More on Religious Sacrament

[Rev.DeGray2]

This came before the poll;;



Subject: Religious use of Marijuana from Chris
Aloha and blessings to All. We give thanks and praises to Haoma. Chris Bennett was kind enough to send us a e-mail regarding some of his research concerning the religious use of Marijuana. This is part of that e-mail. MAHALO (thanks) Chris for your quick reply and offering to our plee, it's a beauty. Highest Praises.
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Chris Bennett wrote;
Here is a video on cannabis and Zoroastrianism http://pot.tv/archive/shows/pottvshowse-1764.html:
A video on cannabis and soma/haoma (important in documenting zoroastrian use)
http://pot.tv/archive/shows/pottvshowse-2041.html
And an article on soma
What is the Soma/Haoma Solution?
Sanctify Soma our mind, our heart, our intellect; and may thy worshippers delight in thy friendship, like cattle in fresh pasture, in thine exhilaration (produced) by the sacrificial food; for thou art mighty….
Like the winds violently shaking the trees, the draughts of Soma have lifted me up, for I have often drunk of the Soma
The praise of the pious has come to me like a lowing cow to her beloved calf, for I have often drunk of the Soma
Both heaven and earth are not equal to one half of me, for I have often drunk of the Soma
I am the sun, the greatest of the great, raised to the firmament; for I have often drunk of the Soma
(Rig Veda) [excerpts]
The Soma Question
The identity of the ancient Soma is undoubtedly one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the field of religious history.  Common in both the religious lore of ancient India and in Persia where it was known as haoma, the plant was considered a God and when pressed and made into a drink the ancient worshipper who imbibed it gained the powerful attributes of this God.   The origins of Soma's use goes back into the shadowy time of pre-history and to the common Aryan ancestors of the Persian Zoroastrian religion, and the Vedic religion of India.  This common ancestry accounts for the many similarities in the Hindu and Zoroastrian cosmologies and language as can be seen in the surviving religious texts the Hindu Rig Veda, and the Persian, Avesta, and especially to their use of the sacred plant known in India as Soma, and in Persian Haoma.
Unfortunately, over the millennia that have passed since these ancient texts were composed, the identity of the original haoma\soma was forgoten. Although modern descendants of these ancient cults still perform the rituals of their ancestors, placebo non-entheogenic sacraments and in some cases the mildly stimulating plant ephedra came to be used in place of the long lost haoma/soma.  But from ancient descriptions the original must have been a very special plant indeed.
The qualities of soma are given in poetic detail and  the ancient author's love and admiration for the plant can still be felt thousands of years after the texts were composed. In a spirit similar to that of the Catholic Eucharists, Soma/Haoma, was prepared in a sacred rite and then bestowed upon the pious to give them spiritual inspiration, wisdom, courage, health and other benefits.
The descriptions and praises of the plant left to us by antiquity have led numerous scholars to speculate on what the botanical identity of the original plant was. The late mushroom bard Terrence McKenna puts forth the stropharia cubensis as a likely candidate for the mysterious entheogen and other suggestions, to name a few, include milkweed, Sarcostemma acidum,   ephedra, mandrake, rhubarb, ginseng, opium and even the old standby of an alcoholic beverage.    Most popularly and more relative to what shall be discussed here, Syrian Rue, the anamita muscaria mushroom and cannabis have been suggested. As the editors of the authoritative Encyclopedia Britannica have recorded on the subject;
"One of the pharmacological mysteries is the nature of Zoroastrian haoma and the early Hindu soma, both sacred drinks made from plants.  Their source may have been the Amanita Muscaria mushroom, the mind-affecting chemicals of which pass into the urine with their properties very little diminished; there are scriptural references to sacred urine drunk as the source of divine insights.  Allusions to twigs and branches of haoma, however, suggest other plants, perhaps hemp.  The mushroom, which does not grow in hot countries, may have been introduced to India, by Aryan invaders from the north; subsequently, other plants may have been substituted until their identity was confused and lost". (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Wasson's Mushroom Mania
Undoubtedly, the most popular candidate for this long lost entheogen has been the anamati-muscaria mushroom.  The Fly-agaric theory was originally proposed by the banker and mycologist R.Gordon Wasson, and has been widely accepted by a number of scholars, like anthropologist Weston La Barre, Mythologist and Linguist Prof. Carl Ruck, poet and philosopher Robert Graves and others..
