There is evidence to suggest that the establishment of the first centre of Taoist practice at Mount Shao was due in part to the use of cannabis by the sage Yang Hsi. Using cannabis, Yang Hsi experienced a number of visions of various gods of the Taoist pantheon, who related to him many of the sacred texts.

In the 5th Century, the Taoist magician T’ao Hung-Ching wrote that the use of cannabis in combination with ginseng will produce visions of the future.
There is also much written evidence that cannabis was used as incense for both spiritual and alchemaic purposes.