Marijuana use
can have
physical,
psychological,
and spiritual
benefits:
PHYSICAL
BENEFITS
The Physical
benefits
of marijuana are far-reaching, widespread, and
long-term.
Because of the way marijuana impacts the
Autonomic Nervous
System which expands the breath and relaxes the
body,
its potential for health and healing are
enormous, and
have been completely unrealized by Western
Medicine.
The following passages are excerpted from
The Benefits
of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological, &
Spiritual:
The simultaneous opposing action of marijuana
is akin
to balancing our entire system. Such balance in
the
ANS can be understood as a charged equilibrium,
which
is defined as well-being
experienced as
physiological expansion and psychological
contentment
and responsible for health. (p. 29)
The net effect is a highly functioning, yet
relaxed,
system with better fuel. This is why, with
marijuana,
the feeling is both relaxed and alert, which
explains,
in part, the experience of being stoned.
Normally the body vacillates between the two
opposing
modes of being. The effects of the complicated
marijuana
molecule somehow actually integrate these two
modes,
simultaneously, as absolutely nothing else
does. (p.
30)
Although specific effects of marijuana in the
body are
well known, each has been taken in isolation
without
noting that both sides of the Autonomic Nervous
System
are conjoined. Instead of a perspective that
sees the
whole person and the simple holistic effect of
marijuana,
a myopic and reductionistic method of
measurement has
been employed, and marijuanas profound
meaning
for health has been lost. (p. 31)
Marijuana, by its effect on the ANS, enhances
both sides
of the brain. Through increased Sympathetic
action,
left brain perception is heightened, while, at
the same
time, right brain reception is enhanced. This
is a physiological
fact. More blood, and cleaner blood, is sent to
the
brain, as in the fight or flight
reaction.
And because of Parasympathetic dilation of
capillaries,
which signifies relaxation, the blood supply to
the
entire brain is increased. More blood means
more oxygen
and consequently clearer and broader thinking.
Since
marijuana works on both sides of the brain, the
most
noticeable effect, in our fast-paced mind set,
is one
of slowing down, which blends the thrusting
competitive
attitude with the contrasting viewpoint of
nurturance
to arrive at a more cooperative balance. This
experience
is, however, not innate to marijuana, but to
the mental
set of the subject. When we are mellow, tired,
and relaxed,
marijuana is energizing and affords alertness,
determination,
and even strength. This variation in the
physiological
effects has caused great confusion from an
either/or
framework. And the balancing nature of
marijuana (both/and)
has not been understood. It both stimulates and
relaxes,
simultaneously, which equates to an
unpredictable variation
in effect that is solely dependent on the state
of its
subject. When the system is sluggish, as with
natives
in warm climates (Africa, India, South America
), marijuana
has been used extensively and for centuries to
energize
it:
A common
practice among
laborers... have a puff of a ganja (
marijuana) pipe
to produce well-being, relieve fatigue,
stimulate
appetite. (Chopra and Chopra, 1939, p.3)
font>
When the system
is hyper-aroused,
as in todays lifestyle, marijuana calms.
The significance
of this fact cannot be ignored. It explains the
increased
creativity reported as a part of the marijuana
experience,
because when both sides of brain processes are
heightened,
both types of brain activity are greater. The
left brain
notices more, while the right brain receives
more. This
is the unification of logic and intuition. The
term
expansion of consciousness is
explained
physiologically as a shifting of brain
emphasis
from one-sidedness to balance (Sugarmena
and Tarter,
1978), which fits precisely with the feeling
called
high. (p. 35)
Marijuana ingestion has been shown to change
the worried
state by producing alpha waves, experienced as
well
being. (p. 36)
When we ingest marijuana, the heart swells
through capillary
enhancement and is fueled more by more fully
oxygenated
blood, while, at the same time, its
contractions and
expansions are greater, allowing for stronger
pumping
action to the rest of the body (p. 37)<
/p>
As rigidity in the body is released or reduced
by the
action of marijuana, there is a corresponding
reduction
of mental tension that translates into a
feeling of
expansion and well being and explains the
reverential
attitude commonly expressed by marijuana
lovers. (p.
39)
As the bodys workings can become more
harmonious
with marijuana, the functioning of the five
senses can
be noticeably improved ....In our discussion,
the trigger
to the high experience is marijuana, but many
other
activities can also produce it, such as
jogging, chanting,
fasting, isolation, meditation, and prayer. (p.
41)
The marijuana experience itself does not
miraculously
cure. Instead, it allows the body a respite
from the
tensions of imbalance, while exposing the
mental confusion
of the mind. The marijuana experience of
balance becomes
a learned and, over time, somewhat permanent
response
as the essential human tendency to homeostasis
is reawakened
and the natural healing process restored. (p.
