The Shakespeare Pot Mystery: Sex, Drugs and Rhymes

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Many famous men and women throughout history championed the use of Cannabis Sativa for its psychoactive qualities. While George Washington, founding father of the United States, clearly appreciated the plant for its industrial qualities, he also also grew and expressed specific fondness for "Indian Hemp".
"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." -George Washington.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, was another recreational smoker.
"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." -Abraham Lincoln.

On the old continent, Queen Victoria profited from Cannabis' pain relieving qualities to ease her menstrual cramps (it was prescribed to her by Court Physician Sir John Russell Reynolds, who described Indian hemp as “one of the most valuable medicines we possess”). Drug type Cannabis had been introduced to Britain long before the Victorian era. Although documentation is scarce, and in spite of a Papal ban, it had probably made it's way to Europe as exotic trade goods during the 1500s, and was later distributed by the East India Company as trade routes with the Indian subcontinent was established in the 1600s.

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Enter William Shakespeare (1564-1616), one of the world's most renowned poets and to many, the founding father of the English language.

Francis Thackeray, a paleontologist from the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa, and PhD in anthopology (now director of the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg), was puzzled by one of Shakespeare's sonnets, and what it might refer to.

Sonnet 76

Why is my verse so barren of new pride,
So far from variation or quick change?
Why with the time do I not glance aside
To new-found methods, and to compounds strange?
Why write I still all one, ever the same,
And keep invention in a noted weed,
That every word doth almost tell my name,
Showing their birth, and where they did proceed?
O! know sweet love I always write of you,
And you and love are still my argument;
So all my best is dressing old words new,
Spending again what is already spent:
For as the sun is daily new and old,
So is my love still telling what is told.


"And keep invention in a noted weed"? If that invention is the same as in sonnet 38, then was Shakespeare referring to a plant as his "tenth Muse, ten times more in worth than those old nine which rhymers innovate", in short some type of psychoactive stimuli that boosts inspiration (my conclusion)?

Sonnet 38

How can my muse want subject to invent,
While thou dost breathe, that pour'st into my verse
Thine own sweet argument, too excellent
For every vulgar paper to rehearse?
O! give thy self the thanks, if aught in me
Worthy perusal stand against thy sight;
For who's so dumb that cannot write to thee,
When thou thy self dost give invention light?
Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth
Than those old nine which rhymers invocate;
And he that calls on thee, let him bring forth
Eternal numbers to outlive long date.
If my slight muse do please these curious days,
The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise.

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Francis Thackeray to the right.

With this in mind, Thackeray decided to test his hypothesis by commissioning police laboratories in Pretoria to analyze two dozen clay pipes that were retrieved from Shakespeare's home in Stratford-upon-Avon. The pipes cannot be tied to Shakespeare himself, only to the domain in which he lived. But they date to the right time period.

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With the use of modern gas chromatography, he hoped to establish just what once burned in the 400-year-old pipes. On March 1, 2001, the Transvaal Museum in South Africa released the findings of these tests, which showed the presence of not only tobacco residues in the pipes, but also coc aine, and traces of Cannabis.
Although organic substances such as cannabis degrade after a short period of time and are affected by heating, eight of the pipe fragments showed clear evidence of Cannabis use.

Two of the pipe samples showed evidence of coc aine. One of the pipe samples with coc aine came from Harvard House in Stratford-upon-Avon, home of the mother of John Harvard after whom Harvard University is named. It was a pipe stem, still completely filled with the soil from her garden, which had sealed it against modern contamination. Material from the inside of the stem contained coc aine residue.

Other substances found in the pipes are a little more puzzling. The test detected traces of camphor, myristic acid, and quinoline. Myristic acid, which is found in nutmeg, has hallucinogenic properties, and camphor, perhaps, was used to hide the smell of tobacco or other substances, Thackeray speculated.

Now, ten years later, Thackeray has asked permission to open the graves of Shakespeare and his family to determine, among other things, what killed the Bard and whether his poems and plays may have been composed under the influence of Cannabis.
But while Shakespeare's skeleton could reveal clues about his health and death, the question of the man's possible drug habits depends on the presence of hair, fingernails or toenails in the grave, says Thackeray, who floated the proposal to the Church of England.

Me thinks the Church of England may not rush to a decision. Do they really want (us) to find out if Britain's most celebrated bard was running high on coke, Cannabis and hallucinogenics?
And don't forget, a curse befalls whoever moves Shakespeare's bones!

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news.nationalgeographic.com...

www.livescience.com...

reply to post by Heliocentric


Mate, your thread is very well done. However, i made a similar thread, about this, and it got thrashed.

I hope yours stay on.

vvv

so he was a stoner lol
fair play to him getting stuff done whilst mashed.
i recon it will be lagal soon and theres alot more uses for it than they are letting on.
recently seen a thread about someone curing prostate cancer with canabiniod oil!

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


It's a thread of scientific, historical and cultural interest, so let's hope that ATS looks past its censorship on drug related issues and denies ignorance.

reply to post by Heliocentric


Yep, that is what i thought too, i even linked exactly the same article, but alas, it was not meant to be.

vvv

Originally posted by welshbeliever
so he was a stoner lol
fair play to him getting stuff done whilst mashed.
i recon it will be lagal soon and theres alot more uses for it than they are letting on.
recently seen a thread about someone curing prostate cancer with canabiniod oil!

It's important that this does not become a pro-legalization thread.

Each man can think what he likes about the war on drugs, but apparently not always express it.

It's a scientific investigation thread!

Edit: Ops, re-routed to the Alternative substances/conspiracies forum in less than five minutes.

