Culturally marijuana has often been misunderstood as a “drug” or intoxicant and many of us have used it in that way, getting stoned for fun. So if you are spiritual and health-oriented, the idea of cannabis fitting into your lifestyle might seem odd.

And yet Cannabis is also a sacred plant medicine capable of elevating human consciousness and assisting in positive transformation, an entheogen that deserves the same respect as ayahuasca.

In my own experience, smoking cannabis with respect and intention has brought me profound visions, helped me meet plant spirits, helped me forgive myself and others, and shown me deep aspects of my psyche that needed healing. You can have these kinds of experiences too.

It’s really all about the approach. Plants of all kinds can be beneficial to humans and we are drawn to them to help us get free from suffering and transcend the muck of daily life. As herbalists know, even poisonous plants are medicine in the right doses. For spiritual purposes, it is best to use cannabis infrequently and in smaller rather than larger doses.

The key to working with cannabis for spiritual purposes is intention, respect and gratitude. Setting an intention when you smoke for healing, for upliftment, or to receive the spirit medicine of the plant will all change your experience. You can light a candle, burn incense, or journal.
The plant has its own consciousness and will, if invited, download insights and guidance into your awareness.
Cannabis amplifies the thoughts and emotions swirling under the surface of awareness, and in this way it helps build self-awareness.
By heightening our sensitivity to our chakras and energy body, it can help us come into greater connection with spiritual selves. It opens the crown chakra (connection to Source), bringing inspiration and creativity, and activates the third eye (clear perception & intuitive abilities).
It can relax us, send our awareness inwards and be helpful for self-healing meditation. Check out these 5 easy techniques on my blog.
For meditation-compatible strain suggestions, check out this article on Leafly.

What about anxiety?

Anxiety can be a result of too much activity in the crown and third eye chakras which can be ungrounding. To ground yourself, bring your present-moment awareness into your physical body, and do soothing self-care such as taking an epsom salt bath or doing yoga. You can also do visualizations in which you imagine your energy moving downwards through the bottoms of your feet into the Earth, as if you are a plant growing roots.

Anxiety can also arise as an ego reaction to the expansiveness of the soul, a side effect of spiritual connection. The remedy for this is just to allow and make peace with the experience.

Or, it can be a result of using the wrong strain for your temperament. Ask your local budtender or read Leafly.com strain suggestions. I personally prefer high-CBD, lower THC strains such as Harlequin.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to know more about cannabis as a spirit plant, two really excellent books sharing in-depth perspectives on cannabis for spiritual growth are:
“Cannabis & Spirituality,” edited by Stephen Gray
and
“The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological & Spiritual” by Joan Bello