The Intersection of Medicine and Religion

Religion and psychoactive plants have been linked to medicine and healing for millennia. (See "Finding God in a Plant"). Our ancestors were, of course, largely ignorant of how pain or disease were produced in the human body. Thus, when a person felt pain—particularly in the absence of evidence of injury—spiritual healers developed fanciful myths to explain the cause of the pain or illness.

The causes of disease and mental illness were mysterious and often ascribed to evil magic or divine beings. Those who attempted healing often promised to intervene with the gods. Religion today still intersects with medicine, such as offering spiritual consolation to the sick and dying. We no longer expect that a priest will be able to cure depression or psychosis by inhaling the smoke of incense.

In ancient times, most treatments were derived from natural sources. Hot water or oil decoctions were prepared from the bark of the willow tree or myrrh shrub or by inhaling the smoke of burning hemp seeds. These treatments reduced inflammation and pain and occasionally produced feelings of joy. With trial and error, it was soon discovered that these natural sources were more effective if they were dissolved in fats or oils and then rubbed on the skin.

For example, the original “flying ointment” used by medieval witches was probably an herbal recipe that contained extracts from the Datura and Mandragora plants, as well as poplar leaves and fireplace soot, all of which were held together with clove oil. In a ritual performed in the nude, the witches would rub the ointment on their foreheads, wrists, hands, or feet.

According to Abramelin the Mage (1362–1460), a Jew from Wurzburg, Germany, who wrote a series of books on magic and the occult, the women would also “anoint a staff and ride on it... or anoint themselves under the arms and in other hairy places.” The sensation produced by these plant extracts would include both visual hallucinations and a floating, lightheaded feeling; it’s not hard to appreciate why these women might have reported an experience like flying through the sky while straddling their broomsticks.

The ability of these oil-based concoctions to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, "fly through the sky," and induce euphoria gave them a special place in society. These topical oils, or anointing oils, were used for medicinal, symbolic, sacramental, religious, and magical purposes. Administration of medications via anointing oils avoided problems of low bioavailability, gastric instability, side effects with high doses that are associated with oral administration.

The act of anointing for religious purposes is incredibly ancient. Five thousand years ago, anointing oils were used in the Akkadian religion who worshipped Bel, the god of order and destiny. The Sun god Istanu (ca 1600 BCE) anointed the Hittite king to exalt him. The Hebrew Bible discusses the anointment as a rite of passage among the Hittites. In the Old Testament, the priest Zadok is described as anointing Solomon.

Extracts of the cannabis plant were often included in these ancient anointing oils. The earliest reference to the use of cannabis comes from stonework from the twenty-seventh century BCE in the Egyptian Old Kingdom. In 430 BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus wrote that the Scythians burned the seeds and inhaled the smoke during funerals to abate sadness. The plant is mentioned several times as “kaneh-bosem,” in the Old Testament, for example per Yahweh’s instruction to Moses in Exodus 30:23. Cannabis also served as a bartering material and was used as incense. Why was cannabis added to anointing oils?

The therapeutic potential of anointing oils containing cannabis is most likely attributable to cannabidiol (CBD), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabinol (CBN). When dissolved into fatty oils these molecules can penetrate into the vasculature of the dermis. A pair of recent studies have reported that significant plasma concentrations of these cannabinoids were observed after the transdermal gel application. CBN is a mildly psychoactive cannabinoid; psychoactively relevant quantities are formed as a metabolite of THC in the presence of heat and light. THC and CBN can bind to cannabinoid receptors expressed in several skin cell types. CBD may also have antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes, a bacterium responsible for causing acne.

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Thus, anointing oils containing cannabis extracts would have had psychoactive and healing actions for common medical conditions, including dermatitis, sunburn, muscle spasms, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and headaches.