Did cannabis plants originate in China a long time ago?

What genetics says

Cannabis is the most famous herbal drug in the world and is used both legally and illegally.

It is a much debated topic, although there is growing evidence of its therapeutic benefits not only for humans but also for animals. However, it is still an unclear topic where it came from.

A new genetic study, the largest study to date to analyze cannabis genomes, points to northwest China. Researchers have found that it was likely grown in the early Neolithic when China merged with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on its borders. It is believed that from here cannabis spread around the world and grew into different strains.

For the study, the researchers identified a basal cannabis plant from northwest China. Luca Fumagalli, a geneticist from the University of Lausanne, gave LiveScience the details. Luca says that since cannabis plants are so widely grown and used around the world, it’s not clear where they came from and theories are numerous, including Central Asia, West Asia, and North China. “The people, although the region was more towards Central Asia, mainly because there were a lot of wild cannabis plants along the streets,” he explains. “But these observational data basically contradicted what we got from the genome analysis.”

He found that the cannabis plants from Central Asia were actually hemp, which was characterized by its tall branches with cellulosic stems, ideal for making textiles and ropes. These hemp plants weren’t basal, which means they couldn’t get people high. Luca says that studying the plant’s genetics has led to the conclusion that all cannabis plants around the world today descended from those in the original region and that the wild ancestors of the cannabis sativa plant are most likely extinct.

Various forms of cannabis could evolve from the basal plant after it has been domesticated by humans. Their study showed that the hemp variety was widespread around 4,000 years ago, which they believe is because people were then looking for plants that could be used to make fiber. Today, cannabis strains grow wild in Europe as well as some parts of northern China and Central Asia, while other strains are grown for their psychoactive content. In addition, the researchers believe that while cannabis was an important source of fiber, recreational and medicinal uses, the exact timing of its domestication was challenging due to numerous legal obstacles.

The study is relevant to its understanding of where and when certain cannabis strains, especially those with higher levels of psychoactive compounds, have been recognized and consumed by humans. Despite the fact that cannabis has been grown for centuries, some of the earliest forms contained low levels of THC, as well as other compounds known for their psychoactive effects.

“Our study provides new insights into the worldwide distribution of a plant with divergent structural and biochemical products at a time when interest in their use is reawakening, reflecting changing societal attitudes and corresponding challenges to their legal status in many countries. “Write the researchers. “East Asia has proven to be an important ancient hotspot of domestication for several crops including rice, gorse and millet, soybean, foxnut, apricot and peach … Our results provide further evidence of the importance of this domestication hotspot,” you write.

Early evidence

In 2019, scientists from Germany and China excavated a 2,500 year old grave in western China. They found the first evidence that people were consuming cannabis for its psychoactive effects: burnt stones, pieces of wood, and pots that were in the grave revealed the chemical remains of cannabis, including those that were high in THC. This suggests that people were already using it for funeral rites at that time.

They don’t suspect, however, that it was smoked the way we smoke cannabis today. They believe cannabis was likely burned as incense indoors so that they could inhale the fumes. Another hypothesis they had was that cannabis could have been used as a way to communicate with the dead or with gods.

“This was the only way that cannabis could have been smoked before the advent of pipe technology, which apparently only happened much later,” says Nicole Boivin, author of the report and director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. The study’s authors believe that the first evidence was that cannabis was smoked in this area of ​​China, but they still don’t know whether those buried in the Jirzankal cemetery were actively growing cannabis or just high-THC cannabis plants – Content wanted content.

“Finding evidence of ancient drug use is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack because that type of evidence is rare as there are few ways to long-term the remnants of drug use activities that are very short lived obtain. and doesn’t necessarily leave a lot of physical evidence, ”explains Boivun.

“Our study suggests that knowledge about smoking cannabis and certain highly chemical-producing varieties of the cannabis plant were among the cultural traditions that spread along these exchange routes,” says leading archaeobotanist Robert Spengler. “Modern perspectives on cannabis vary enormously between cultures, but it is clear that the plant has a long history of medicinal, ritual and recreational human uses spanning countless millennia,” he adds.

THE STORY OF WEED, READ MORE ..

WHO IS THE FIRST TOKER IN HISTORY, CHECK THE FACTS!