From Emperor Shen Nung to Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign, Michael Regilio unpacks 5,000 years of cannabis history on this Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by skeptic, comedian, and podcaster Michael Regilio!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1142On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The modern war on cannabis has deeply racist roots, beginning with targeted efforts against Mexican immigrants in the early 20th century. Officials like Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, pushed explicitly racist propaganda against cannabis users, helping transform what was once widely accepted medicine into a demonized drug.Cannabis prohibition was also driven by powerful business interests. Companies like DuPont (developing petroleum-based products like nylon and cellophane) saw hemp as a competitive threat, while William Randolph Hearst wanted to protect his paper mill investments. These business moguls leveraged political connections to criminalize cannabis despite scientific evidence of its relative safety.The Nixon administration weaponized cannabis laws against political opponents. Nixon's domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman later admitted: "We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin ... we could disrupt those communities. ... Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."Cannabis interacts with our bodies through the endocannabinoid system, a biological network that helps regulate mood, energy, balance, and appetite. Our bodies naturally produce cannabinoids, but plant-derived versions like THC are approximately a thousand times more powerful. Importantly, cannabis use during pregnancy or adolescence can be harmful to developing brains, with studies linking early use to depression, anxiety, and even psychosis.The good news? If you're over 25, moderate cannabis use appears relatively safe (unless you're predisposed to mental health issues). Today, cannabis legalization is creating positive social impacts through tax revenue funding education, environmental cleanup, and drug prevention programs, while simultaneously reducing spending on enforcement and incarceration — turning a historically problematic policy into community benefits.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at [email protected] and let him know!Connect with Michael Regilio at Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and make sure to check out the Michael Regilio Plagues Well With Others podcast here or wherever you enjoy listening to fine podcasts!Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: Who are the hosts and what is Skeptical Sunday about?
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host, comedian Michael Rogelio. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life. and those around you.
And our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker, especially here on Skeptical Sunday. During the week, we have long form conversations with a variety of amazing folks from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers, and performers. On Sundays, though, today, whichever day you're listening, it's Skeptical Sunday.
This is where a rotating guest co-host and I break down a topic you may have never thought about and debunk common misconceptions about that topic. Such as acupuncture, astrology, recycling, toothpaste, crystal healing, diet pills, energy drinks, weddings, the death industry, and more.
And if you're new to the show or you want to tell your friends about the show, we've got some starter packs, which are collections of our favorite episodes on persuasion, negotiation, psychology, disinformation, cyber warfare, crime, and cults, and more. That'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show.
Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Now, you're probably going, cannabis. I swear I saw this in the feed earlier. This is our second attempt. We were still finding our feet with Skeptical Sunday. That was when we did round one of cannabis.
At the time, we'd only done a handful of these things, and I wanted to redo this one since it was downloaded so many times. I got a lot of feedback about it, positive, negative. Great episode, too corny, all this stuff. We got put on blast from listener emails, and that's how we learn and get better. So round two is... With cannabis, here we go.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I was told that cannabis was the devil's weed. One should avoid it at all costs. Kids were dared to just say no. We were scared with over-the-top ads. Today, some say cannabis is a cure-all from everything from anxiety to chronic pain. So what is the truth?
Are the alarmists right in their belief that cannabis is the downfall of humanity or are the herbalists of today onto something when they push the medical flower? Comedian Michael Regilio is here to give us the straight dope on weed and let us know if it's a medical miracle or the hype is just smoke and mirrors.
Yes.
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Chapter 2: What are the historical uses and cultural significance of cannabis?
No, exactly. Interestingly enough, the Chinese made cannabis into a kind of wine. It's versatile. During the Middle Ages, Muslims in the Middle East used cannabis, which is very interesting because the Koran strictly prohibited alcohol, but there was no mention of cannabis. So is it true?
Is it OK for Muslims to smoke pot or is it OK? Drugs are haram and alcohol is kind of the only thing we have around. So we're going to name that one. But I'm curious if it's OK or not. I've never heard that before.
Yeah, me neither. And I did some research, but let's just be clear. In the olden days, we're referring to it was actually hashish that they were smoking, which is basically a potent extract of cannabis. The first known mention of hash is in a pamphlet published in Cairo in 1123, accusing
nazari muslims of being hashish eaters so does that work you can eat it all right i don't know maybe but it maybe just was an ancient insult being like your mother eats hashish i'm not sure i see either way hash was big business with morocco and afghanistan being the biggest exporters of this potent concoction but as far as the modern muslims go it's still debated
Most people agree that using cannabis for recreation goes against Islamic law, but using it for medicinal reasons is a different matter. In 2014, the Grand Ayatollah Saeed Mohammed Saadeq Haissani Rouhani of Iran... Close.
I'm pretty sure it's Sayyad Mohammed Saadeq Hosseini Rouhani.
Really close. He issued a fatwa or a legal religious ruling in it. He stated spiritual plant medicines and psychedelics are halal for Shia Muslims with supervision.
So for people who don't know what halal is, it's basically Muslim kosher. And for people who don't know what kosher is, it just basically means the religious law says it's OK to eat or consume or use. So with supervisions, basically an imam has to watch you tripping. It's interesting that it's psychedelics, too. I wouldn't expect that.
Look, if you're going to trip, I guess you got to do it with your mom. Both the French and the British, by the way, had their colonists growing cannabis in the New World. So our country was founded in some parts on weed. Yeah. And other parts on slavery and misogyny.
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