Cannabis Quotes

“The Majoon, or Hemp confection, is a compound of sugar, butter, flour, milk and sidhee or bang. The process has been repeatedly performed before me by Ameer, the proprietor of a celebrated place of resort for Hemp devotees in Calcutta, and who is considered the best artist in his profession. Four ounces of sidhee, and an equal quantity of ghee are placed in an earthen or well-tinned vessel, a pint of water added, and the whole warmed over a charcoal fire. The mixture is constantly stirred until the water all boils away, which is known by the crackling noise of the melted butter on the sides of the vessel. The mixture is then removed from the fire, squeezed through cloth while hot—by which an oleaginous solution of the active principles and colouring matter of the Hemp is obtained—and the leaves, fibres, &c. remaining on the cloth are thrown away. The green oily solution”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“Assyrian qunnabu, meaning ‘noise’: it was thought the Assyrians used cannabis as an incense in religious ceremonies and were quite vocal after inhaling it.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“When The Marriage Guide; or, Natural History of Generation: A Private Instructor for Married Persons and Those about to Marry, both Male and Female was published in 1851, written by a quack doctor called Frederick C. Hollick of Philadelphia, it advised readers to write in for the author’s patent aphrodisiac. It contained hashish and, with the book which was republished in nearly two hundred subsequent editions, made Hollick’s fortune. This was not the only time cannabis was recommended to those in wedlock. Some women’s temperance societies advocated it in place of alcohol: their reasoning was that drunks hit their wives, but cannabis users did not. At the American Centennial Exposition of 1876, in Hollick’s home town of Philadelphia, there was a Turkish hashish stand at which passers-by could try it out: pharmacists throughout the town stocked up in anticipation of an increase in demand.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“The members ate hashish as dawamesk. Green in colour, it was a spread or jam which Moreau obtained from North Africa, made of hashish, almond paste, pistachio nuts, sugar, orange or tamarind peel, cloves and other spices: on occasion, cantharidin (powdered and desiccated blister beetles, Lytta vesicatoria, more commonly known as Spanish fly) was added as a sexual stimulant. It was usually taken with a meal, straight from a spoon or smeared on biscuits or bread. Once consumed and the main courses of the meal over, the members lay back on cushions and waited for the drug to take effect.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“pantagruelion. It is quite plainly hemp and Rabelais was obviously very familiar with it. This is hardly surprising when one considers his father had farmed hemp at Cinais, three miles south-west of Chinon, on the River Vienne.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“This they gleaned from Muslims opposed to the Nizari Ismaili, who used various derogatory terms for them, such as Hashishiyya or Hashshashin.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“The greatest of the Nizari Ismaili leaders in Syria was Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan, who ruled over their affairs from his castle at Masyaf from the early 1160s until his death in 1192. Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan referred to himself as shaykh al-jabal—the Mountain Chief—and it was from this that the moniker the Old Man of the Mountains arose, cemented in time into the popular consciousness by”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“The first step was to organize his disciples into ranks. With himself as grand master, he structured those beneath him in six grades, the last being the fida’i. Meaning ‘the devoted ones’, the fida’i were the foot soldiers who, without consideration to their own personal safety or life, would unswervingly carry out their orders. If necessary, they would bide their time for months until the moment was ripe, studying their victims’ lives in intricate detail. To die in the pursuit of their duty was considered a privilege and would ensure entry into Paradise. This dedication to the task and fanatical lack of fear for death made the fida’i feared throughout Islam.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“AROUND 1271 OR 1272, MARCO POLO, THE RENOWNED VENETIAN merchant adventurer, was on his way through Persia en route for Cathay when he came upon a story told by travellers in that region. Twenty-five years later he recounted it in his book II Milione, better known today as The Travels of Marco Polo. The story concerned a remote area ruled by one they called the Old Man of the Mountains, whose followers were notorious for their ruthlessness. According to Marco Polo, they had been in existence since the middle of the eleventh century and there was not an Arab leader who did not go in mortal dread of them. The disciples of this leader were kept loyal to their master by the promise that, were they to die whilst in his service, they would assuredly go to Paradise. To strengthen their resolve, the Old Man of the Mountains gave initiates to his following a preview of what it would be like in Paradise by maintaining a fabulous garden within his mountain stronghold. In this pleasure ground, exquisitely beautiful houris wandered ready to fulfil any desire, the fountains ran with milk and honey and the flowers were beyond compare. However, it was said, to enter this fabled place the would-be acolyte was first given a powerful drug and, only when unconscious, allowed in: before leaving, he was again drugged. After their induction, the initiates were given a solid Islamic education but were also taught the arts of murder, killing anyone whom their master commanded be put to death. Before going into battle, they apparently partook of the same drug to increase their courage. The drug was hashish. The veracity of Marco Polo’s writings has long been suspect, yet the story has stuck, enhanced and exaggerated as the centuries have passed. The legend of the Old Man of the Mountains has become nothing short of unassailable fact and his followers, notorious as much for their merciless cruelty as their gargantuan appetites for hashish, have become a byword for brutality. Even the name by which they came to be known derived from the drug it was alleged they took: they were called the Hashshashin. They are now known as the Assassins.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“To cool the smoke, which is hotter and coarser than that of tobacco, a filter consisting of a damp cloth was sometimes held over the mouthpiece. In India, the pipe was known as a chillim (sometimes spelt chillum or chillam) which derived from the Hindi chilam, meaning a chalice.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History

“The study of cannabinoids goes back over a century. CBN, at first thought to be the principal psycho-active agent, was identified in the 1890s, then, in the 1930s, CBD was isolated. However, it was not until 1964, with the post-war advances in organic chemistry, that two Israeli chemists, Gaoni and Mechoulam, isolated and identified THC. Since then, studies have discovered a long list of other cannabinoids, many of which have yet to be fully investigated.”
― Martin Booth, Cannabis: A History