Nearly TWO POUNDS of still-green plant material found in a2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as theworld's oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issueof the Journal of Experimental Botany.A barrage of tests proves the marijuanahttp://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/10/19/marijuana_hea.htmlpossessed potent psychoactive properties and casts doubt on the theorythat the ancients only grew the plant for hemp in order to makeclothing, rope and other objects.They apparently were getting highhttp://health.howstuffworks.com/marijuana.htm too :)Lead author Ethan Russo told Discovery News that the marijuana "is quite similar" to what's grown today."We know from both the chemical analysis and genetics that it couldproduce THC (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase, the main psychoactivechemical in the plant)," he explained, adding that no one could feelits effects today, due to decomposition over the millennia.Russo served as a visiting professor at the Chinese Academy ofSciences Institute of Botany while conducting the study. He and hisinternational team analyzed the cannabis, which was excavated at theYanghai Tombs near Turpan, China. It was found lightly pounded in awooden bowl in a leather basket near the head of a blue-eyed Caucasianman who died when he was about 45."This individual was buried with an unusual number of high value,rare items," Russo said, mentioning that the objects included a make-upbag, bridles, pots, archery equipment and a kongou harp. The researchersbelieve the individual was a shaman from the Gushi people, who spoke anow-extinct language called Tocharian that was similar to Celtic.Scientists originally thought the plant material in the grave wascoriander, but microscopic botanical analysis of the bowl contents,along with genetic testing, revealed that it was cannabis.Thesize of seeds mixed in with the leaves, along with their color andother characteristics, indicate the marijuana came from a cultivatedstrain. Before the burial, someone had carefully picked out all of themale plant parts, which are less psychoactive, so Russo and his teambelieve there is little doubt as to why the cannabis was grown.What is in question, however, is how the marijuana was administered,since no pipes or other objects associated with smoking were found inthe grave."Perhaps it was ingested orally," Russo said. "It might also havebeen fumigated, as the Scythian tribes to the north did subsequently."Although other cultures in the area used hemp to make various goodsas early as 7,000 years ago, additional tomb finds indicate the Gushifabricated their clothing from wool and made their rope out of reedfibers. The scientists are unsure if the marijuana was grown for morespiritual or medical purposes, but it's evident that the blue-eyed manwas buried with a lot of it."As with other grave goods, it was traditional to place items neededfor the afterlife in the tomb with the departed," Russo said.The ancient marijuana stash is now housed at Turpan Museum in China.In the future, Russo hopes to conduct further research at the Yanghaisite, which has 2,000 other tombs.