The world’s oldest stash of nearly two pounds of cannabis was found in a tomb in China. The cannabis that was discovered is said to be over 2,700 years old, and was found lightly pounded in a wooden bowl in a leather basket near the head of a blue-eyed Caucasian man who died when he was about 45 years old. The man is said to have been a “Caucasoid shaman whose accoutrements included a large cache of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions.”

Researchers feel that this particular find of cannabis was used either for medicinal purposes, or as an aid to divination. Since there were no objects found that would allow for smoking, such as pipes or paper, the research team thinks the cannabis might have been ingested orally.

Buried along with the shaman were many items, rare and considered to be of extremely high value. A few items included bridles, pots, archery equipment, and a kongou harp. It was traditional in this ancient culture to place items needed for the afterlife in the tomb with the departed. If physical objects can somehow be translated into something in the afterlife, this shaman will have plenty of marijuana to share with his fellow after-lifers.

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. The substance has been found in two of the 500 Gushi tombs excavated so far in northwestern China, indicating that cannabis was either restricted for use by a few individuals or was administered as a medicine to others through shamans. The region of China where the tomb is located, Xinjiang, is considered an original source of many cannabis strains worldwide.

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