Researchers have discovered the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb near the desert city of Turpan in northwestern China. | Dewd! It is, like, well-aged by now! |
The dried cannabis was buried with a 45-year-old, light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, who seems to be a shaman of the Gushi culture, The Canadian Press reported.
The dry weather and alkaline soil have preserved the stash, which despite having lost its distinctive odor, still looks green. The cache was found in a leather basket in a wooden bowl, giving rise to the assumption that it was intended for the shaman to use in the afterlife. "It was common practice in burials to provide materials needed for the afterlife. No hemp or seeds were provided for fabric or food. Rather, cannabis as medicine or for visionary purposes was supplied," said American neurologist and head of the research team Dr. Ethan B. Russo.
Some 18 researchers most of them based in China, conducted carbon dating tests and applied genetic analysis to the cannabis. Studies showed that the marijuana had a relatively high THC content, the main active ingredient in cannabis.
The team also tried to germinate 100 of the seeds found in the cache, but failed. Since no pipes were found in the shaman's tomb, scientists could not determine whether the cannabis was smoked or ingested.
Two of the 500 Gushi tombs in northwestern China have yielded cannabis so far, which indicates that the substance was either used by a few individuals or was administered as medicine by shamans, Russo said. The Xinjiang region of China, where the tomb is located, is known as an original source of numerous types of cannabis.