CANNABIS, SACRED AND PROFANE. By ChristopherPartridge. London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2024. Pp. x + 355. Hardback, $100.00; Paperback, $34.95.

Partridge engages with philosophers, doctors, and scholars to discuss the binary nature of cannabis in religious and cultural contexts. Western societies have had complex relationships with cannabis, marked by contemporary stigmatization and criminalization, despite its historical medicinal use, sacred applications, and modern perception as a recreational drug. Chapter One introduces cannabis and its various uses. Partridge explains how early botanists and biologists, such as Carl Linnaeus and Jean Baptiste Lamarck, understood the plant. Partridge also describes how cannabis is cultivated and consumed, whether through food or smoking. The plant holds significant cultural importance and subcultural capital, with its use and production being integral to health, well-being, and the environment. Chapter Two argues that cannabis has often been portrayed as the demonized “Other,” perceived as a threat to the sacred, which illustrates its binary nature. This demonization is linked to Orientalism and Othering propaganda. Harry Anslinger spearheaded the anti-cannabis campaign, believing that the formation of the nation-state relied on controlling the masses through anti-drug rhetoric. The classification of cannabis as a narcotic in the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act of 1934 framed it as a social evil threatening American society. Although cannabis sparked concerns related to popular music, culture, race, sex, and religion, its medical acceptance challenged dominant Christian conservative beliefs and previous legal attitudes toward the plant. Advocates for medical cannabis continued to present evidence of its healing properties around the world. Cannabis appears in Egyptian hieroglyphics and mummies, early traditional Chinese medicine, and gynecological practices dating back to 700 BCE. Seventeenth-century English texts document the benefits of cannabis for balancing the humors. It has been used to treat various ailments, including gonorrhea, cancer, anxiety, epilepsy, and cholera. William O'Shaughnessy promoted its medical establishment in his 1839 publication, while in 1840, Louis Rémy Aubert-Roche discovered its effects on the nervous system, suggesting that cannabis provided relief during the plague epidemic in Egypt in 1834. Additionally, Jacques-Joseph Moreau praised cannabis as a significant boon for humanity after utilizing it in his research on health and mental illness. Despite these endorsements, the demonization of cannabis by the Christianized West persisted. While popular culture and youth embraced the drug, racial biases in the 1950s and 1960s led to high imprisonment rates among underrepresented communities caught with the plant. Despite scientific research showing that cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and other drugs and its proven therapeutic effects on children and those with chronic pain, exaggerated and misinformed narratives continued to enforce its prohibition. The final chapter explores cannabis as a tool for transcendence. Walter Benjamin posits that cannabis can catalyze profane illumination. Inspired by Arabian Nights, Fitz Hugh Ludlow connects the plant to magnetism and mesmerism techniques. Rastafarians believe that cannabis is biblically associated with the Tree of Life. Partridge delves deeper into its sacred nature through cannabis churches, theosophy, Victorian occultism, and ancient ritual practices. Partridge concludes by highlighting how many Christians have begun to embrace cannabis as a legitimate spiritual aid. Overall, the book offers a cultural history of cannabis in the modern world, uncovering the underlying reasons for the varied and evolving attitudes toward this popular plant. Partridge's discussions reflect broader societal shifts regarding cannabis and its place in modern life, including evolving legal, cultural, and health perspectives.