Reclaiming the Sacred Herb: Why Indigenous Peoples Must Not Be Locked Out of Cannabis Use.
For thousands of years, long before borders and governments as we know them existed, the indigenous peoples of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and beyond lived in harmony with the land. They understood the natural world not as a commodity, but as a living, breathing ecosystem with spiritual and medicinal wisdom. Among the plants revered in many traditional cultures was Cannabis sativa—known by many names, used in many ceremonies, and applied as medicine across generations.
But like so much else, colonization disrupted this sacred relationship.
A Legacy of Healing and Holiness
Among many African communities, cannabis—known in some regions as bhang, muti wa bangi, or by other indigenous names—was used to treat a variety of ailments: from pain, insomnia, and digestive issues to mental and spiritual imbalances. It was not merely a medicine; it was a spiritual aid. In some traditions, it was used in rituals to commune with ancestors, cleanse the body of disease, or mark important rites of passage.
Communities in Southern Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean, and India held cannabis in high regard—burned in sacred fires, steeped in healing tonics, or smoked in prayer ceremonies. The Rasta community in particular preserved this plant as sacrament, even in the face of persecution.Then Came the Colonizers
European colonialists, upon encountering cannabis use among indigenous populations, deemed it “uncivilized” and “barbaric.” Without understanding its place in local healing and spiritual systems, they criminalized its use. Missionary churches preached against it from the pulpit, branding it a "devil’s weed" and pushing indigenous communities to abandon their traditions in favor of Western pharmaceutical medicine and religion.
What they called "primitive" was in fact highly sophisticated ethnobotanical knowledge.
They uprooted not only plants, but also entire belief systems.
The Criminalization of Culture
The laws imposed by colonial governments still haunt many former colonies today. In Kenya, South Africa, Jamaica, India, and elsewhere, laws banning cannabis use remain on the books—laws born from racist, colonial ideologies that equated indigenous medicine with savagery.
This criminalization disproportionately affects indigenous and marginalized communities. Farmers, healers, and spiritual leaders are arrested. Cultural ceremonies are disrupted. And entire generations are taught to fear a plant that their ancestors once used freely and wisely.
A Call for Restoration
It is time to reverse this injustice.
Indigenous peoples must not be locked out of access to a plant that is native to their land, culture, and healing systems. If cannabis is being legalized for corporate profit in Europe and North America, how can the very people who preserved its use through centuries of colonial repression still be criminalized?
Legal frameworks must recognize the rights of indigenous peoples to:
Use cannabis for traditional medicine
Cultivate it as part of their cultural and economic practices
Protect and preserve indigenous cannabis strains (landraces)
Practice their spiritual traditions without fear of prosecution
This is not just a matter of health or commerce—it is a matter of cultural survival, spiritual freedom, and historical justice.
Moving Forward
We urge policymakers, activists, human rights defenders, and global allies to support indigenous-led cannabis reform. Decriminalization alone is not enough—restorative justice must include land access, seed sovereignty, and the right to use and steward indigenous plants without interference.
Cannabis is not a trend. It is an heirloom. It is heritage.
And indigenous peoples must be at the center—not the margins—of the healing it brings.
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