OTTAWA — Researchers say they have located the world’s oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China.
The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly “cultivated for psychoactive purposes,” rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.
The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.
The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, but the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage.
2,700 years of humans using cannabis, 70 years of cannabis prohibition. What has happened to cannabis in the past seventy years to make it so dangerous to the species that’s used it for millennia? Sounds like the ancient Chinese had the “skunk” – why is it modern man can’t have it again?
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*Your sandbox here Russ. You have my full support either way and my logic is often proven to be far too kind for the world we live in …
“Why is it that I have to worry about alienating them and not vice versa?”
Even after much consideration, I’m not sure I know how to answer this Russ. In part, because it is almost on par with, “are you still beating your wife,” on various levels to me. Its logic is almost cyclic and reminds me a lot of proving innocence vs. guilt.
The argument in places where medical doesn’t even exist often has to find a lowest common denominator to move pure indifference or outright hatred of reform into the favor of those who benefit from it medically. This tactic is “box canyon” like (if I may borrow on your work) as you may only gain medical acceptance without truly making the breakthrough into overall acceptance of the target audience.
Personally though I’ve seen people who were in the “dont lock them up, just execute them,” camp turn 360 after witnessing the effect it had on patients. Part of getting them to even be in one what was helping was their acceptance to be open to the idea of medical use through various arguments including this is medicine, not someone wanting to use it recreationally. They are more of the extreme end of the spectrum, but I think its case in point here.
Making the argument of medical efficacy has been a very rocky road. Some people will only get behind medical, but that is still one vote closer, regardless of box canyon end points, as acceptance is then gained by others in their peer circles towards full legalization by the impact this change can have.
I know this argument of trying to define medical efficacy through distinction seemingly against recreational use is offensive. I’m in both camps, but I dont partake for either. Which certainly doesn’t make me more objective. Heck, most of the time it makes me the hardest cynic all around because I choose to abstain on every level. (pragmatic choice for safety and family, not by decree of probation etc mind you)
This year especially, I dont see NORML, with its ability to reach a lot of people, needing to lose *some (*based on your opinion most medical users feel strongly superior) of the patient supporters due to lambasted responses to this often troubling foot in the door argument as a just a byline herein.
No, I do not think you need to be apologetic or accepting of those who are sitting with medical protection and throwing up roadblocks on other measures. I just dont think you want to fall for the mouthpiece and activist fringe impression that most if not all medical users feel this way and lose supporters who dont deserve to be offended when this cornerstone argument may be the one thing that ever worked to keep their neighbors from turning them over to the DEA.
It’s not easy being the focal point for all of this. That’s one area I certainly do not envy you. I know we’re both going to be seeking a lot more antacids before this election cycle passes due to some of the medical community fighting tooth and nail against the long term goal and directives they should be embracing.
Perhaps I’m just too kind Russ, but I dont see losing even one supporter by making out of context attacks against relatively innocuous things. When someone with that name/byline drops fire or touts the actual holier than though, by all means rip them a new one. I’m a vehement medical supporter, but like you, my primary goal is to end prohibition. I’ve stepped on plenty of toes as well and regret some of my last choices during the Prop-19 debate as I lost some good friends over this very divide. I know your stance isn’t about friends, but this is more of being politically accurate in hopes of reduced alienation. We seem to have enough retractors without feeding this fire more or less or giving other groups the ability to take your comments out of context to sway even more people into the wrong camp.
I’ll be on Time 4 Hemp debating “YES on I-502″ vs. Ed “I’m so Logical” Rosenthal & Paul Stanford who suggest it’s CIA-Mafia written & vote NO (Russ,you know anyone more against CIA-Mafia than ME)…your rant on #864 gives me some roar with him also. You may have Jon listen for how I defend NORML & your arguments for passing this flawed measure.
Thanks for your concern, but I’ve seen one too many…
“I’m a patient, not a criminal!”
“Patients, not potheads!”
“Patients, not criminals!”
“This is our medicine; we’re not just trying to get high”
…and so many more that I’ve come to believe there is a significant portion of patients who really do feel they are morally superior for their marijuana use because of their condition.
Why is it that I have to worry about alienating them and not vice versa?
Nice reply to Russ,and the emotion is running too high right now. I listened to Ed Rosenthal & Don Skakie talking logical fallacy/DEA written, on Time 4 Hemp with Paul Stanford conflicted.. Everyone is on edge because this was to be our year. With eight months to go,and all the animus–leave it up to Russ to suffer through his season..
Russ, I hate to be a bugger here, but I sincerely see this as over-reaching. This ping back excerpt is not touting anything negative or derogatory toward any legislation attempts, etc.
I just feel compelled to point out that you may have let it (the antagonism from the tomato growers side) go from simple motivation to appearing like you do indeed have a bend against patients with misplaced comments like these… regardless of your wife’s standing, NORML’s directive, etc.
Please dont unintentionally mistake the declarative of a patient out of context, less we inadvertently alienate those who indeed reflect this minor distinction to general public.
This is simply a matter of pointing out “appearances matter.” Please dont fall to emotive responses unless warranted mate.
Humble and supportive regards.
Your name, “We Are Patients, Not Potheads”, once again shows the disdain patients have for healthy people who smoke pot.
[...] But unlike alcohol and virtually every prescription and even non-prescription drug on the market, too much cannabis can’t kill you. At least, it never has done that to anyone in all of recorded history, and cannabis history goes back pretty far. [...]
[...] Dr. Ethan Russo, one of the world’s leading cannabis researchers (and discoverer of 5,000 year old super pot!), chiming in from Paris wrote simply, “Pure fabrication.” California NORML’s [...]
http://io9.com/5099717/worlds-oldest-pot-stash-offered-an-afterlife-high
there’s a picture on this website
[...] to dispensaries in Mentch RulingDavid on BBC Reporter Smokes Marijuana to Enhance Storyzohai on World’s oldest stash found in Chinese tombMartin on Switzerland to vote on national cannabis decrim initiativeMartin on Switzerland to vote on [...]
That has to be the most valuable bag of marijuana on the planet. Imagine what that would fetch off ebay LOL. Can you get any pictures of it? I would love to see how it looks after 2700 years of aging.
This cant be true “The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC” because only todays weed has a high content of THC according to our pot experts, John Walters and President Finished George Bush.
This is a awesome story. Pretty cool they found my cousin of 2700 years ago.