Cannabis domesticated in East Asia, new study suggests

Authors say plant was “multipurpose crop” grown about 12,000 years ago, for fiber and medicinal uses.


People feeling the effects of marijuana are prone to what scientists call “divergent thinking,” the process of searching for solutions to a loosely defined question.

Here is one to ponder: Where did the weed come from? No, not where it was bought, but where and when was the plant first domesticated?

Many botanists believe that the cannabis sativa plant was first domesticated in Central Asia. But a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances suggests that East Asia is the more likely source, and that all existing strains of the plant come from an “ancestral gene pool” represented by wild and cultivated varieties growing in China today.

The study’s authors found that the plant was a “primarily multipurpose crop” grown about 12,000 years ago during the early Neolithic period, probably for fiber and medicinal uses.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2021/07/18/cannabis-domesticated-in-east-asia-new-study-suggests/