Ancient Marijuana Stash Discovered in Chinese Tomb

This ancient batch of marijuana was reported to have a fairly high content of THC, the main ingredient in cannabis.

(OTTAWA ) - Opponents of marijuana have called foul over the belief that the herb has actually been used for thousands of years; and now their arguments will fall silent as a researcher announces locating a stash of marijuana in a Chinese tomb that is scientifically dated at 2,700 years old.

American neurologist Dr. Ethan B. Russo says the 789 grams of dried cannabis was found in a tomb in China's remote Xinjiang province, home to the Uyghur people who are Chinese Muslims.

The region was in the news frequently in the months proceeding the Olympic Games over clashes between Uyghur people and the Chinese government.

The herb has endless uses, but in this case it was clearly not prepared to be used as clothing or as food.

That clarification came from a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

Interestingly, this Chinese tomb revealed the remains of a man who had light colored hair and blue eyes.

He was a Caucasian man and researchers believe he was probably a shaman of the Gushi culture, which hails from Turpan in northwestern China.

The marijuana is reportedly in very good condition and that is primarily attributed to extremely dry conditions.

The team of scientists say the alkaline soil acted as a preservative, and the herb was still green, though it retained none of its typical odor.

"To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," Russo told The Toronto Sun.

This ancient batch of marijuana was reported to have a fairly high content of THC, the main ingredient in cannabis.

They said however that the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage.

This is not the first time historic marijuana has been discovered; other locations in the world include Egypt and other sites, but the pot stashed in this Chinese tomb is the oldest so far that could be thoroughly tested for its properties.

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Comments Leave a comment on this story.

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Bruce Shoop March 7, 2012 8:29 pm (Pacific time)

Great news! It's a remedy as old as history itself. Thank you God!

quade March 7, 2012 3:10 pm (Pacific time)

legalize

Randy March 7, 2012 2:59 pm (Pacific time)

Ancient Chinese proverb: "Hey, hey, hey. Smoke weed everyday."

Anonymous March 7, 2012 2:58 pm (Pacific time)

This story has gave me and idea, pot should be legal and pot could help on the economy, like forreal

Aldo September 3, 2011 10:22 am (Pacific time)

Scientist Ssebaduka John Paul II recently mentioned being part of the scientists who made the discovery of this substantial part of History and went ahead to say the purity of the cannabis is upto 2700 times more concentrated than the average day to day home grown Kush.

Joseph August 14, 2011 9:44 am (Pacific time)

Lets take this passion to the political process to legalize it!! Only we can do it and only we are responsible for keeping it illegal by way of inaction. LEGALIZE! ...and not only for people that need it, but for all that are old enough and enjoy it!

Max. April 8, 2011 3:05 pm (Pacific time)

Marijuana

Editor: Max, I suspect your comment was cut off by our system, please feel free to re add, thanks.

Ronnie June 23, 2010 6:44 pm (Pacific time)

that is crazy.

Rick January 5, 2010 6:00 pm (Pacific time)

I haven't had a single seizure since I started my use of pot at 18. it helps me organize my thoughts.

Shane June 5, 2009 7:37 am (Pacific time)

I notice that no one is against the smoking of Marijana. It seems every posting in here is in support of POT. does anyone realy want this drug to illegal.

Editor: Are you seriously asking that question? Of course we believe it should be legal. We would have thought that would be clear. To state that a simple plant placed on this earth by God should be illegal is sad indeed. At the same time violent offenders are on our streets because jail space is being occupied by peaceful marijuana users. It isn't just that it should be legal, this is a miracle plant with infinite uses. Getting "high" is only one small aspect of what the plant offers.

D5iVe May 20, 2009 7:01 pm (Pacific time)

dont get me wrong i love weed but the body that had been dead for 2,800 years had blue eyes and had a high level of THC when he died?? wat tha f#&k

360 March 25, 2009 3:35 pm (Pacific time)

Easy Skanking...

WuTangChan March 11, 2009 11:25 am (Pacific time)

I love weed w/ no seeds, sticky..

tito March 9, 2009 4:47 pm (Pacific time)

i hope it werent too much for his light weight ars ha ha

Emily February 22, 2009 5:46 pm (Pacific time)

Lmao, I just realized that they know his eye color, vjie. That must have been a damn good preserved body.

Oaksterdam Intern/Student December 5, 2008 10:55 am (Pacific time)

Cannabis has been and will be here stop prohibition, support Measure Z tax and regulate this medicine to patients in need!Stop arresting non-violent adults seeking to relief from ailments responcibly and safely!

Kev December 3, 2008 8:04 pm (Pacific time)

where there seeds?

TopQuark December 2, 2008 6:45 pm (Pacific time)

Does that make it a"Stone Age" find?

Editor: That was good.

vjie November 29, 2008 7:13 am (Pacific time)

A 2700 year old corpse with blue eyes??

Mat November 28, 2008 10:15 pm (Pacific time)

..well if they cant tell the THC content, then why don't they just roll it up, n smoke it. I bet they have mad growing skills!!

John November 28, 2008 11:04 am (Pacific time)

wow, that's one hellofa "ancient chinese secret"!!!

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Ancient Marijuana Stash Discovered in Chinese Tomb

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