49)
For a serious psychosomatic disease such as
cancer,
the benefits to be derived from marijuana
cannot be
overstated:
1. The causal element of unconscious (
repressed) pain
can be ferreted out.
2. The breath can be restored to fullness,
thereby eliminating
directly the built up toxicity and, at the same
time,
enjoining balance throughout the whole
organism. A depressed
system is a weakened system, and since it works
holistically,
marijuana gives strength where weakness exists,
and
expansion and relaxation where there is
contraction
and nervousness.
3. The more richly oxygenated blood that is in
effect
with marijuana can help to cleanse the poisons
at the
cellular level.
4. And a broader perspective through activation
of the
entire brain leads to positive feelings and
thus eliminates
the usual and debilitating attitudes so common
in cancerhelplessness,
depression, fear, resignation, and dread. (p.
60)
Application of
Marijuana:
In a Costa Rican study, it was found that
chronic marijuana
smokers who also smoked cigarettes were less
likely
to develop cancer than cigarette smokers who
didnt
use marijuana. Since marijuana (smoking, as
well as
ingestion by other methods) dilates the
alveoli, toxins
are more easily eliminated with cannabis use
regardless
of its method of application. Nicotine, on the
other
hand, constricts the alveoli, so it is likely
that the
use of cannabis neutralizes, or even overwhelms
the
constriction, by its own tendency to dilation
...As
an aid for all psychosomatic disease, marijuana
can
benefit the participant, generally because of
its health-restoring
effects... The fear of marijuana...
stems from
its limitless potential for treating illness,
in that
both the pharmaceutical industry and the
medical monopoly
would lose billions of dollars if marijuana
became the
non-drug of choice. (p. 61)
PSYCHOLOGICAL
BENEFITS
When we balance
the Autonomic
Nervous System, there is an effect on the mind
that
is both energizing and relaxing SIMULTANEOUSLY.
In other
words, we can think more clearly and more
efficiently.
The following
are excerpts from The Benefits of
Marijuana:
Natural feelings of expansion that correspond
to favorable
perceptions, such as a sense of accomplishment,
are
experiences common to us all, What makes
marijuana unique
and beneficial is its ability to summon these
states
of well-being at will (p. 44) We might suggest
that
those hundreds of millions of people around the
world
who face marijuana to experience higher levels
of life,
do so specifically because of the great import
they
ascribe to being high, i.e.,
feeling
better, happier, more expansive, and therefore
more
tolerant and compassionate. (p. 4545) <
/p>
Whereas marijuana results in an altered
state
of consciousness, the depressant drugs
have been
described as producing altered states of
unconsciousness
(Sugerman and Tarter), allowing for relaxation
without
awareness. (p.45)
Marijuana exposes things. When used over a
period of
time, it allows us to witness our many subtle
motives
which, under normal consciousness, are usually
not noticeable.
(p 46)
It was just this catalytic effect of marijuana
to expose
the unconscious and increase the patients
vulnerability,
while maintaining awareness and understanding
that prompted
psychologists (in the 1960s and 1970s) to
utilize marijuana
extensively in the therapeutic studies before
the government
ban (P. 47)
With the expansiveness that occurs with
marijuana, the
subject may begin to notice infinite
possibilities to
raise the quality of his/her life that would
otherwise
have remained hidden from normal, defensive
consciousness.
And feelings of health and happiness naturally
lead
to hope, which of itself can be curative. (p.
49)
Marijuana can act as the loosening agent, so
that whatever
has been banned from consciousness may come
cascading
forth. To uncover our deceptions without our
usual rationalizations
can be unpleasant, an experience that has
turned many
psychologically fragile individuals away from
marijuana
despite its therapeutic catharsis. (p. 50)
font>
Regardless of the model used, marijuana
resolves conflict
by de-emphasizing extreme aggressiveness and
stroking
the receptive sides of human nature. This
unification
or balance, however, may be responsible for
changes
in goals and values. It Is the healthy
balancing nature
of marijuana that is most beneficial to the
individual
and most threatening to modern society. (p. 51
)
When it first became popular in the West,
marijuana
was imported mainly from tropical zones, where
the sativa
strain of cannabis is indigenous. This type of
marijuana
is known for its cerebral high,
having little
noticeable body participation. No studies
concerning
the different effects of sativa vs. indica have
been
done, but from the lack of physical sensation,
it is
reasonable to assume more Sympathetic or
stimulant qualities
in sativa than indica (a cooler climate type).
This
is compatible with the notion that in hotter
climates,
less calming is desirable from a recreational
substance,
since hot climates in themselves cause
lethargy. Many
connoisseurs of marijuana prefer the sativa
high, although
in the last decade it has become very scarce
due to
domestic cultivation of strains that thrive in
temperate
zones (and indoors). Cerebral highs
are
experienced as lightness of thought beyond
usual concern
with self esteem. In relationships, a cerebral
high
attunes the participants to a less separate
sense of
themselves. Conversation is animated and a
general feeling
of camaraderie is in the air.
