iHemp Magazine iHemp - Issue 6 - Jun 2019 | Page 10

FLORA GODDESS OF CANNABIS? Did you miss the iHemp Summit Wellington 2018? We've got ALL the video footage you missed... So head on over to our vimeo channel and sink your teeth into 30 titles. Videos cover New Zealand: Research, Regulations, Our History, the Future, Growing, Retailing, Marketing, Food, Fibre, Health, Building Products, Clothing, Cannabis Entrepreneurs from Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand and more. Don't miss out! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ihempsummit2018 W hen we look at ancient Roman culture from a psychobiological perspective we get closer to discovering evidence of cannabis use. The Roman "pantheon of the gods" is essentially Greek gods with Roman names. That being said, there is one very strong candidate for the title of Roman goddess of cannabis. Flora, goddess of flowers, is considered a minor deity by most historians. But to the stoned observer of antiquity, she is much more. The twin sister of Fauna is likely linked to cannabis too. The annual springtime festival of Flora, which happened from April 27th to May 3rd, was basically a six day flower power party. People got dressed up in brightly colored garments, decorating themselves, and even animals too - with flowers, and by all accounts got completely wasted. A carnival atmosphere with varied entertainment from theatrical performances to orgies and plenty of feasting made this a real favorite across all strata of Roman society, especially amongst prostitutes. To imagine this kind of revelry without recreational cannabis use is to lack imagination entirely. Considering that Asterix and Obelix supposedly lived in ancient Roman times, maybe all this could explain where they got their magic powers from? 10 11