and showed
out of control behavior

and put it on something
that they couldn't otherwise

challenge.

>> Daniel McQueen founded
medicinal mindfulness,

which specializes in the
spiritual and therapeutic

application of psychedelics
or breathing techniques

in the Boulder, Colorado area.

>> In regards to set and
setting with cannabis,

we bring in a gratitude prayer
when we imbibe the medicine,

and we sit in a circle.

And we're calling and energies
and ways of being that

support a psychedelic
journey work.

And this is far from--

like, the exact opposite
extreme of recreational use

or unconscious use
or habitual use.

We're not just sitting there
feeling stoned or blissed out.

There's some real significant
psychological, spiritual,

and energetically
healing and life

transforming occurrences
happening in the psyche

and in the body.

And we turn towards
those experiences

instead of using the
medicine to check out

from those experiences.

>> By creating a healing
intention or a safe space

to enter deeply mystical realms,
circles such as these are

dismantling the negative
stereotypes and calling

in a revival of ancient
ceremonial use of this plant.

>> I think the real big
attraction of cannabis

for a lot of people is that
esoteric element that it brings

into your daily life of
you're starting to see

the synchronicity and patterns
and all these elements.

I've currently writing a book
about the role of cannabis

in Medieval and Renaissance
magic and alchemy

and things like that.

And I notice a lot
of references are

based around the use of cannabis
with magic mirrors, right.

And the magic mirrors is kind
of a splitting of consciousness,

you know what I mean?

As soon as you look in the
mirror, you're schizophrenic.

There's you in the mirror,
and there's you over here,

you know.

And I think that
the use of cannabis

helps to break that veil
between the subconscious

or the unconscious,
and the conscious mind,

and that when you project your
consciousness into there, then

you can kind of have
that division where

you can reach down into
lower aspects, deeper

aspects of your own psyche
that you can't normally

reach in waking consciousness.

And in the same way that
that happens in dreams.

So, the one talking to you in
the mirror, the magic mirror,

is the one telling you
your dream at night

as well, which is your own
shadow or your subconscious

or your unconscious.

>> As cannabis has been
attributed to lifting the veil

between the conscious
and subconscious mind,

some believe that the concept
of utilizing time rather than

being a passive and unwitting
victim of its cycles began with

agriculture.

And as Carl Sagan and
many others suggest,

agriculture likely
started with cannabis.

An example of this lies
in the equatorial region

of west central Africa.

>> In regards to
cannabis and time,

one of the first things
novice users experience is

a difference in time.

A minute seemed like
an hour, or an hour

seemed like a minute
type of thing.

>> Cannabis was
used by the Pygmies,

and the Pygmies themselves say
that God gave them cannabis

to be healthy and happy,
and that they've been using

cannabis since the dawn of
time, which likely means

their conception of time.

Another Congo tribe that used
cannabis is the Bachilangue.

And when they began
using it, they

burned all their
cultic fetishes.

And they started
convincing other tribes

to do this as well, and
they joined together

in a brotherhood of cannabis
called the [INAUDIBLE]..

So, yeah, fascinating role.

It's not thought to have
come into central Africa

until Medieval Muslim
traders brought it in.

>> Not only was cannabis
likely involved in some

tribes' conception of time,
but also medicine, philosophy,

and even mystical experiences
with their tribal lineage.

>> In China, cannabis appears in
the oldest known pharmacopeia,

the Pen-tsao, put together
by Emperor Shen Nung,

who recommends it for a variety
of medical conditions that is

prescribed for today.

It was also used
by Taoist priests

for astral traveling
type journeys

to the Land of the Ancestors.

There's a great quatrain
from about 2,500 years ago.

It goes "First a yin then a
yang, no one knows what I do.

Jade buds and holy hemp for
the one that lives apart."

And that's kind of like
life has its ups and downs,

but you know, with cannabis
I'm able to maintain

that steady road.

