In recent years, cannabis has been considered one of the most widespread medicinal herbs. Before, in ancient times, the plant, medicine, and drug’s reach was much wider as its use was much more common in different aspects of regular life. For thousands of years, cannabis has been part of Egypt’s cultural and religious practices, which many modern laws now prohibit.
First, yes, Ancient Egypt used cannabis as we do today, for medicinal purposes, but the Egyptians uncovered and used these medicinal properties far beyond what today’s medical science has been able to. The Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical textbooks found, mentions a number of formulas that help with pain relief caused by various diseases and injuries including depression, glaucoma, inflammation, hemorrhoids, cataracts, and even cancer. In addition to its medical properties, cannabis was used for Egyptian religion and culture. When the mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses II was uncovered, traces of cannabis were found in the remains. Similar traces of the plant have been found in a number of other mummies, which confirms that marijuana was a regular part of Egyptian culture during ancient times. One of their gods, Seshat, the goddess of wisdom, is even often depicted with a marijuana leaf above her head in ancient paintings. Many worshippers may have used cannabis in religious rituals for this reason.
