Scientists Discover THC In Ancient Bones
2 min readThe study was published in the December issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science. Scientists discovered two of the bones which one belonging to a woman around age 50 and another to a teenage boy that showed the presence of two kinds of cannabinoids: Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, commonly referred to today as DTC and CBD.
The researchers say the finding not only suggests cannabis was consumed by all ages and genders, but that it was used recreationally, most likely prepared in cakes and infusions, says Giordano.
“We know that cannabis has been used in the past, but this is the first study ever to find traces of it in human bones,” said biologist and doctoral student Gaia Giordano at the University of Milan’s Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (LABANOF) and Laboratory of Toxicological Investigation.
However, the team of scientists examined nine femoral bone samples from people who lived in 1600s Milan and who were buried in the Ca’ Granda Crypt, under a church annexed to the Ospedale Maggiore as the goal of the study was to find traces of plants used for medical or recreational purposes in the general population.
Marco Perduca, a former Italian senator and founder of Science for Democracy who led a referendum to legalize pot in 2021, says the ubiquity of hemp in Italy makes it likely it was also consumed to get a buzz.
“People used to smoke and make ‘decotto,’ or boiled water, with all kinds of leaves, so it is very difficult to identify what was the habit back then,” Perduca said. “But because hemp was used for so many industries, it’s possible that people knew those plants could also be smoked or drunk.”