Skunk cannabis, along with traditional marijuana, is typically used for recreational use. However, it is becoming popular amongst the medical community as a form of pain medication and management in such debilitating illnesses as HIV or seizures.
Skunk weed, similar to every other strain of cannabis, has both physiological and psychological side effects. These side effects include: rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased rate of breathing, red eyes, dry mouth, increased appetite, slowed reaction time, distorted sense of time, paranoia, magical thinking, short-term memory loss, anxiety and depression.
While skunk weed and marijuana in general can produce negative side effects, it can be beneficial to aid individuals with severe medical conditions. With that said the debate on whether or not it is beneficial will always be based on you intention and how you use it.
What I wanted to point out is the mythology, origins, and inherent dangers of what this plant does on a deeper level. Since most people have various strong or weak faculties it is not always easy to determine the truth. Therefore, a higher perspective is really NEVER shared with someone from a more material point of view. So those that disagree on these topics will almost always lack any calm sense of detachment and serious reflection.
Since it is now becoming more and more legalized and popular you can take this information to benefit the few loved ones that are willing to listen. The different spiritual and shamanic views can be discovered in the following categories:
From the Marijuana Syndromes website:
When a young child smells marijuana for the first time, they often share a simple but profound insight: Marijuana smoke smells like a skunk. Many Mexican shamans agree. Marijuana shares two main qualities with the skunk at levels of what the shamans call Skunk Medicine.
Positive:
Any interesting book came out in 2012. John Mini, a licensed Acupuncturist, wrote the book called: “Marijuana Syndromes: How to Balance and Optimize the Effects of Cannabis with Traditional Chinese Medicine“. The captivating and well-researched book is 824 pages long. He dedicated over twenty years of research into the effects of marijuana and how to balance them using Traditional Chinese Medicine. He says that:
Marijuana can help you let go of appearances and materialism. But if you let it take you too far and you don’t do something to balance it in your life, marijuana can also turn you into a slob that can’t get anything done. This effect is one level of the shamanic testing arena. It’s where many of the lessons of plant medicines reside.
“These tests are built in mechanisms, or proving grounds, that only allow those that make it through in a good way to progress further on the path. The ones who don’t make it are left to the demons and psychotherapists.” — Dr. John Mini
Root origins:
Have you ever wondered where in the world the name marijuana comes from? It’s not a botanical title. The word comes from Mexican shamans. We first started hearing the term marijuana here in El Norte at the end of the 1800s, when Gringo soldiers first had continuing contact with freedom fighters from Mexico, who were mostly Pancho Villa’s supporters in Sonora.
So what does marijuana mean, anyway? Mari means Mary. It means Virgin in the Christian sense and all that goes along with that icon. But a Juana is a whore. (If you’re deeply aching to verify the truth of this statement, click here.) This leads us into a dichotomy that is the essence of what marijuana’s medicine is all about.
Ashir Pandey, Cannabis Advocate and Activist, from California says, “My favorite reference in the book, which encapsulates the major theme of Mini’s research, is the Mexican Shamans who refer to Marijuana as part “Virgin Mary” and part “Whore.” Meaning that Marijuana’s dual nature is encapsulated in its name.
“When used correctly it can act as beneficently as Mother Mary. When used incorrectly it quickly has the opposite effect and becomes a Juana …’Prostitute’ over time.” — Ashir Pandey
Negative:
In a recent publication on February 9th, 2015 it is said that psychosis is five times more likely for people who are cannabis users.
London (AFP) – A British study released Monday suggested that the risk of psychosis was five times higher for regular users of cannabis, adding to a growing body of evidence linking drug use and mental health disorders.
The six-year study published in the medical journal The Lancet reported on 780 people living in south London, 410 of whom were being treated for conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Marta Di Forti from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London says:
“Compared with those who had never tried cannabis, users of high potency skunk-like cannabis had a threefold increase in risk of psychosis.” — Marta Di Forti
By continuously breaking the laws of nature, it is rather difficult to become whole again. Most will never know what is true happiness or a natural state of well-being because it is outside their range of awareness and direct experience.
The Reality:
From a deeper perspective, no illness need remain forever in one’s mind-stream. Yet, this is one of the hardest illnesses to heal simply because it affects the mind so greatly. Those that don’t believe in karma and how the subconscious mind imprints everything we experience will never understand.
One thing that I have noticed is that when all the proper conditions come together then mental illness will occur as a matter of consequence. When more than one of these conditions are met: such as meditation, fasting, occult study, conspiracy theories, and bad diet coincide with marijuana-use then results such as bi-polar or schizophrenia have a greater chance of happening. We all can agree that a trip to the psych-ward or hospital is no fun.
Once marijuana is used, most love to experience the high or euphoric feeling it gives. This is what is grasped onto the most. Yet, most forget that there was also a sense of paranoia that came with the trip. And this is the key-point. This deep feeling of paranoia becomes imprinted on the subconscious mind. Later, this feeling of paranoia can be triggered many years later. Sadly, as one’s life spins out of control and the mind races and fear overwhelms the person…a sense of what the Buddhist scriptures describe as “unbounded joy” and what psychologists refer to as “manic-behavior” is produced.
Dharma Talks 