How old is the world's oldest weed?

Cannabis is known to have been used as a medicinal remedy since Antiquity. Chinese manuscripts mention the discovery of the plant's therapeutic virtues by a Chinese emperor in 2700 BC. Some also believe that the plant appears in the Biblical Scriptures and that Jesus himself used it in the form of anointments for its virtues. Speculation you may say, but not quite, since the world's oldest weed has been found in a tomb at Yanghai in northwest China, dating from 681 BC.

The oldest weed in the world

An archaeological team led by Hongen Jiang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered 789 grams of 2,700-year-old cannabis flowers. They were placed in the grave of a blue-eyed Caucasian man of around 35 years of age. Clearly, the man in question wanted to take his weed into the afterlife. The dry climatic conditions and alkaline soil helped preserve the flowers. They were, of course, dry and odorless, but had retained their structure and even their green color.

The scientists then conducted analyses and found that the flowers had contained a significant percentage of THC. Were they for recreational use? Researchers suggest that the man and his community may have used cannabis for recreational, religious and medical purposes.

They also believe that the man was a shaman from the ancient Gushi culture of the Turpan basin. Indeed, the cannabis flowers were found alongside other equipment suggesting a shamanic role. According to Professor Ethan Russo of the Academy, and the fact that all non-psychoactive or less psychoactive parts of the plant were removed before it was placed in the grave, suggest that the interest in the flowers was indeed their euphoric effect.