Words: Lorenz Hartwig

Shennong, the “divine farmer” — researched the effects of plants on the human body. He used his own as an experimental subject and when he tasted the yellow flower of an unknown greenery one day, his intestines bursted before he could take the antidote.

So says the legend surrounding the inventor, born in the 28th century B.C., of such insignificant things as the plow, agriculture and traditional Chinese medicine. For the latter, he left the world a book called The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica, in which he distinguished 120 superior class medicinals that “nourish life and correspond with heaven.”

These medicinals are all non-toxic and do not cause undesirable side effects even when used continuously. On the contrary, they make the body lighter, prevent ageing and prolong life. And now guess which plant is one of the 120 miracle remedies? Exactly: cannabis sativae. However, in China, this herb of the herbs is called ma fen and is classified as balanced and acrid. It accelerates the blood and cold qi, eases the mind and the body.

Nonetheless, Shennong already knew that too much consumption can cause the little stoner to see ghosts and wander around confused. The sage also did not hide another side effect from his contemporaries: cannabis seeds help gaining weight and give strength. This is welcomed not only by recreational users, but also by athletes who use these grains as a superfood with a big amount of proteins, minerals and vitamines. What Shennong would have thought of the criminalisation of a plant is unfortunately not handed down.

What we know for sure is that Shennong would have grown a little older if he had tasted a cannabis flower instead of the mysterious yellow one. His knowledge of the healing power of plants is definitely immortal – not only for the disciples of cannabis.