Old News… (and I do mean old)
Old News
An interesting thing happened recently in the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region of China; the remains of what appears to be the world’s oldest pothead were unearthed. About 2,700 years ago a man was buried here along with the things thought essential for the afterlife. For this gentleman one of those things was his stash… about 2 lbs of marijuana.
Near Turpan in China, in the Gobi Desert region locals stumbled across a sprawling graveyard containing nearly 2,500 graves while digging irrigation wells, but it was not until 2003 that formal archaeological investigations were launched. So far only 500 or so of the graves have been excavated.
Dr. Ethan Russo was lead author of an article on this extraordinary discovery published this month in the peer-reviewed Journal of Experimental Botany. “The evidence all indicates that there was intent to utilize this cannabis for psychoactive purposes,” said Dr. Russo. “What we’ve found here is the oldest, clear-cut and proven sample of psychoactive cannabis in the world”.
The skeleton was that of a 45-year-old male, likely of the ancient Gushi culture, apparently a medicine-man, shaman, or some other important person. With the skeleton and the 2 pounds of marijuana were several other items, including horse bridles, archery equipment and a harp. Dr. Russo is unsure if the marijuana was to be smoked or ingested because no pipes were found. The marijuana was found in a leather container and in a smooth wooden bowl like a mortar.
How do we know the marijuana was used as a drug and not for its hemp fibers?
Dr. Russo is affiliated with GW Pharmaceuticals, a company that makes a cannabis product called Sativex licensed for pain relief in England and Canada. He was able to bring the marijuana to their lab in the UK for intense analysis and the results were interesting. The scientists were able to learn much from the stash, using sophisticated biochemical analysis, electron microscopy and DNA analysis. What they found was not the native hemp historically used for fiber, but rather a domesticated and cultivated crop relatively high in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that provides pot its psychoactive high.
Also, the team found no hemp products in the tombs, but rather clothing of wool and ropes of reed. The marijuana also had been picked clean of stems and stalks, and only female plant parts higher in psychoactive properties were found in the grave. All of the evidence, Russo said, points to a strictly psychoactive use.
The discovery in the Yanghai tombs, Dr. Russo said, was particularly intriguing because of the well-preserved nature of the pot a result of dry conditions, a cool underground burial and extremely alkaline soils.The marijuana, in fact, “retained a surprisingly green color in its leafy parts” the journal article concluded. “It was in remarkable shape,” Russo said. “Microscopically, it looks almost fresh. You can still see the glands that hold the THC.” Not fresh enough, however, to resurrect the plants. Russo and others have tried to germinate the ancient seeds, but without luck.
The journal article concludes the most probable conclusion is that the Gushi culture cultivated cannabis for pharmaceutical, psychoactive or divinatory purposes, making it the oldest such stash ever found and tested.
Dr. Russo was lead author on the research paper, which included an international team of Chinese archaeologists, Italian geneticists, and English biochemists. Dr. Russo is American neurologist who, in addition to teaching pharmacology, also taught in the chemistry, physical therapy and psychology departments at the University of Montana. He has written and edited seven books on medicinal plants, including Cannabis: From Pariah to Prescription. He now works as a consultant with GW Pharmaceuticals.
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