"Wasson...[believed] that references to stream [in the Vedas] fits the practice of drinking a priest's urine after he had consumed soma, for its hallucinogenic effects would still be present.  In some rites soma was given to a bull--Soma is also a sacred bull in the texts--and the bull's urine is consumed, a rite similar to the practice today where both cow's urine and feces are still partaken of in certain ceremonies of purification."(Rice,
1978)
Wasson explained that Hindu references occur in the text of the Mahabharata, when the god Indra, disguised as an outcaste, gives the hero Uttanka, amrta (ambrosia), to drink in the form of urine, and Rig Veda passages translated, "Drink Soma, as much as you wish./Pissing it out day by day"; "Piss the flowing Soma" and "Purify yourself with this stream which thou [Soma] has made the sun to shine".
In the case of the story of Indra and the hero Uttanka, being given amrta (ambrosia), to drink in the form of urine, rather than relating the psychedelic effects of fly agaric enriched piss, this may indicate that Indra was so holy, even his piss was sacred.  As well urine-drinking has a number of aplications in Eastern medicine and is thought to be beneficial. (I persoanlly always feel like washing my mouth after sharing a with someone and finding out they are into urine therapy!). The second reference, to the drinking and pissing of soma may have been seen as a symbolic magical gesture aimed at bestowing the soma plant with the rains which  helped it to grow and which was believed to have been divinely sent, i.e. when they drank the Soma, Indra drank with them in Heaven, and when they passed it back out again, Indra did so as well, resulting in the rains from heaven.  A comparable magical relationship still  occurs in India's  Jagganath festival where a priest and priestess ritually imbibe a cannabis preparation before having sex to ensure the monsoon rains.
Also questioned by many scholars are the Vedic references that have been interpreted by the Wasson camp as identifying the color of the soma as "red".  Many translations have red unequivocally excluded and refer to other colors ranging anywhere from golden to yellow and even green.  My personnel translation of the Rig Veda lists the color of Soma as both purple and green, interestingly the colors of ripe hemp. As well the beautiful fragrance of soma is referred to a number of times, hardly something that would be applicable to a mushroom.
Further, Wasson and others have noted that descriptions of Soma list no leaves, branches or roots, and then reason that this identifies a mushroom.   But this reasoning is based soley on omission.  Detailed descriptions of the plant were likely a form of sacred knowledge and therefore not privy to the masses administered to by the priesthood, (or at least this was an argument put forth by Wasson himself in relation to the veiled references to soma which he interpets as identifying the fly agaric)..
Another point seldom mentioned by those in the mushroom camp is that the mountain top location for the ancient soma is identified as the Hindu-Kush Mountains, an area reknowned for the quality ganja it has produced for millennia and the color range of the indica plants indigenous to that area fit well within the range of those suggested for the ancient soma. References to its rich color and wonderful fragrance, the blissful state produced by soma and the quantity and extent to which it was used also limits the number of potential candidates, as some of the botanical suggestions produce effects which could be considered far from blissful, and in some cases, if ingested in the quantities in which soma was consumed, would have been toxic.
Interestingly, before his death in 1986, R.Gordon Wasson, the originator of the fly agaric-theory referred to the fallacy of David Flattery's identification of the Peganum harmala as soma on the basis that ingestion of the "plant does not lead to a blissful state". In response to this statement, R. Gordon Wasson had it pointed out to him by interviewer Robert Forte, that "the Amanita does not lead to a blissful state either."  Wasson, with a slightly dumbfounded explanation replied, "Well, I know.  That troubles me too.  I can not explain it, but there must be some explanation.   No white man enjoys a blissful experience that I know of from the Amanita.   Now there are occasions."[As quoted in (Forte, Ed. 1997)]. Wasson goes on to weakly describe an occasion when a Japanese associate received a state which as an outside observer he perceived as being "blissful".
Unfortunately, soma use was not recorded amongst the Japanese of the ancient world, so the comparison is somewhat weak.  Alternatively, such blissful states have long been attributed to another candidate for the sacred drink, cannabis hemp, which has been acknowledged for the feeling of "bliss" it instills in its users the world over and has been celebrated for such in some of humaities earliest written records. On this particular note I challenge anybody to produce as much as one half of the literature referring to the blissful state produced by of any of the other plant candidates for soma, as I could for hemp (especially in Persian and Indian literature)--an impossible task.  Indeed researcher Dr. Mechoulam discoverer of both THC and the Brain's cannabis receptor, dubbed the indigenous molecule that attaches to the receptor, (the human body's natural THC) anandamide, from "ananda", the Sanskrit word for bliss.
