As revealed by the traces found in his pipes, Shakespeare: the most famous playwright of all time, consumed marijuana, which may have also inspired some of his best-known works.
To highlight it is one study led by professor from the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa) Francis Thackeray, who analyzed the bowls and pipe stems found in his garden.
Traces of marijuana found in Shakespeare's pipes: the study
"The results revealed the presence of cannabis in eight samples, nicotine in at least one sample, and Peruvian cocaine in two samples,” the study abstract reads.
In fact, in the Elizabethan era, it was very common among artists replace the classic tobacco with substances capable of stimulating creativity.
But for Professor Thackeray, "Shakespeare may have been aware of the deleterious effects of cocaine - and favored - cannabis as a natural stimulant for the mind."
For scholars, the poet's preference is expressed in the sonnet 76, where he writes of "invention in a known herb." That "can be interpreted to mean that Shakespeare was willing to use cannabis for creative writing."
In the same sonnet, in fact, "we read that he would prefer not to be associated with 'strange compounds', which can be interpreted, at least potentially, as 'strange drugs' (perhaps cocaine)," the researchers point out.
* Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
