CANNABIS HISTORY ►
The Bizarre , Macabre , & Unprecedented
Stories of Cannabis in Modern Funerary Practices
by Karla Deel , contributing writer
Across cultures worldwide , funeral and burial rituals span everything from the more familiar practices in the United States of embalming and cremation to Tibetan sky burials , where Buddhists , out of compassion , offer the bodies of the dead ( known to them as empty vessels ) as a feast for birds . The Apayao people in the Philippines conduct kitchen burials , laying their dead to rest beneath the family kitchen . Ancient archeological findings prove cannabis rituals also existed in the context of funerals and memorials . Burned cannabis seeds were found in copper containers inside small structures indicating that Ancient Greeks may have hotboxed as a means of detoxing after a funeral . High-testing THC residue has been found in ancient incense burners used traditionally during funeral ceremonies in Central Asia .
But what about modern-day funerary practices such as smoking the ashes of the deceased , hosting a worldwide hash-out , or burying the dead with cannabis ? Yep , those exist , too , and three of the world ’ s most famous cannabis connoisseurs were honored with these marijuana send-offs .
“ We twisted up some of that Great Granddaddy California Kush and mixed the Big Homie with it , so you know , he ’ s flowing through our system .”
- The Outlawz
Beloved American rapper Tupac Shakur ( 2Pac ) died as a victim of a drive-by shooting after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match at MGM Grand in Las Vegas . Shakur and Marion “ Suge ” Knight ( head of Death Row Records ) got in a skirmish with some Southside Crips in the lobby after the fight . Later in the evening , the two pulled up to a red light in front of the Maxim Hotel and were met with a Glock 22 from the backseat of a car . Shakur was hit multiple times and rushed to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada where he died six days later .
At his funeral , his friends in the Outlawz rolled the rapper ’ s ashes up with one of his favorite strains of cannabis — Granddaddy California Kush — and smoked them all together as a final farewell in a beach memorial . The friends also tossed a few of his favorite things into the ocean : orange soda , chicken wings , and cannabis . The Shakur family was not pleased with the reported behavior and claimed they didn ’ t know it happened .
The Outlawz confirmed the odd funeral ritual in an interview with VLAD-TV : “ It ’ s definitely true … If you listen to “ Black Jesus ” [ a 2Pac song ], he said , ‘ Last wishes … smoke my ashes .’ That was a request that he had . Now , how serious he was about it ? [ laughs ] We took it serious .”
~ Lesane Parish Crooks ( Tupac Amaru Shakur ), June 16 , 1971 – September 13 , 1996
Frenchy Cannoli ( born Didier Camilleri ) gained fame with titles such as Master Hashishin , Hunter of The Melt , Hashish God , and Cannabis Evangelist . Cannoli spent 18 formative years of his life roaming around Mexico , Morocco , and throughout Africa , landing in India where he lived in caves in the Pavarti Valley learning the art of gathering live resin from plants with his bare hands . His endearing nickname refers to the way he rolled up his resin like a pastry . He spent most of his later years mentoring growers in California ’ s famed Emerald Triangle of Humboldt , Mendocino , and Trinity counties . Cannoli was born in Nice , France , and had dreams of traveling the world , starting with the Silk Road and the
Frenchy Cannoli : photo courtesy Kimberly Hooks , photo by Taliesin Gilkes-Bower @ realms . manifest
Red Sea . After his initial experience with hash at age 17 , he found his life ’ s calling .
“ The beloved hash evangelist passed away at 64 — and pipes were raised around the world .”
~ Dan Karkoska
As a farewell to Frenchy , who died at the age of 64 from complications during surgeries , his beloved wife , Madame Cannoli , aka Kimberly Hooks , helped organize a non-religious but spiritual memorial , including a group smoke around the world led by his friend La Kalada in Barcelona , which was attended by over 16,000 people worldwide . How many grams of hash were consumed on that day ? Only the great Frenchy Cannoli might know that .
“[ Frenchy ] could well believe that cannabis was born in a drop of the elixir of life , shaken down when the gods and the demons were struggling to create it .” ~ The Economist . Didier Camilleri ( Frenchy Cannoli ) December 13 ,
18 December 2021