Despite a lifetime of effort Wasson failed to prove his case for the fly agaric being the soma, and his prejudices against cannabis, evident in his requests that it not be considered an "entheogen" when the term was being coined, may have been the downfall of his otherwise brilliant research into psycho-active plants and the origins of religion.
No Hope for Harmaline
Interestingly, researcher David Stophlet Flattery, referred to above, convincingly identified the Persian references to haoma (which he translates as sauma) and bhang (also mang, which is the older form of the word) as identifying the same entheogenic preparation.  Flattery and his co-author Martin Schwartz both saw the Persian term bhang\mang, (identified as cannabis by numerous other researchers and still in use in this context in both Persia and India to this day), as having a more general meaning such as narcotic or intoxicant. And indeed, it should be noted that in a number of Ugrian languages, the Iranian term for hemp, bhanga, has come to designate both the shamanistic mushroom and intoxication in general, but this is seen as a much later development.
Flattery goes on to suggest, not so convincingly, that both the sauma, and bhang, in the Zoroastrian references, can be identified with the harmaline producing plant  wild rue, Peganum harmala. In respect to this, even Flattery's own co-author Martin Schwartz disputed this hypothesis, agreeing that mang\bhang likely had a more generic meaning, "psychotropic substance", but alternatively, one "which could give specific senses 'henbane, datura'..."(Flattery  & Schwartz 1989). Both these suggestions, I would argue are far too toxic to have been the plant ingested in such quantities in the ancient texts.
The extremely knowledgeable Jonathan Ott, cited a number of problems with Flattery's hypothesis, such as Flattery's failed to provide first hand evidence of Peganum harmala's entheogenic capabilities, and little historic evidence.  Instead, he bases his speculations on comparisons between the effects of the Near Eastern Syrian Rue, and the ethnographic literature on the South American visionary vine, Banistteriopsis caapi, more popularly known as Ayahuasca.
Taking all this into account, it is not surprising to find that researchers such as Steve Hager, Alain Danielou. A.L. Basham, Al A Jafarey , Braja Lal Mukherjee, Richard Rudgeley, Joges Candra Roy, G.M. Patil, Hans-Georg Behr and others dispute the theory that anamita muscaria and the other plant candidates listed above as the soma, and instead suggest cannabis as the prime candidate.
A Cannabis Concoction?
Likely due to cultural prejudice and a lack of knowledge regarding the role of entheogens at the inception of religions, cannabis was originaly rejected outright by Western Historians researching the identity of the soma in the 19th century, such as Regel(1884).  It was not until 1921 and the publication of  Braja Lal Mukherjee's  article 'The Soma Plant' in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society that cannabis, or "bhang" was put forth as a serious candidate.
Mukherjee based his assertion on references in the Satapatha Brahmana that refer to a plant "usana" from which soma is made, the "u" in "usana" was a prefix carryover  from the Kiratas, with whom soma originated, and when the "u" is dropped you return to one of the original sanskrit names for cannabis "sana". As well, Murkherjee notes the use of the terms similiar to "soma" in   cannabis names in the languages of the Tibetans "somarasta" and the Tanguts "dschoma".  Of course Murkherjee, who was of Indian descent, noted the long Hindu history regarding the sanctity of bhang, it's use in the worship of Shiva and also in that of his counterpat Durga, where it appears in the Soma sacrifice.  Finaly, like other researchers he noted the obvious parallels between ancient descriptions of the preperation of the soma and the traditional preperation of bhang.
In 1939 Joges Candra Roy developed more on Mukherje's work noting that Soma is actually called bhang in the Rig Veda (Rg Veda IX: 61:13) and from ancient descriptions, soma added a air of hilarity to the sacred feast, and this was typical of bhang intoxication.).
Respected religious scholar Alain Danielou, (1907-1994) the first Westerner to be fully initiated into the cult of Shiva, at first rejected the hemp/soma theory, but came to accept it in 1960, and defended this hypothesis up untill his death.
