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Marijuana Medicine

A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis

Published by Healing Arts Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

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About The Book

A comprehensive survey of the therapeutic, historical, and cultural uses of cannabis in traditions around the world.

• The most complete visual record of cannabis culture ever published.

• Christian Ratsch is one of the world's foremost ethnopharmacologists and is the current president of the German Society for Ethnomedicine.

Marijuana Medicine explores the role of hemp in medicinal systems spanning the globe. Cannabis has accompanied the development of human culture from its very beginnings and can be found in the healing traditions of cultures throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Even today it is an important part of many Asian healing traditions: in Ayurveda cannabis is praised for its tonic and aphrodisiac qualities and in traditional Chinese medicine it is cited as a superb antidepressant. It also remains a significant part of the healing and visionary traditions of Latin American curanderos and Brazilian, Nepalese, and Indian folk medicine. Modern research has confirmed the effectiveness of marijuana's application in treating such diseases as asthma and glaucoma. Christian Ratsch profiles the medicinal, historical, and cultural uses of cannabis in each of these societies and medical systems, providing remedies and recipes for those interested in how cannabis can be used to treat specific conditions.

About The Author

Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants for spiritual as well as medicinal purposes. He studied Mesoamerican languages and cultures and anthropology at the University of Hamburg and spent, altogether, three years of fieldwork among the Lacandone Indians in Chiapas, Mexico, being the only European fluent in their language. He then received a fellowship from the German academic service for foreign research, the Deutsche Akademische Auslandsdienst (DAAD), to realize his doctoral thesis on healing spells and incantations of the Lacandone-Maya at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

In addition to his work in Mexico, his numerous fieldworks have included research in Thailand, Bali, the Seychelles, as well as a long-term study (18 years) on shamanism in Nepal combined with expeditions to Korea and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. He also was a scientific anthropological advisor for expeditions organized by German magazines such as GEO and Spektrum der Wissenschaften (Spectrum of Sciences).

Before becoming a full-time author and internationally renowned lecturer, Rätsch worked as professor of anthropology at the University of Bremen and served as consultant advisor for many German museums. Because of his extensive collection of shells, fossils, artifacts, and entheopharmacological items, he had numerous museum expositions on these topics.

He is the author of numerous articles and more than 40 books, including Plants of Love, Gateway to Inner Space, Marijuana Medicine, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants, and The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. He is also coauthor of Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas, Witchcraft Medicine, Pagan Christmas, and The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs and was editor of the Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness. A former member of the board of advisors of the European College for the Study of Consciousness (ECSC) and former president of the Association of Ethnomedicine, he lived in Hamburg, Germany.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Healing Arts Press (March 1, 2001)
  • Length: 224 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780892819331

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Raves and Reviews

"The historical, medicinal, cultural, and visionary uses of marijuana (Cannabis sativa) in Africa, Asia, India, Europe, and the Americas is discussed in this visual tribute to a versatile plant. The dialog is clear and engaging, yet maintains a scientific approach. Complete with very good photography, this has to be the most complete pictorial and informative presentation of Cannabis."

– American Herb Association

"Ratsch has produced a masterful overview, filled with an enormous scholarship."

– The Book Reader, Spring/Summer 2001

"Marijuana Medicine is the most complete visual record of cannabis culture ever published"

– Branches of Light, Spring/Summer 2001

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