When Did Humans Start Smoking Weed?

When did early humans actually start smoking weed? The answer goes back way further than you think. Our relationship with cannabis didn't start in a dorm room or a modern dispensary — it began over 12,000 years ago in East Asia, when the world's very first farmers looked at a wild plant and realized its incredible potential. In this video, Adam breaks down the complete, untold history of cannabis. We’ll trace its journey from a 2,700-year-old blue-eyed shaman's tomb in the deserts of Western China, to the smoke-filled funeral rituals of the Pamir Mountains, the solid gold cups of legendary Scythian warriors, and the sacred altars of ancient Judah. You'll learn about India's ancient bhang rituals, a brilliant Chinese doctor's lost anesthesia formula, a Congolese tribe that chose hemp over war, and the political machinery that turned a 12,000-year-old companion crop into one of the most banned substances on the planet. By the end of this visual deep dive, you’ll see this plant in a whole new light. All peer-reviewed research, historical documents, and sources are cited and linked below. ———————————————————— 📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES: ▸ Yanghai Tombs — "Phytochemical and genetic analyses of ancient cannabis from Central Asia" (2008, Journal of Experimental Botany) https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ern260 ▸ Jirzankal Cemetery — "The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs of western China" (2019, Science Advances) https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1391 ▸ Herodotus — "The Histories," Book IV, on Scythian cannabis use (c. 440 BCE) ▸ Sergei Rudenko — "Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron Age Horsemen" (1970, UC Press) ▸ Scythian Gold Cups — "Residue analysis of golden artifacts from Scythian kurgan in the Caucasus" (2015, Antiquity) ▸ Tell Arad Shrine — "Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad" (2020, Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology) https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2020... ▸ Atharva Veda — Ancient Vedic text listing cannabis among five sacred plants ▸ Robert Dudley & Dušan Borić — Research on anandamide and the endocannabinoid system ▸ Harry Anslinger — Federal Bureau of Narcotics records, the Gore Files, and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 ▸ John Ehrlichman — Interview quote on Nixon's drug policy, published in Harper's Magazine (2016) by Dan Baum: "Legalize It All" https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/l... ▸ DEA Judge Francis Young — "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (1988, Docket No. 86-22) ———————————————————— PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO: ▸ Shen Nong — Legendary Chinese emperor, traditionally credited as the author of the Pen Ts'ao Ching, one of the world's earliest medical texts, which recommended cannabis for joint pain and malaria. ▸ Herodotus — Ancient Greek historian (c. 484–425 BCE). Traveled through Central Asia and documented Scythian cannabis rituals in vivid detail. His accounts were confirmed by archaeological discoveries nearly 2,400 years later. ▸ Sergei Rudenko — Soviet archaeologist who in 1947 excavated frozen Scythian tombs in Siberia's Altai Mountains, confirming Herodotus's descriptions of cannabis use with perfectly preserved tent frames, heated stones, and cannabis seeds. ▸ Hua Tuo — Chinese physician (c. 140–208 AD). Mixed cannabis with wine to create an anesthetic and performed surgery while patients felt nothing — 1,800 years before modern anesthesia. Executed by warlord Cao Cao. His formula was lost when he burned his own writings in prison. ▸ Cao Cao — One of the most powerful warlords in Chinese history (155–220 AD). Had Hua Tuo arrested and executed after the physician refused to serve as his personal doctor. ▸ Harry Anslinger — Head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. Drove the criminalization of cannabis through racial propaganda, fabricated evidence (the Gore Files), and the targeting of Black musicians including Billie Holiday. ▸ Billie Holiday — Legendary jazz singer. Targeted by Anslinger not for drug use, but for performing "Strange Fruit," a protest song about lynching. ▸ John Ehrlichman — Nixon's domestic policy advisor. In a 2016-published interview, admitted the War on Drugs was designed to target anti-war protesters and Black communities. ▸ Francis Young — DEA Administrative Law Judge. After two years of reviewing evidence in 1988, concluded cannabis should not be classified alongside heroin. The DEA rejected his recommendation. ———————————————————— 🎨 Animation & Visual Storytelling by Adam Explains ———————————————————— #AdamExplains #cannabishistory #weedhistory #history #ancienthistory #cannabis #marijuana #explainer #animation #education #harryAnslinger #silkroad #archaeology #humanhistory