"This ancient sacred drink was likely to resemble a drink what today is called bhang, made from the crushed leaves of Indian Hemp.  Every Shivaite has to consume bhang at least once a year.  The drink, which intensifies perceptivity, induces visions and above all leads to extreme mental concentration.  It is widely used by Yogis.  Details concerning its preparation are to be found as early as the Vedic period.  The description of the way soma was prepared and its immediate use without fermentation, can only apply to bhang and is identical to the method employed today." (Danielou 1992)
A view shared by other religious scholars as well "The drink prepared from the plant…was made with great ceremony in the course of the sacrifice, when the herb was pressed between stones, mixed with milk, strained, and drunk on the same day…The effects of soma… are rather like those attributed to such drugs as hashish. Soma may well have been hemp, which grows wild in parts of India, Central Asia and South Russia, and from which modern Indians produce a narcotic drink called 'bhang'".(Basham 1961)
A look at the ancient references themselves do indeed seem reminiscent of the pressing of hemp leaves and flowers in the preperation of the beverage bhang.
….O king Soma, O Soma which the priest carefully prepares. …High with power that is real,
its flowing blends together,
together blend the fragrances of the fragrant, purifying you by the formula, O wild god. Flow, O elixir, for Indra all around!
There where the priest, O purified Soma, Speaking the language of poets,
Is exalted by Soma, holding in his hand the stone, Creating ecstasy for himself through Soma. Flow, O elixir, for Indra all around!
Even the stones used for crushing the soma, were invoked as a deity, the clacking of their work likened to speaking.  Note the references to the rocks pressing the soma as being turned green in the process and also the reference to soma as "the purple tree" in what seems to be a clear description of the color of ripened cannabis indica.
Let these (stones) speak…. Ye solid, quick moving stones, you utter the noise of praise… full of the Soma juice.
They roar like a hundred, like a thousand men; they aloud with green-tinted faces; obtaining the sacrifice, the pious stones… partake of the sacrificial food…
They speak, they received into their mouth the sweet (Soma juice)…chewing the branch of the purple tree, the voracious bulls have bellowed.
Splitting, but unsplit, you, O stones… enjoying the Soma, flowing green (with Soma), they made heaven and earth resound with their clamor.
The stones proclaim it with their clamor at the issue of the Soma-juice,… like cultivators sowing the seed, they devouring the Soma, mix it, and do not hurt it.
….Proclaim the praise of (the stone), which has effused  (the Soma-juice); let the honored stones revolve.
Also in favor of the hemp\soma theory are ancient writings which indicate that like the modern wearing of hempen jewelry amongst the counter-culture, the stalks of the haoma were woven together and worn around the neck as an amulet for protection. An act of weaving that would be hard to accomplish with a mushroom, but not with the fibrous cannabis-plant.  Further Vedic references to soma's fibrous qualities are pointed to by one of the more vocal proponents of the hemp soma theory, the knowledgeable editor of High Times, Steve Hager. "The restless Soma--you try to grab him but he breaks away and overpowers everything.  He is a sage and seer inspired by poetry.   He covers the naked and heals all who are sick.  The blind man sees; the lame man steps forth." A description that certainly does have connotations of, medicinal, fibrous, and psychoactive properties.  Hager has furthered the cause of the hemp/soma camp by getting the respected Ayreuvedic Doctor, Depak Chopra, to acknowledge that from what we can see of Vedic descriptions, "It is possible soma was a cannabis like substance."
A little research into the Iranian counterpart of the Soma, the Haoma, also offers us some interesting insights.  Haoma consumption originated in Persia with the Zoroastrian priests who brought it with them in their ancient Exodus from the Hindu-Kush Mountains.  Zoroastrian mythology has it that there prophet was conceived after his body came down to earth through heavenly rain, which brought forth plants which were consumed by cows belonging to the people selected to become his parents.  The cows gave milk which was pressed with haoma and drank by the prophets parents, who later conceived him will making love for the first time.
after the time of Zoroaster the Holy plant was often referred to as bhanga, a term usually associated with cannabis.  Whether this is a change in substances used or just in name alone, as suggested by some researchers, is unknown.  The Zoroastrian holy book the Vendidad, (The Law Against Demons), calls bhanga, Zoroaster's good narcotic. This ancient reference indicates the plant as the favored entheogen of the Persian prophet and later Zoroastrian writings refer to Zoroaster's use of bhanga for shamanistic ecstasy and initiation. Zoroaster's wife Hvovi preys that the Supreme Being will "give her his good narcotic, bangha.... that she might think according to the law, speak according to the law and do according to the law".
