Thousands of years ago humans make use of (and enjoy) the effect that cannabis produces. But the controversy surrounding the drug made it difficult — and still is in many places — for scientists to discover its genetic origins. Where did cannabis come from and how did it evolve into that powerful green that gives us pleasure? New research published in the journal Science Advances used genetics to trace the ancient place of origin of Cannabis sativa, from which we harvest marijuana today. It’s an important study because it takes a relevant first step in tracing the evolutionary origins of modern cannabis, especially at a time when many countries are reconsidering whether or not to legalize the drug.
To know the evolution of cannabis and how marijuana was separated from its closest relative, hemp, the strain that has almost no psychoactive compound; the researchers studied 110 cannabis sativa genomes using molecular analysis and “next-generation DNA sequencing”, techniques that allow to know details of the genetic material that makes up an organism (in this case, the plant). From this information, they were able to reconstruct the relationships and evolution of four genetically distinct groups of cannabis:
“Basal” cannabis: it is the “sister” group of all other cannabis categories, including hemp and psychoactive cannabis in the world. It includes wild plants and traditional cannabis hybrids, known as “local strains,” found in modern China.
Hemp – This group includes all varieties of hemp from around the world. Hemp is a cannabis sativa strain and is distinguished from other cannabis strains by its lower levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient that makes cannabis such a potent drug. Hemp, unlike its psychoactive counterpart, is not usually considered a drug and was traditionally used to make fiber for clothing and other materials.
The first cannabis “drug” group: This group includes wild cannabis strains with properties similar to marijuana from China, India and Pakistan, as well as a cannabis strain grown in India.
The second group of cannabis “drug”: this group includes cannabis strains with psychoctive properties that have been cultivated all over the world.
The first of these, basal cannabis, had not only not been detected in previous research but, from it, scientists learned that the origin of cultivated or “domesticated” cannabis dates back to East Asia, including parts of present-day China; in contrast to previous research claiming that cultured cannabis originated in Central Asia.They also found that the division between ancient basal cannabis and modern cultured cannabis occurred approximately 12,000 years ago, placing cannabis in the distinguished categories of one of the earth’s first cultivated plants.
Unlike marijuana, hemp grows tall and resistant with relatively less branching. It produces flowers, however, they have a minimal concentration of THC.
On the other hand, researchers argue that psychoactive cannabis spread from East Asia to India about 3000 years ago. In the last thousand years it reached Latin America and Africa, although it did not reach North America until much more recently, in the early XX.Su century the conclusion is that cannabis was probably used as a “multipurpose” crop, not just as a recreational drug, for thousands of years in East Asia before humans used the THC-laden strain we know today. They even believe that human cannabis cultivation had such a strong effect on their genetic evolution that pure wild ancestors of cannabis sativa may have become extinct.
