Heilung has made an impact on the entire world with its powerful, ritualistic brand of Germanic folk music. The band is known for its inclusive, global approach, bringing indigenous people on stage at every performance to help celebrate the ritual of humanity and music.
But, until now, the band members have had to stay silent on one crucial part of their ritual world—cannabis. Now, as cannabis acceptance is finally coming to Europe, they decided to speak out and share with High Times how cannabis has influenced their journey.
We spoke with vocalist and world-famous tattoo artist Kai Uwe Faust about how cannabis plays a role in his songwriting and ritual practice.
Photo by Addison Herron-Wheeler
What made you feel that now is the time to finally speak out about cannabis?
I used to sell High Times magazines because I worked in a head shop in Germany, so when this invitation came through, I had to say yes. [But I hesitated before because] a lot of countries in Europe keep it on the illegal side, and that limits certain information that people can share and still be safe.
How does cannabis play into the realms of spirituality and music for you?
First of all, it gives me peace of mind to actually truly become creative, because I wasn’t always so focused. If I were born today, they would have raised me on Ritalin and just parked me in a corner somewhere.
Coming from a Christian household, I was very wild, very aggressive. But with regular consumption, it really did seem to shift something in my mind, and it makes me peaceful and quiet enough to sit down and start drawing, start writing, and contribute to my surroundings in a much more positive way.
How does it come into play …
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Author: Addison Herron-Wheeler / High Times