It has long been acknowledged that the Zoroastrian religion influenced the writers of the Bible in many very important ways.  Beliefs and ideas such as Heaven and Hell, an afterlife, a coming savior, and even of the final apocalypse, have their origin in the Iranian faith. Further these concepts were developed by Zoroastrian initiates who received their power of revelation through consuming powerful draughts of bhang!
In the case of Persian references, a number of  orthodox Zoroastrian sources see haoma as "very possibly 'marijuana' or 'hashish' (Cannabis Sativa)",(The Zarathustran Assembly, www.zoroastrian.org).  Ali A. Jafarey, who has been writing on the Zoroastrian religion for over fourty years, states  that the "mushroom seems to be farfetched" and the commonly used modern ingredient for the haoma ceremony, Ephedra, is "void of all the qualities described in the Avesta and the Vedas, is definitely a late substitute.  The author, a teetotaler, has drunk large glassfuls of hûm juice in Yazd without feeling any side effects.  Ephedra supplies 'ephedrine' medically used to treat low blood pressure.  Ephedrine is decongestant.  It does not push a person 'high' but it does make one feel 'hyper'!"
Jafarey makes an interesting point in reference to the "Saka tribes" of Central Asia, a group more popularly know as the Scythians, and who were referred to in the writings of Herodotus (440 BC) in reference to their use of cannabis to achieve ecstasy. Indeed, numerous cannabis related artifacts, and even cannabis itself have been discovered by modern archeologists at numerous Scythian burial sites!
Pictures; Scythian cannabis drinking vessel, bag to hold cannabis)
As Jafarey explains of the soma....
"The description of the plant that it was greenish in color (zairi/hari), grew on mountains well north of the Indus Valley and was traded by outsiders, had a special ritual to prepare, was an instant intoxicant prepared from pounding and extracting its juice, and that the Saka tribes of eastern Central Asia are called "haumavarka" (haoma-gatherers) by Achaemenians; all point, in my opinion, to what is now known as Indian hemp (cannabis sativa)".
"...the ceremony resembles... the present practice of solemnly pounding... extracting and straining its juice, and mixing it with water, milk, poppy seeds, and almonds by sufîs, faqirs, pirs, sadhus, and other Muslim and Hindu mystics of certain orders and circles in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, particularly those connected with shrines and holy places.  It still has a halo around it!.... The drink, an instant psychoactive mixture, is greenish in color.  It is called "dûgh-e vahdat" (unity milk) by Iranian mystics and "thâdal" (cooling, refreshing) by Sindhi sufis.  One description says its addicts "never die," a far echo of "dûraosha" for haoma."(Jafarey 2,000)
The Roots of the Soma Cult
Recent archeological evidence has emerged from Russian excavations in the Kara Kum desert of Turkmenistan which gives the cannabis-soma theory an element of legitimacy that the other candidates cannot top. "[F]or the first time in the world archeological practice, monumental temples were found in which intoxicating beverage of the soma-haoma type were prepared for cult ceremonies…. The excavations documentally proved that poppy, cannabis and ephedra were used for making the soma-haoma drinks, and thickets of these plants were found in excess in the vicinity of the excavated temples of Margiana."(Sarianidi, 2003)
Soviet archeologists uncovered a large shrine, about the size of a football field dating from 2,000 BC and consisting of two parts, one of which was obviously for public, but the other, as researcher Richard Rudgeley describes "hidden from the gaze of the multitude, an inner sanctum of the priesthood. In one of these private rooms were found three ceramic bowls. Analysis of samples found in these vessels by Professor Mayer-Melikyan revealed the traces of both cannabis and Ephedra. Clearly both these psychoactive substances had been used in conjunction in the making of hallucinogenic drinks. In the adjoining room of the same inner sanctum were found ten ceramic pot-stands which appear to have been used in conjunction with strainers designed to separate the juices from the twigs, stems and leaves of the plants. In another room at the other end of the shrine a basin containing remains of a considerable quantity of cannabis was discovered, as well as a number of pottery stands and strainers that have also been associated with making psychoactive beverages."(Rudgley, 1998)
Remnants from vessels recovered at the site and involved in the preparation of the sacred drink have impressions from cannabis seeds left in the gypsum that settled over the millennia and the remants of ephedra, poppy and mostly cannabis in the white sediment stuck to the sides of ancient pots and pitchers.  Russian archeologist Victor Sariandidi sayas this proves these plants "were used for making the soma – haoma drinks..."(Sariandidi 2003)
