The Mahayana Buddhist tradition legend tells how Buddha survived for six years prior to his spiritual enlightenment by eating only 1 cannabis seed per day.

In medieval times cannabis became associated with Kali  (a dark, feminine aspect of Shiva) within the Buddhist Tantric religion of the Himalayas.

 Tantrism is based on the battle to prevent demons from taking over the world and its practitioners sometimes employed cannabis to deepen meditation and raise consciousness.