Perhaps it might stick to the wall after all.

Thank you moderator, I didn't even know this sub-forum existed. I should have checked.

reply to post by Heliocentric

It's a thread of scientific, historical and cultural interest, so let's hope that ATS looks past its censorship on drug related issues and denies ignorance.

Agreed, I concur

Now doesn't this make good ole English Class a lot more intriguing, i must say my good sir.!

S & F reading... Now

On the one hand, this story confirms that police labs will detect the presence of narcotics everywhere. On the other hand, if Shakespeare were a stoner, it would explain why characters mysteriously change names and plot twists sometimes make no sense. Oh, and the word "weeds" was Elizabethan slang for "clothing."

Originally posted by DJW001 if Shakespeare were a stoner, it would explain why characters mysteriously change names and plot twists sometimes make no sense.

Like in the Bible?

Originally posted by Heliocentric

Originally posted by DJW001 if Shakespeare were a stoner, it would explain why characters mysteriously change names and plot twists sometimes make no sense.

Like in the Bible?

There is mention in the bible in Hebrew of qanna besom or qaneh bosm being used and given as gift, in modern translations as "sweet cane". Quite possible.

en.wikipedia.org...

According to some Rastafari and other scholars, the etymology of the word "cannabis" and similar terms in all the languages of the Near East may be traced to the Hebrew "qaneh bosm" קנה-בשם, which is one of the herbs that God commanded Moses to include in his preparation of sacred anointing perfume in Exodus 30:23; the Hebrew term also appears in Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:19; and Song of Songs 4:14. Deutero-canonical and canonical references to the patriarchs Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses "burning incense before the Lord" are also applied, and many Rastas today refer to cannabis by the term "ishence" — a slightly changed form of the English word incense. It is also said that cannabis was the first plant to grow on King Solomon's grave.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


As you said.

The word "kaneh-bosom" appears at various places in the Bible, and has sometimes been translated as fragrant cane or calamus.

Although, the work of anthropologist Sula Benet establishes beyond doubt that the Bible is in fact talking about Cannabis, and in particular drug-type Cannabis:

en.wikipedia.org...

It has been recognized by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, although Christian authorities and Bible translators cling on to the belief that kaneh-bosom means calamus, and no bible version has yet appeared with the correct translation.

It becomes interesting when we note that kaneh-bosom was one of the main ingredients in the anointing oil for Hebrew Kings and priests. THC, the psychoactive ingredient in Cannabis, can be absorbed through the skin, and this is likely why the oil was holy, since it had been ordained by God.

THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, "TAKE THE FOLLOWING FINE SPICES: 500 SHEKELS OF LIQUID MYRRH, HALF AS MUCH OF FRAGRANT CINNAMON, 250 SHEKELS OF KANNABOSM, 500 SHEKELS OF CASSIA - ALL ACCORDING TO THE SANCTUARY SHEKEL - AND A HIND OF OLIVE OIL. MAKE THESE INTO MAKE THESE INTO A SACRED ANNOITING OIL, A FRAGRANT BLEND, THE WORK OF A PERFUMER. IT WILL BE THE SACRED ANNOITING OIL.

Exodus 30:23

Oh, and Jesus Christ was anointed with the same oil. So that makes him a...?

That's a bit of a wild guessing. There is no record of poems or sonnets in his (Shaksper's) handwriting and yet here is an assumption that his pipes might be found.
We do not know where he studied but we assume we know what he smoked. Cool.

Those are poppies placed upon his grave in the picture, right?
I do love Shakespeare! He's one of the true geniuses that could entertain the elite, the groundlings, and everyone in between all at the same time.

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Alt. Sub. Conspiracies: This forum is for the discussion of conspiracies, scandals, and cover-ups related to the trade and trafficking of illicit drugs, and inequities in enforcement of drug-related laws. Personal use, advocacy of legalization, and related non-conspiratorial topics are not allowed. Members posting about personal recreational use of drugs and related mind-altering substances may be banned without warning.This forum is not intended for discussion of legalization advocacy or speculation of enlightenment or spiritual possibilities related to drug use.

Interesting read OP, nice one.

[Alt. Sub. Conspiracies: This forum is for the discussion of conspiracies, scandals, and cover-ups related to the trade and trafficking of illicit drugs, and inequities in enforcement of drug-related laws.
Not sure what on earth that has to do with where Shakespeare possibly got some of his inspiration though. It's a shame because a lot of Shakespeare fans who don't venture into this forum will probably miss this one.

Originally posted by ZeroKnowledge
That's a bit of a wild guessing. There is no record of poems or sonnets in his (Shaksper's) handwriting and yet here is an assumption that his pipes might be found.
We do not know where he studied but we assume we know what he smoked. Cool.

It's a theory.

I wonder if you question it because of a belief that Shakespeare never existed as a person (hence your reasoning regarding the sonnets and the pipes), which if so in itself is nothing but a theory.

Wild guessing is when you assume something without any facts or data whatsoever. In this case, we have some dubious references in Shakespeare's literary work, and hard data in the residue of the pipes.

Someone, living in the same house as Shakespeare, roughly during the time he lived there, smoked Tobacco, Cannabis and Cocaine. It doesn't prove anything, but it connects him to the scene of the 'crime'.

Consider also that all these substances were exotic import goods that not every man could pay himself in those days. It wasn't the milk maid that toked on these pipes, which further reduces the possible suspects.

a reply to: Heliocentric

Recreational marijuana really does inspire creativity like a "tenth muse." A lot of artists do their work baked.