Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa), of the Cannabaceae family. Tall annual herb, palmate leaves, male and female flowers on separate plants; native range: Central and East Asia; among the earliest domesticated plants. Globally recognized as vijaya / bhanga in Sanskrit, bhang (leaf) / ganja (flower) / charas (resin) in Hindi, huo ma ren (火麻仁, seed) / ma (麻) in Chinese, qinnab / hashish in Arabic, and hemp in English. The part used is TCM uses the ripe SEED (huo ma ren); Ayurveda, Unani and Western herbalism use the LEAF and flowering top (and its resin). Seed: small, smooth, grey-green, oily and blandly nutty — no intoxicant charge. Leaf and flower: resinous, sharply aromatic, sticky with trichomes.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CANNABIS / HEMP
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- cannabis
- Scientific name
- Cannabis sativa L.
- Family
- Cannabaceae
Form
- Part used
- TCM uses the ripe SEED (huo ma ren); Ayurveda, Unani and Western herbalism use the LEAF and flowering top (and its resin)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet (the seed)
- Ayurveda
- dominant: pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta) · then: astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- acrid, aromatic (the flowering top)
- Unani
- bitter · acrid (the leaf and resin)
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral (the seed)
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna — the leaf)
- Western
- warming, narcotic (the flowering top)
- Unani
- cold & dry (3rd degree — the resin, in the older reckoning)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Large Intestine (the seed)
- Western
- nervous system · lungs (when smoked, the flowering top)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- moistens the Intestines, unblocks the bowel, nourishes yin and blood (the seed — bland and safe)
- Ayurveda
- grahi (bowel-binding), dipana-pachana (kindles digestion), nidrajanana (sleep-giving), madakari (intoxicant), vajikara (aphrodisiac) — the leaf
- Western
- sedative, hypnotic, analgesic, antispasmodic (the flowering top)
- Unani
- mukhaddir (narcotic), munawwim (hypnotic), mujaffif (desiccant)
Cautions
Contraindications: the seed is gentle and broadly safe; the leaf/flower are intoxicant and cautioned in the young, the pregnant, and those of unstable mind — and constrained by law in most regions
Toxicity: seed essentially non-toxic; leaf/resin psychoactive, habit-forming and, in Ayurveda, classed upavisha (semi-poisonous) requiring shodhana
Sourcing status: legally-restricted
Interactions
- Western
- sedatives / CNS depressants: additive central nervous depression · CYP450-metabolised drugs: cannabinoids modulate CYP enzymes
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