Marijuana Dealers Date Back to Prehistoric Era, Study Finds

A new study conducted by the German Archaeological Institute and the Free Institute of Berlin suggests that marijuana dealers have been in existence for at least 5,000 years. Researchers concluded that nomadic Yamnaya people were likely the first to sell or trade marijuana in human history.

The Yamnaya established the transcontinental marijuana trade as they settled in Europe during the Bronze Age.

The study’s results were determined by marijuana pollen evidence in combination with fibers and fruits located at archaeological sites in East Asia and Europe, SF Gate reports. Textiles were made from fibers of cannabis plants, and was also used as medicine and a food source, according to the research.

Paleontologist Tengwen Long said, “Cannabis’s multiple usability might have made it an ideal candidate for being a ‘cash crop before cash,’ a plant that is cultivated mostly for exchange purposes.”

Long continued, “There are a lot of unaddressed questions awaiting scientists to answer in terms of the long history of cannabis and the Bronze Age Eurasian connections.”

Additional studies of marijuana use in this region are expected.