Seeds of Dissent
Contradicting Sarianidi's analysis of the seed imprints found in a number of the pots used to make the sacred beverage, Prof. Bakels has suggested that the seed imprints in question are too small to have been cannabis seeds (Bakels 2003). Contrarily as noted by Robert Connell Clarke (1981), cannabis seeds occur in sizes ranging from 2mm to 6mm in length and 2 to 4 mm in maximum diameter.  Here in figure 1 we see just how wide the variation of seeds are (figure 1) "Mature Cannabis seeds vary widely in size, shape, color and seed – coat pattern.  Colors range from light gray to black, and from buff to dark brown." (Clarke H. 1998)
That ancient world seeds were generally of the smaller size is clearly indicated by seeds collected from the Scythian burial site in Pazyryk (figure 2). "Modern 'Novosadska' hemp, Pazyryk Iron Age and British medieval Cannabis seeds." (Clarke and Fleming, 1998). Finally, modern cannabis breeders, in search of early flowering strains, have bred varieties of indica with it's older uncultivated predecessor Ruderalis, developing, one would consider, a strain of cannabis possibly similar to that of those in question from Margiana, as cultivation of the plant then was much closer to it's origins than now. The seeds of this strain of cannabis, popularly known as "Might Mite" are of the smallest and darkest variety to be found, being of a solid color, almost black and about 2mm in length.
Thus it can clearly be seen that Sarianidi's original analysis of the seed imprints at Margiana, are well within the range of seed size and shell pattern, or rather lack thereof, for cannabis, and that this range fits well within those put forth by both archeological and botanical evidence. (Sidebar with Pictures) There are some very obvious parallels with not only Zoroastrian and Vedic Culture, but also with the Scythians. Obvious similarities between the ritual soma vessel of Kara Kum, and a later Scythian Cauldon used for vaporizing cannabis fumes can be seen by the goats which decorate the rims of both objects, as well a horn cup has been recovered from a Scythian site that still held remains of a cannabis drink. Intrestingly all these groups are related to the Indo-Europeans, and Oxford archeologist Andrew Sherrat points to the use of cannabis incenses at a gravesite of a group known as the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the Kurgans, who occupied what is know Romania 5,000 years ago. The discovery of a smoking-cup which contained remnants of charred hemp seeds at the site documents that 3,000 years before Christ humanity had already been using cannabis for religious purposes for millennia. From remnants of the charred hemp seeds we can see that the combustible (and psychoactive) parts of the plant – namely flowers and leaves – had been consumed and the hard shell like residue of the seeds left behind.  Sherrat also points to even older ceramic tripod bowls, believed to have been ancient incense burners of cannabis due to the use of hemp cords to place impressions upon them, as further indications of humanities primordial relationship with cannabis. Preparation
Reconstructions of instruments used in the preparation of the ancient drink, offer some insights into the ingenuity of these ancient stoners.  The plant was soaked in water in large tubs and then beaten and pressed into milk, a process directed at releasing the THC rich trichchomes from the plant matter, then this preparation was placed into large pots which had a hole in the bottom covered with a wool filter, and the final preparation was recovered in a vessel placed below.  A technique similar in some respects to the modern method of making water hash, and the filter bags used in that process.
The addition of the mildly stimulating plant ephedra in this preparation, likely accounts for the reputaition of soma to keep one awake, and was probably done in the same spirit as medieval Sufis, who would eat hashish and drink lots of strong coffee then stay up all night playing religious music. (Interestingly, ephedra is itself on the verge of being being banned, as have cannabis, opium poppies and numerous other plants used in a similiar religious spirit.)
Based upon the massive size of the archeological site, the Russian team believes that the temple served as a major depot for the entheogenic drink and that devotees travelled from a wide area to imbibe of it there.  If, as the evidence indicates, this site was one of the earliest remnants of the soma cult, then here with this cannabis cult we can find the very ancient roots of many modern exisiting religions.
