Rastafari
Members of the Rastafari movement use cannabis as a part of their worshiping of their King, Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, and as an aid to meditation. The movement was founded in Jamaica in the 1930s and while it is not known when Rastafarians first made cannabis into something sacred it is clear that by the late 1940s Rastafari was associated with cannabis smoking at the Pinnacle community of Leonard Howell. Rastafari see cannabis as a sacramental and deeply beneficial plant that is the Tree of Life mentioned in the Bible. Bob Marley, amongst many others, have quoted Revelation: 22:2, "... the herb is the healing of the nations." The use of cannabis, and particularly of long-stemmed water-pipes called chalices, is an integral part of what Rastafari call "reasoning sessions" where members join together to discuss life according to the Rasta perspective. They see the use of cannabis as bringing them closer to God, whom they call (Jah), allowing the user to penetrate the truth of things much more clearly, as if the wool had been pulled from one's eyes. Thus Rastafari smoke cannabis together in order to discuss the truth with each other, reasoning it all out little by little through many sessions. While it is not necessary to use cannabis to be a Rastafari, some feel that they use it regularly as a part of their faith, and pipes of cannabis are always dedicated to His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I before being smoked. According to the "anti-cult" group Watchman Fellowship "The herb is the key to new understanding of the self, the universe, and God. It is the vehicle to cosmic consciousness" and is believed to burn the corruption out of the human heart. Rubbing the ashes from smoked cannabis is also considered a healthy practice.
Read more about this topic: Religious And Spiritual Use Of Cannabis