I am somewhat intrigued here. I'm assuming you've never read The Great Book of Hemp, so how do you know whether Rowan Robinson cites a source or not?
True, Rabbi Kaplan does not mention one way or another his view on cannabis in that particular instance, but does mention that there are scholars who believe it is so, and in a publication in 1982, shortly before his death, he goes on to mention Jewish Kabbalistic writings that refer to the burning of certain grasses, which he considered to be psychedelic drugs.
Considering the context of the usage of the word hemp, I'm fairly certain they aren't talking about rope ;]
Whether you have had a mindbending reaction to calamine or not is irrelevant. Calamus is a psychoactive drug.
Should you like further references?
The German researcher Immanuel Low, in his DIE FLORA DER JUDEN (1926\1967) identified a number of ancient Hebrew references to cannabis, here as an incense, food source, as well as cloth, noting the keneh, and keneh bosem references amongst others in this regard independent of Benet . Interestingly, Immanuel Löw, referred to an ancient Jewish Passover recipe that called for wine to be mixed with ground up saffron and hasisat surur, which he saw as a “a kind of deck name for the resin the Cannabis sativa” (Low, 1924).
“ Around 1980, etymologists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem confirmed that cannabis is mentioned in the Bible by name, Kineboisin (also spelled Kannabosm), in a list of measured ingredients for “an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of apothecary’ to be smeared on the head. The word was mistranslated in king James version as ‘calamus’ ”(Latimer 1988)
“so-called IE root kanna… is admitted to be “of Semitic origin”….the IE word kannabis (hemp – a late IE word borrowed from an unknown source)” (Mozeson, 1989)….KANBOOS is an early post biblical term for hemp… The word HEMP is traced to Greek kannabis and Persian kannab… The ultimate etymon is conceded by Webster’s to be “a very early borrowing from a non-IE, possibly Semitic language…. In seeking related words… consider Aramaic… KENABH… and [Hebrew] KANEH…” (Mozeson, 1989)
Furthermore, cannabis is an aromatic plant. It was extremely popular in ancient cultures such as Assyria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, as an incense for the gods, much like cinnamon or myrrh. It is not a difficult stretch at all to believe that the Israelites took this aromatic herb and offered it up as incense, considering they were all common ingredients and I don't think that the Israelites had the same aversion you have to it being a "drug." To them it was just another aromatic herb to burn before God. And IF they did get high on it, no doubt they attributed it to God and thus the suspicion of it being some kind of mind-altering drug is avoided.
After all, myrrh was a drug. It was often mixed with wine and given to people to help ease their pain. I see no one here crying against myrrh being used as an incense to God, or as one of the three gifts given to Jesus at His birth. :]
Cannabis was also found in Israel in an archeological dig, dating back to the 4th century. Probably used as a medicine, as cannabis has a very long and quite commendable history as a pain reliever.
"An archeological dig in Bet Shemesh near Jerusalem has confirmed that cannabis medicine was in use in the area up until the fourth century. Thus it would seem to stand to reason that it was used for these purposes throughout the intervening Christian period. In the case of the Bet Shemesh dig, the cannabis had been used as an aid in child bearing, both as a healing balm and an inhalant. Scientists commenting on the find noted that cannabis was used as a medicine as early as the 16th century BC, in Egypt. (Abel 1980 This find garnered some attention, as can be seen from the Associated Press article, "Hashish evidence is 1,600 years old", that appeared in Vancouver newspaper The Province, on June 2, 1992: "...Archaeologists uncovered organic remains of a substance containing hashish, grasses and fruit on the abdominal area of a teenage female's skeleton that dates back to the fourth century...,Anthropologist Joel Zias said that although researchers knew hashish had been used as a medicine, this is the first archeological evidence." (Associated Press 1992).