The indica strain of cannabis offers more of
the body
high. Depth rather than height best
describes
the subjective experience. Rather than freedom
in the
mind, the felt sensation is freedom of the
body. This
state more closely mimics deep relaxation.
Thought patterns
do not approach the clarity of thought of a
147;cerebral
high. In contrast, the body high
148; is
similar to the reverie that precedes sleep.
While thinking
may be diminished, more sensitivity to
nonverbal experiences,
such as music and color, comes into play.
Physiologically,
a true body high probably is the
result
of more Parasympathetic input. Participants
ofen become
quieter, since internal silence predominates.<
/font>
Indica thrives in temperate areas, and as such
it has
become more popular with the American marijuana
farmer.
It is a shorter variety, thus it is more suited
for
the limits of indoor gardens and comes to
fruition earlier
in outdoor gardens. In less tropical zones,
recreational
substances are compatible with tempering the
bustle
usual to cooler climate cultures. As
horticultural interest
has grown, a cross between the indica and
sativa species
of cannabis has given the modern marijuana user
the
subtleties of both strains. Nowadays quality
marijuana,
grown in the US, is usually a hybrid of the
indica and
sativa varieties. (p. 56)
Marijuana will not tolerate repression.
Tranquilizers
and depressants relax the body and release
tension,
but the state of mind associated with these
drugs is
unconsciousness whereby we escape
rather
than resolve our dilemmas. Alcoholism is an
extreme
need of both the body and personality
periodically to
release the nervousness that has accumulated
and continues
to accumulate to an unbearable degree. It
serves the
same function for the collective personality
for the
society, as well A culture in which alcohol and
tranquilizers
are the prevalent form of release prefers not
to witness
internal confusion and actually choose to act
without
conscious participation, maintaining a semi-
numb condition.
(p. 56)
SPIRITUAL BENEFITS<
/b>
That which
enlivens is
understood as the SPIRIT. In these times of
secular
values, when the life force is not recognized
as being
an expression of the holy, when in fact, the
notion
of a plane of existence beyond the material is
not acknowledged,
the search for meaning nevertheless perseveres
.
Today, in these
darkest
of times, hundreds of millions who pursue the
journey
inward to the universal core values, find that
marijuana
facilitates the search. As a religious
sacrament, intuitively
recognized by all for whom the sacred beckons,
marijuana
has been employed for thousands of years,
crossing all
geographical and ethnic barriers. Marijuana not
only
balances the body, and enhances our mental
processes,
it can also help (some of) us to perceive the
abiding
reality by raising our consciousness.
p>
The following
are excerpts from The Benefits of
Marijuana:
Meditation Is the ultimate tool for self-
knowledge In
the East, marijuana has been used to facilitate
the
process for millennia. (p.47)
The uncovering of inner confusion, so prominent
with
marijuana, is conspicuously absent with
depressants.
As the overall benefits of insightfulness
obtained from
its use lead to a greater freedom, marijuana is
shunned
by individuals who need a status quo in the
personality
or social position.
Sigmund Freud developed and expounded the
understanding
that we mechanically base our actions on
programs devised
throughout life, and many esoteric schools,
ancient
and modern, have taught the same. Being aware
of these
programs is very difficult since ordinary
consciousness
has within it the conspiracy to keep the mind
comfortable
and free of conflict This operates collectively
as well
as individually. Whenever confronted, this
usual state
of mind automatically assumes a defensive
posture by
relying on distorted rationalizations, which
are evident
in a repressive and intolerant social order. By
contrast,
the open and aware consciousness often leads to
spiritual
realizations, irrelevant in mainstream
thinking. In
todays world, this understanding is
uncommon.
Higher morals and ethics, as propounded by
organized
religions, are agreed upon by the masses,
especially
during church attendance, but are otherwise too
difficult
to maintain when personal survival is at stake.
Universal
spiritual values, so often released with
marijuana,
can break down the conditioned defensive
mentality.
It appears as if society, as well as the
programmed,
individual mind, needs to hold in check the
notion that
we love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no
way that
we can love our neighbor as ourselves, nor any
way that
our economy can subscribe to a policy of
cooperation,
when the very life of business enterprise is
dependent
upon profit first and foremost.
Cooperation
within free enterprise is a difficult reality
so long
as me first remains the primary
motivation.
A neurotic society, with its deeply imbedded
habit of
maladaptive coping methods, is resistant to
change.