>> As cannabis trade likely
occurred along the Silk Road,

it inevitably made
its way into India.

>> Cannabis has an
extensive history in India,

and is still used in
religious rituals there.

Shivaratri, dedicated
to the god Shiva,

cannabis is commonly
consumed in temples.

At the Festival of Colors,
where they throw paint and dyes,

whole villages are drinking
Bhang, the traditional cannabis

drink from India.

Cannabis is particularly wound
up with the cult of Shiva.

She was the oldest continually
worshiped god on Earth--

also the god who is said to
have brought yoga to humanity.

And to this day, you could go
along the banks of the Ganges

and you will witness
sadhus and holy men

partaking of a chillum full of
cannabis in honor of Lord Shiva

before setting down to
do their Yoga asanas.

So cannabis and
yoga go way back.

>> There's actually a resurgence
of cannabis and yoga today,

called ganja yoga.

As many states in the US
rollback the prohibition

on the versatile and
mind bending plant,

the trend is currently
growing, but many places

are still on the fence
with cannabis, culturally

and religiously.

>> Cannabis in Islam
is very interesting,

because there's not any
sort of specific prohibition

of cannabis in the Quran,
like there is with alcohol,

so it's been a big
matter of debate.

But it has been used
by mystics of Islam,

such as Sufis and Dervishes
since the very beginnings.

And generally they
use it-- a lot

of times it'd be for
reciting poetry and playing

music through the evening
and drinking coffee

and using cannabis,
and at other times,

in more powerful preparations,
to obliterate the ego

and get down to the essence
that animates us all.

>> From Africa to Scythian
tribes commemorating cannabis

with a focus on agriculture
and time, to groups in China,

India, and sects of Islam using
it for spiritual and mystical

pursuits, why is this versatile
textile crop that can likely

solve deforestation and many
medical ailments seen as such

a devious drug to
modern society?

Currently, the
prohibition on cannabis

is slowly rolling itself
back, state by state,

even though the federal
government holds firm

on its prohibitory position.

>> So, it's a wonderful thing
for me to see what's happened

in Colorado.

I do think Colorado is leading
the world in this area,

in saying no, this is a
fundamental human right

of adults.

Adults have a right to make
choices over their own bodies,

they don't have to refer
to the government as to

whether they can do this or not.

It's a very important step in
the re-liberation of mankind

that is taking place
in states like Colorado

and the other-- what,
seven or eight states that

have legalized cannabis
now and more than 23

or 24 where at least cannabis is
available for medical purposes.

This is winding back the war
on drugs, state by state.

>> I am deeply inspired by
cannabis and it's important

to think of cannabis as
not just one medicine,

but many medicines that the
different plants and different

strains have different functions
and capacities for healing.

>> I believe that cannabis has
an amazing intelligent effect

to it because of the
healing properties.

When you think about
what cannabis does,

we're wired for this
plant because we

have the same type
of compounds that we

produce that are in the plant.

And if we can use
this intelligence

in this plant in
its natural form,

I believe that it's
incredibly healing.

>> And since cannabis
is an adaptogenic herb,

bringing the body into balance,
perhaps its intelligence reads

and understands genetic and
biological information in order

to act as a medicine to any and
all that come into contact with

it.

Perhaps this is why
cannabis has been revered

for longer than any other plant,
side by side with humanity,

through the greatest leaps
in the evolution of the mind,

technology, and culture.

And some even believe
that this highly

sought after herb
played a hand in the way

that humans think
and behave today.

Cannabis, like any
other plant medicine,

is a substance with
highly potent chemicals

that rapidly alters body
chemistry and thought patterns.

At present, cannabis trends
are changing so rapidly

that only time will
tell how humanity

will respond
psychologically, genetically,

and even spiritually.

Anything with this power
must be respected and used

with the wisdom it deserves.

Up next, join us as we explore
the darker aspects and shadow

side of psychedelic use.