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​Jesus Used Cannabis Oil Back In The Day, Author Reckons

​Jesus Used Cannabis Oil Back In The Day, Author Reckons

Holy anointing oils used in early Christian days contained kaneh-bosem, an ingredient that Bienenstock argues was a cannabis extract

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Given that Jesus and his pals were thought to have walked the Earth 2,000 years ago, it's quite hard to know exactly what they would have got up to in their time.

Turning water into wine? Sure. Kicking the money lenders out of the temple? Absolutely. Feeding 5,000 people? Easy. Using cannabis oil to perform healing miracles? Well, maybe - if you believe one author, David Bienenstock, who reckons cannabis was widely available across the Middle East and that people used to use it to treat the sick.

Apparently holy anointing oils used in early Christian days contained kaneh-bosem, an ingredient that Bienenstock argues was a cannabis extract.

Speaking to the Daily Star, he said: "Historical records show that cannabis was widely available at the time - they would've known how to grow it and exploit its medicinal properties.

"There is nothing different in the efficacious cannabis oil used today that wouldn't have been available to people in Jesus' time - it's simply a matter of concentrating the cannabis into the oil and absorbing it through the skin."

He's not the only one that thinks keneh-bosum - which the Daily Star reports was extracted into about six quarts of olive oil along with a variety of other fragrant herbs - had something to do with cannabis.

Writing in US drugs magazine High Times, Cannabis researcher Chris Bennett claimed: "The ancient anointed ones were literally drenched in this potent mixture.

"The medical use of cannabis during that time is supported by archaeological records."

via GIPHY

Bienenstock also thinks that Jesus himself could have used cannabis oil.

"Jesus himself was anointed, and if that anointing involved using cannabis oil, then he certainly did use it," he claimed.

"When you examine the account of Jesus' anointing it is described in terms of psychoactivity - it is described in terms of when Jesus has this profound experience that transforms him.

"This is a big indication of the centrality of anointing was to Jesus and his flock - that he would take the name 'Christ the anointed'."

However, there are many other people who strongly disagree with claims that Jesus and co used marijuana.

Lytton John Musselman, who is a Professor of Botany at Old Dominion University, believes that the evidence claiming marijuana made up part of Jesus' holy anointing oil is 'so weak I would not pursue it'.

Instead, he reckons that keneh-bosum probably refers to calamus than any psychoactive substances.

"Calamus is a very important component of Ayurvedic medicine and has been shown to have efficacy," he told Vice.

"For example, in Sri Lanka it is available in any herbal remedy shop and also universally grown in home gardens.

"The North American species was and is so important to Native Americans in the Northeast that land with natural populations is highly sought after."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Interesting, Cannabis, Community