Branches of Bliss: High Notes of Cannabis in History and Cannabis Perfumes

Cannabis-themed perfumes pay homage to the plant's rich historical and ritualistic significance and offer a contemporary olfactory experience that resonates with the modern seeker of unique and evocative fragrances. In perfumery, cannabis notes are considered non-traditional or avant-garde perfume ingredients. Any partaker of "the Devil's Lettuce" knows that the scent can linger on clothing and hair. A well-blended cannabis perfume will also have ingredients that complement any lingering scent of weed to minimize the less pleasant skunky or stale aspects.

Cannabis: A Historical Hemp-Woven Tapestry

The darkly resinous, fragrant perfume of marijuana has accompanied humans for millennia. Within the profile of cannabis perfumes are deep memories - sacred rituals of antiquity intertwined across cultures around the world. The ritualistic use of cannabis transcends time, often associated with mystical experiences and spiritual awakening. Originating in Central Asia, its usage spans millennia, noted for both medicinal and ritualistic purposes. Recent archaeological findings have shed light on its early use:

• Central Asia & Ancient China: The Jushi culture, dating back approximately 2,700 years, was among the first to cultivate cannabis, using it in religious, medicinal, or shamanic practices. The earliest evidence of cannabis smoking was discovered in the 2,500-year-old Jirzankal Cemetery in the Pamir Mountains of western China. Chemical residue analysis indicates that mourners burned cannabis for its intoxicating fumes during mortuary ceremonies, highlighting its ritualistic significance. Taoist texts from around the 4th century mention using cannabis in censers, indicating its role in religious ceremonies.

• Mesopotamia: In Assyrian and Babylonian clay tablets dated between 1,000 and 500 BCE, Azullu is the cuneiform word for cannabis. It was used medicinally and was a key ingredient in a religious incense, known as kunubu, which they traded with Egypt and Judaea. were most likely importing cannabis from Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan and Turkmenistan), where Zoroastrian priests used the plant to make Haoma, a religious drink.

• Vedic India: Cannabis has long and deep roots in India’s history and is buried in tales and religion. Cannabis was first mentioned in the Vedas, the sacred Hindu literature, compiled between 2000 and 1400 BC. Cannabis was one of five sacred plants, according to the Vedas, and its leaves housed a guardian angel. In the Vedas, cannabis is shown as a source of happiness, a joy-giver, and a liberator. It was given to people as a gift to help them find happiness and get over their fears and anxieties. Cannabis is revered as a divine gift, enabling its users to achieve a state of fearlessness and enlightenment. Hindu's version of Haoma - Soma - was associated with the warrior God Indra, and taken before battle to enhance focus and skill.

• Scythians: In 440 B.C.E., the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the nomadic Scythians, who controlled vast areas from Siberia to Eastern Europe. Herodotus detailed how the Scythians made tents and heated rocks to inhale hemp vapors, which made them "shout for joy." This ancient practice highlights cannabis's role in rituals and communal gatherings, a tradition that transcended cultures.

• Greek and Roman Periods: The ancient Greeks and Romans were aware of the Bactria region and the cannabis plant. Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine and intoxication, was born in this region. Cannabis was also used as part of the religious experience by a Thracian oracle in the Greek city of Epirus. Pliny (23-79 CE), a Roman naturalist, mentions cannabis in several passages, including medical applications. He wrote about the infusion of “laughing-weed” with wine to induce intoxication
  

• Medieval Arab World: Historical records reveal that mystic Islamic travelers originating from Syria during the 12th century AD (Ayyubid dynasty) introduced hashish to the Egyptian population, marking the beginning of widespread cannabis use in Egypt. In 1525, David Ben Solomon IBN Abi Zimra noted that people "eat cannabis leaves in Egypt and are inebriated thereby, and they say that it makes one happy." In a two-part work on wine and weed written in the 1460s, the historian al-Badrī collects comments and poem snippets dealing with cannabis. In Yemen, it was “the Green.” In Diyar Bakr, it was “the Dusty.” In Antioch, it was “Cat-head.” In Syria, it was “the Toasted” in Hama and “the Cheerer” in Homs. Women singers called it “branches of bliss.” Poets called it the “bush of rapture” and “bush of understanding.”

