At Chacruna: Who Is Cannabis?

Kathleen Harrison, M.A.Homo sapiens, and all the Homo species that preceded us, or cohabited with us for a part of our history, are in fact far younger than are the plants that we embrace. The Cannabaceae is the old family that includes the several Cannabis species (C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis) and their cousin, also our dear friend, hops (Humulus lupulus). The origins of this plant family date back ninety million years. Our genus, Homo, is currently considered to be a mere 2.8 million years old. So the ancestors of this plant that we so love were doing there own thing for a very long time before we two-leggeds showed up to appreciate their leafy descendants. The antecedents of the Cannabis we now know were hanging out with the dinosaurs, and with many stranger life forms that are now long gone. All that accumulated experience is in the Cannabis story, written right there in the genes of every bud of our beloved herb... continue reading.