연락처 : KM 이메일 : karlscofield@yahoo.com

In the undulating countryside of Croatia, where oral heritage still whisper through the wind, there are silent histories about cannabis that have been passed down for generations. Though not always discussed freely, these local legends reveal a deep connection between the soil, its communities, and the plant known locally as the green stalk.

Long before modern laws and global debates, Croatian herbalists used cannabis for its stalks, oils, and healing properties. In the mountainous interior, elders recall anecdotes of grandmothers weaving sturdy cords from the stalks to secure olive trees during gales, believing the plant carried a guardian force. Some said that if you nailed a cluster of sun-bleached fibers above the lintel, it would protect the home during the frozen evenings.

In the Lika highlands, there is a folk tale about a solitary sage who lived in seclusion in a cave, surviving on natural remedies and the seeds of the cannabis plant. Locals claimed he could move through blizzards unharmed and remained untouched by fever. When asked his source of strength, he would gently respond "Nature provides for those who listen, and the plant is the soil’s silent healer." Though he denied payment for his potions, villagers would leave small offerings of homemade bread and sea salt at the rocky threshold, hoping to obtain a drop of his healing salve for troubled spirits.

Along the Croatian seaside, fishermen told seafaring myths of a spectral bark that rose from the sea at zenith. Its canvas were said to be made of hemp fiber. Those who saw it said the vessel carried the souls of sailors who had lost to the abyss, and if you murmured your dreams to the sea breeze as it passed, your wishes would be granted. Some even claimed that the the aroma of smoked hemp on the beach could awaken the phantom, though none lived to confirm.

These tales are not just myths. They reflect a time when cannabis was not seen as something forbidden, but as a natural part of life—used for labor, healing, worldweed and divine connection. Today, as Croatia begins to shift its stance on konoplja, these old stories remind us that the plant has always been intricately stitched in the land and its people, not as a crime, but as a silent ally through time’s quiet passage.