A slightly later but related site "revealed remains of Ephedra again, but this time in conjunction with the pollen of poppies."  As Rudgeley explains "the discovery in the shrines of the remains of opium, cannabis and Ephedra in ritual vessels that are dated between 2000-1000 BC show that soma in its Iranian form haoma may be considered as a composite psychoactive substance comprising of cannabis and Ephedra in one instance and opium and Ephedra in another." (Rudgley, 1998) [picture of opium drinking tubes]
This archeological evidence goes a long way to answering the riddle of the ancient soma, it accounts for the current use of one of the main candidates, ephedra, as it was a part of the original ingredients. As well, the later use of opium poppies indicate other plants may have later been used as a substitute for cannabis, and this may in fact be the source of much of the confusion on this issue.  Possibly, when the Aryans left their homeland access to haoma became more difficult and when the original plant was not available other herbs were used as a substitute.  This is a suggestion of Mircea Eliade who wrote that, "Whatever plant was used by the Indo-Aryans in the early centuries, it is certain that it was later replaced by other botanical species"(Eliade 1978).
If Eliade's suggestion is correct, then eventually these continuing substitutions could have caused so much confusion among the ancient worshippers, that over a few generations the original identity of the plant was lost and forgotten and the name became one that referred to a variety of plant drugs, each becoming soma through ritual consecrations.  Indications of this later development may be found in the Atharvaveda, written centuries after the original Vedas, in reference to a variety of plants including cannabis, being governed by the god Soma; "We tell of the five kingdoms of herbs headed by Soma: may it and the Kusha grass, and bhanga and barley, and the herb Saha release us from anxiety".
In the Persian mythology the Haoma, is said to be a foretaste of the White Hom. The institution of the White Hom takes place at a cosmological time identical in many respects with the Christian Apocalypse, when the final savior Sasoyshant, sacrifices the last sacred Ox, and "from the body of the dying victim were born all herbs and health-giving plants.... from is blood the vine, which produces the sacred drink of the mysteries."  Interestingly, the Persian creation mythology has it that Ahura-Mazda, (God), eased the pain of the first created Ox with cannabis after it had been poisoned by Angru Mainyu (the devil), who cursed it with death and disease and other maladies(Hinnells 1973).  In later times, the figure of Sosyshant merged with the older Persian god Mithra, and a depiction from the Roman period, in which the cults popularity became widespread, clearly shows a cannabis leaf pouring forth from the bull's wound, perhaps indicating that the bull heals the earth and inhabitants, with the same plant that eased its own pain.
When this scenario is looked at symbolically in comparison with our modern plight some interesting analogies can be drawn. In the magical traditon (and let us not forget that the word magic has it's origins with the Magi), the sword represents the power of the intellect. As well, in modern terms, the sacred cow has come to represent ones religious and philosophical beliefs.   Perhaps symbolically by taking the itellectual study of the entheogens into the realm of study of the worlds religions, we are in a sense plunging the sword of Mithras into the "sacred cow", and as we do so, the sacred plants of our ancestors pour forth once again, as the soma of the Rig Veda, the haoma of the Gathas, the Kaneh bosem of the Torah and the plant of kindness of the early Christians?
Either way, ironically, in our own age, we find ourselves having to fight for the right to partake of a plant that can in fact offer us many of the qualities of the ancient and mysterious soma\haoma and even may indeed be that very plant.  Just as both the industrial and medicinal establishments have been forced to acknowledge the miraculous qualities of hemp, so too, through study of ancient religious texts concerning the herb, and the righteous acts of her many adherents, hopefully the religious establishment shall come to recognize it as the great gift and sacrament that it truly is.
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Good thoughts,Good words,Good deeds. We give thanks and praises to our teacher,provider and protecter Haoma. Many blessings to you All. your bud E.C.Daniel Jeffrey,CoC,Puna,HI.
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Much Love and Respect,

Sincerely Rev. DeGray 2

[Rev.DeGray2]

After postin that, it looked familiar the way it came out. I do apoligize if it was already posted. I do beleive it was.
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Much Love and Respect,

Sincerely Rev. DeGray 2

[Officer]

I've read it before but I believe it was on an archive site.
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The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed
in this state to all humankind - NYS Bill of Rights