Marijuana can be of tremendous benefit in
exposing the
distorted perspectives responsible for social,
class,
and racial conflict It can open the doors
of perception,
and thereby after the very core of the
personality,
by allowing a view of the transcendent values
of human
life. (p. 57)
In the area of private values, marijuana may
offer benefits
beyond the personal ego, which reach the
dimension referred
to by mystics and saints as the ever-present
now.
The experience addresses states of
consciousness not
common to the common man and resembles
Maslows
peak experience. (p. 65)
p>
To ascend the ladder of consciousness, human
beings
need as much help as they can get. Levels of
consciousness
above concerns of personal survival and power
are neither
necessary for human life, nor visible from
ordinary
states. Because these higher degrees of
awareness threaten
the power structure, all paths to them are
often outlawed.
If we are not taught by some older, wiser
person that
deep and timeless perceptions really exist (or
unless
we ourselves fortuitously catch a glimpse of
these subjective
realities), we remain ignorant of their
existence and
are easily molded into the lower social goals
of materialism,
competition, and power. This less enlightened
state
is expressed by a constant gnawing
dissatisfaction.
It is the dimension of perennial desire. With
each fulfillment
of a goal /need / want, another void erupts. In
Buddhism,
it is the realm of nightmarish, insatiable
hunger, which
cannot be resolved unless or until the being
attains
to a less self-centered level. Deep within each
of us,
an essential need for a higher meaning of life
waits
to be awakened. Because of its ability to
unlock this
yearning and allow us a glimpse of the deeper
reality,
marijuana is feared by the establishment and
loved by
the user. (p. 66)
It is mainly because spiritual values are
abandoned
during eras of materialism that marijuana is
banned
today. And, ironically, it is because these
values are
so absent in the modern culture that the
marijuana experience
is so ardently sought. (P. 67)
Perhaps investigation into the higher human
values could
not surface in the industrial West until all
imaginable
physical, psychological, and social dysfunction
reached
dangerous proportions. (p. 67)
The Christian mystic de Chardin, explaining
this same
process, says, physical energy must be
mastered
and grounded for spiritual energy to move,
because physical
energy transforms the spirit. (Ferguson)
Within
the deep recesses of human understanding, the
intuitive
faculty steers its course. For many who are in
touch
with this sixth sense, the realm of the spirit
is supreme.
Anything that demonstrates a possibility for
psycho/spiritual
uplifting is known to be sacred. Marijuana is
so recognized
and revered. Bhang brings union with the
Divine
Spirit. (Indian Hemp Commission) (p. 69)
Through balance, with time and interest,
marijuana
can enliven the Center of Knowing.
In the
Theory of Vibration, this is the sixth level of
development
known as the Knowledge Center. What
we refer
to as the sixth sense, or intuition, derives
from this
esoteric symbol, which very often is depicted
as a third
eye, located at the midbrow. (p. 71)
As we have seen, many an argument against
marijuana
refers to the non-competitive nature it
engenders. During
the Vietnam War, one of the major problems of
our soldiers
was their inability to accept the brutality of
their
own actions. Our young men encountered
marijuana at
every turn in Asia (the Vietnam War was the
beginning
of marijuana use in this country, since it was
the first
time a status and educational cross section of
America
was exposed to it), and their reaction was
often not
in keeping with the insensitivity necessary for
war.
Their conscience bothered them. Gaining higher
values,
such as compassion, cooperation, and
consideration,
is a function of balance and a threat to a
militaristic
society. If we all became aware of our
conscience, who
would be left to maintain the indifference of
the social
order. The more we uncover the spiritual
element in
our natures, the more sensitive we become.
Scrooge had
no conscience until he experienced the spirit
He was
surely happier and healthier after his vision,
but not
wealthier, for his conscience dictated that he
share.
His new-felt sensitivity did not result from
rules,
fear, or his superego. It overflowed joyfully
as an
expression of his higher state of being.
Marijuanas contribution to the developing
spirit
is cumulative. As bodily tensions are reduced
mental
fears dissolve, clearing the way to greater
insight
But, until the direct effect (physical balance)
of marijuana
on the body and the attendant side effect (
high) of
marijuana on the mind become familiar, the
alterations
themselves remain the focus of interest The
147;getting
high is the end in itself, rather than
the understanding
and insight that accrues a s the changed set
becomes
more a common. People who try marijuana and
reject it
do so usually because they feel uncomfortable
and confused
in altered, fuller consciousness. Instead of
life being
safely framed by the rigidity of the societal
dogma,
the wold becomes unfamiliarly bigger, brighter,
fuller,
yet less manageable, more unpredictable and
full of
mystery. A mind that has been bound and
accustomed to
a low charge or a selling without light very
often finds
the expansiveness of reality too highly
energized. The
light can be blinding and disorienting. Over
time, and
with regular intake, when these higher states
of seeing
are no longer the focal point of attention, a
restructuring
of values may emerge. (p. 72)