Cannabis and Sikhism


In Sikhism, cannabis is generally prohibited, as are tobacco and alcohol. However, some Sikhs particularly of the Nihang community use edible cannabis in a religious context.

Prohibition

The first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak, stated that using any mind altering substance is a distraction from God. Guru Nanak was offered bhang by the Mughal emperor Babur; Nanak however declined, and recited this shabad:
According to the Sikh Rehat Maryada, "a Sikh must not take hemp, opium, liquor, tobacco, in short any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food and water".

Usage

The Sikhs inherited the tradition of drinking bhang from Hindu culture, and the Sikh holiday Dasehra, in honor of the Third Guru, is celebrated with bhang. Contemporaenous British sources during the Second Anglo-Sikh War believed that consumption of bhang contributed to the bravery of Sikh troops.

Nihang Sikhs

In the modern day, bhang consumption is commonly associated with the Nihang Sikhs, a sect who continue the Sikh warrior tradition, who consume bhang edibles or drinks as sukha or sukhnidhaan. Bhang is mostly used in India on the Sikh holidays of Holla Mohalla and Vaisakhi. At many Sikh temples, including Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib Ji, the sukhnidhaan is offered as a holy food.
In 2001, Baba Santa Singh, the jathedar of Budha Dal, along with 20 Nihang sect chiefs, refused to accept the ban on the consumption of bhang by the highest Sikh clergy. Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated for a different issue, and replaced with Baba Balbir Singh, who agreed to shun the consumption of bhang.