David Walter Banks – Cannabis Culture

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www.davidwalterbanks.com and his blog.


Marijuana plants grow wild in front of an abandoned farmhouse in Red Cloud, Nebraska. The strain, commonly referred to as ‘ditch weed’, has low potency and is largely ignored by locals.


Stephen Marley, reggae musician and son of the famed Bob Marley, smokes a joint while working
in his studio at the Tuff Gong Compound in Miami, Florida. Bob Marley was seen as a strong figure in the Rastafari movement which rose out of the Jamaican slums. Rastas know marijuana as ganja, the holy herb, lley or callie, and believe it was given by God. Scriptural support is found especially in Psalm 104:14: “He causeth the grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man.” Other texts interpreted to refer to cannibis include Genesis 3:18, Exodus 10:12, and Proverbs 15:17. In addition to ritual use, Rastas also use marijuana for medicinal purposes, applying it to a variety of aliments including colds. Marijuana is used primarily during the two main Rastafari rituals: reasonings and nyabingi.
The reasoning is an informal gathering at which a small group of Rastas smoke ganja and engage in discussion. The ritual begins when one person lights the pipe, or “chalice,” and recites a short prayer while all other participants bow their heads. The pipe is then passed around the circle until ail of the people have smoked.


Andrew Cookston, owner of Cannabis Medical Technology LLC., stands behind his storefront counter at his medical marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado. Cookston believes strongly in the medicinal properties of cannabis as well as offering his patrons a full line of alternative treatment and care.


Damien Lagoy is a medical marijuana patient with AIDS. He is 4’8″, weights 105 lbs and is 49-years-old. His AIDS medication consists of eleven pills a day, and nausea often causes him to regurgitate those pills. When this happens, he loses weight and his disease worsens. Medical marijuana is the only thing Lagoy has found that keeps this in check. “The fact is that if I don’t have that I can’t take my pills, if I don’t take my pills, I die of AIDS,” said Lagoy.


Marijuana plants are trimmed and hung to dry in an underground grow operation in Georgia.


Jars full of medicinal marijuana line the glass display case ar the Cannabis Therapeutics dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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