I think it was a caveman that need something to keep a fire going. It was dark and he grabbed a plant that was nearby. It happened to be weed and got hella baked. Btw it's my first post and a stupid one at that.
Statistically speaking, it was most likely an asian. maybe their eyes are like that because of smoking so much weed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis
actually ill let you know what happened... well what had happened was, i created a time machine, went back to the past.. i walked up to some caveman and said "hey any 7-11's around here i can get a swisher at" he grunted so im like wtf this dude retarded, he then grabbed a leaf and handed it to me, i was like good thinkin dude.. we then rolled that shit up and toked... true story
This is a pretty solid theory; I've never thought of that possibility before, but now that you pointed it out the very first use of cannabis was probably as fuel for another very important survival tool man utilizes: fire. I mean, we know for certain that the ancients needed fire to survive, so it only makes sense that with the cannabis plant being so hardy and growing commonly in multiple climates, the early man that inhabited those climates must have put it to use as fuel. The direct smoking of cannabis for intoxication/spiritual/recreational purposes came at a later point, I would imagine. How much later after its first use as fuel, I'm not sure. Maybe those who first used it to build fires quickly discovered its effects? I mean, it would be kind of hard not to... Evidence of the inhalation of cannabis smoke can be found as far back as the 3rd millennium BC as indicated by charred cannabis seeds found in a ritual brazier at an ancient burial site in present day Romania. Also, it is a recorded historical fact that the Scythians used cannabis for intoxication purposes as reported by Herodotus circa 450 B.C. Herodotus reports the Scythians would build a big bonfire inside of a tent, heap marijuana onto the bonfire, go inside the tent, seal it shut and breathe the smoke, and in this way become intoxicated. So if it's been proven that man was using cannabis for intoxication at least ~3,000 years ago, it only makes sense that its first use came earlier as a fuel. Its therapeautic and psychoactive properties were probably discovered only after its use as a fuel source. The recently discovered body of an 2,800 year old mummy who was discovered in his tomb in China's Gobi Desert alongside a fat sack (literally, about 2 pounds) of cannabis buds and leaves points out that even purposeful/recreational/spiritual use of cannabis is at least a couple of millennia old. Scientists analyzing the ancient herb said it was a cultivated strain, had its male parts specifically picked out before it was entombed with the dead man, that it wasn't substantially different than the cannabis of today, and indeed possessed potent psychoactive properties at one time. This discovery probably points most strongly to spiritual use of the plant, as it was customary to bury with the dead person whatever items they may be needing for their journey in the afterlife. So far, cannabis has been found in 2 of about 500 of the tombs in the region. Just think, at least 3,000 years ago, ancient humans were carrying around sacks of weed and tools and shit, and freely exercising their right to use the sacrament that is cannabis. That must've been intense, getting high all alone in the ancient wilderness, especially if you didn't have the sort of purposeful awareness that modern day potheads have about the act of getting high. Imagine the very first human being who ingested the smoke of burning marijuana buds feeling the comeup for the first time ever...that must've caught him by surprise! This kind of stuff goes far back to the very fiber of what us humans are made of and where we have come from. Just thinking about this shit is intense, the kind of shit I live to hear and think about! http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/11/ancient.cannabis/index.html << article on discovery of mummy and cannabis http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/59/15/4171/FIG2 << photo of leaf fragment, trichomes, and a seed from the 3,000 year old stash. Can't believe it's still green!
Thats some interesting stuff cameron. It made me think that maybe cannabis help humans survive. It sounds like mj has been used for medical purposes for a very long time.