• 17th Century Europe: Europe was relatively late in adopting cannabis. Chemical analyses of plant residues from 17th century pipes in Stratford-upon-Avon, including those excavated from William Shakespeare's garden, revealed traces of cannabis along with evidence of nicotine and Peruvian cocaine. The findings suggest that Shakespeare may have preferred cannabis as a mind-stimulating stimulant. Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours traveled through the Middle East between 1836 and 1840 and learned to make a medicinal preparation called dawamesk made of cannabis leaves and flowers, boiled in a liquid mixed with butter, and subsequently flavored with rose, jasmine, or honey. He also shared dawamesk within a circle of Parisian poets and novelists. By the 19th century, cannabis was part of the European pharmacopeia of royal and society elites such as Queen Victoria and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austrias.

• Early 20th Century: Although already common in the bohemian art circles of Europe, it was in the 1920s that marijuana really began to catch on as a cultural phenomenon in the United States. Some historians say this emergence was brought about by Prohibition which outlawed alcohol while allowing use of marijuana. In the early days, its recreational use was largely limited to jazz musicians and people in show business but larger pop culture soon took hold, begetting Reefer Songs; interesting nicknames like Jazz Cabbage, Left Handed Cigarette, and the Devil's Lettuce; and weed clubs called tea pads in every major city.

 

Alkemia's Perfumes of Cannabis and Resinous Depths

The non-traditional notes in Alkemia's cannabis-themed perfumes create sensory journeys that are both captivating and enigmatic, transcending traditional olfactory boundaries and conventional perfumery. We invite you to explore these cannabis-inspired perfume scents:

1. Club des Hashischins Perfume - Limited Rerelease

• Primary Notes: Hashish coffee, cinnamon, clove, cardamon, nutmeg, bronze honey, blackberry pipe tobacco, leather, labdanum

• Experience: A warm smoky cloud of spiced hashish coffee mingles with sweet honey and blackberry pipe tobacco while leather and labdanum resonate with rich undertones. The result is a warm, complexly morphing fragrance that evokes mystery and intrigue.

2. High Priest Perfume

• Primary Notes: Green resins, dark incense, black oud, guaiac wood, gurjan balsam, black amber

• Experience: Sticky dank-green resins, black oud, and gurjan balsam create a heady base while black amber brings a feral animalistic warmth, together making this fragrance an olfactory journey of dark and primal intensity. 

3. Hippie Spirit Perfume

• Notes: Nag champa incense, copper distilled patchouli, cannabis flowers

• Experience: Smouldering nag champa incense and patchouli evokes a 1960s Haight Asbury head shop where thick incense smoke wraps around you like the soft, thick threads of a woven blanket at a free spirit festival.

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Art:

• Magu, Goddess of Longevity by Unknown Qing Dynasty Artist, 18th century
  
• Assyrian sacred tree temple carving 865-860 BCE
• The Sunyasees by W. Taylor, 1842
• Gold plaque from Kul Oba Kurgan, Crimea, 400 BCE
• Fumador de Kif by Emilio Sala Frances, 1876
• The Women of Amphissa by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1887
• The Smokers by Adriaen Brouwer, 1636
• Photo: Woman with her cat, her bird and her marijuana plant. Paris, 1910
• The Effects of Hashish by Pasquale_Liotta, 1875

References:

• Booth, Martin. Cannabis: A History. 1st Picador ed. Picador, 2005
• Bremer-McCollum, Adam. Cannabis in Arabic Verse and Prose - Vol. IV Texts and Translations of Transcendence and Transformation (4T) forthcoming publication Fall 2025 by Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University Press 
• Crocq MA. History of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system
. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020 Sep;22(3):223-228
• Ferrara, Mark S.. Sacred Bliss: A Spiritual History of Cannabis. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc, 2016
• Harmatta, János (1996). "10.4.1. The Scythians". In Hermann, Joachim; Zürcher, Erik; Harmatta, János; Litvak, J. K.; Lonis, R. [in French]; Obenga, T.; Thapar, R.; Zhou, Yiliang (eds.). From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Seventh Century A.D. History of Humanity. Vol. 3. London, United Kingdom; New York City, United States; Paris, France: Routledge; UNESCO. pp. 181–182. ISBN 978-9-231-02812-0.
• Ren M, Tang Z, Wu X, Spengler R, Jiang H, Yang Y, Boivin N. The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs. Sci Adv. 2019 Jun 12;5(6)
• Thackeray, J. F. (2015). Shakespeare, plants, and chemical analysis of early 17th century clay ‘tobacco’ pipes from Europe. South African Journal of Science, 111(7/8), 2