MUSIC legend Carlos Santana rounded-off this year’s second Prohibition Partners Live discussing his new cannabis venture, his relationship with the plant and its potential as a global spiritual salve.
Recalling his 1969 Woodstock breakthrough one of the common denominators of his soon-to-be-peers – The Doors, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead – was pot.
He said: “It’s a different kind of consciousness, the ones that had the kind of aspiration, stimulation, imagination, vision … well, you could tell who’d been smoking, and who hadn’t.
“The wings of your imagination, aspiration, they get wired; it’s widespread. It’s not little, it’s vast. I’m very grateful I grew up at a certain point of time in San Francisco when the consciousness revolution was at ground zero.
“Everything was looking beyond religion, politics, the Hollywood thing, it was about going inside looking, and seeing a whole different kind of vista.”
Man’s Heart Can Change The Law
The 10-time Grammy award winner recently launched his own cannabis brand Mirayo, joining a growing band of musicians and celebrities embracing the commercial cannabis space.
This comes at a time when – following the recent elections – one third of Americans now have access to recreational cannabis and two-thirds medical.
He said: “We are now at that point where we understand that man’s law cannot change a man’s heart, but a man’s heart can change the law.”
He said the name Mirayo is related to the process of photosynthesis; the light that gives life to the earth creating our natural, herbal medicines.
We are now at that point where we understand that man’s law cannot change a man’s heart, but a man’s heart can change the law
CARLOS SANTANA
Continuing, he said: “The sunbeam is the light; from being a child I always heard different versions of different things. What the living Christ said is that: ‘I am what I am, I am the light’.
“He was saying that he wanted to have a special relationship with his own spirit and in that way we can create miracles, blessings … we were in Woodstock and we played, and all of a sudden, everyone woke up and they joined in community and harmony with the frequency we were emanating.”
Take The Aerial View
Discussing the ethos of Mirayo he described real success as unrelated to financial wealth but of two things; peace of mind and joy. As such, some proceeds from Mirayo will help deliver water to Indian reservations and African communities.
“In the old days we used to train the warriors to be scouts now we will help them become lawyers or accountants,” he said.
The interview conducted by Matt Freemantle, Event & Programme Director, of Prohibition Partners, concluded with Santana saying cannabis helps him ‘to take the high road, to look at the big picture; to see the aerial view’.
Last week’s Prohibition Partners Live followed a similarly successful event in June. It took place over four days, with 100 different speakers across seven time zones.
The themed days featured Culture and Innovation on Friday, following earlier discussions on Science and Research, Business and Investment and Policy and Reform.
Santana’s interview, late Friday, was followed by a closing address from Stephen Murphy, Managing Director of Prohibition Partners.
He said: “Delivering such a thought-provoking event is something we are very proud of … In such a time of uncertainty, with Covid, opportunities such as these, when the industry can come together, are more important than ever.
“I am immensely proud of the industry we are building. We need to stay positive. Cannabis and psychedelics are both global positives and, ahead of us, lies the opportunity to unlock the potential of these fantastic industries.”
