Science Cannabis

18 THE SCIENCE OF MARIJUANAand foods are known in Indian culture. Khwaja A. Hasan gives the followingdescription of the famous decoction prepared from bhang calledthandai.Preparing thandai is a time-consuming process. A number of dry fruits,condiments and spices are used in its preparation. Almonds, pistachio, rosepetals, black pepper, aniseed, and cloves are ground on the toothed grindingplate (silauti); water is added so that a thinly ground paste is obtained.This paste is dissolved in milk and then bhang is added to the mixture. Afew spoons of sugar or jaggery (boiled brown sugar) are added finally andthen the decoction is ready for consumption. . . . The preparation ofthandai and the social atmosphere it creates has great significance. Membersof the same family, caste or a circle of friends from the village or theneighbourhood gather in the parlour of a friend. Different ingredients ofthe drink are collected and ground on the toothed stone grinding plate.The whole process takes an hour or so. While preparing the drink, individualstalk about friends, family members, prices of goods and services and ahost of other problems.(Hasan, see Rubin, 1975. Reprinted with permission fromMonton de Gruyter, Berlin)Around the world, a variety of different cannabis preparations havebeen devised in different cultures and the diversity of this range equalsthe many different forms in which human beings have traditionally consumedalcohol —from light beer to distilled spirits, from vin de table toPremier Cru Chateau-bottled clarets.A Brief HistoryExcellent reviews of the long history of cannabis can be found in Abel(1973), Lewin (1931), Robinson (1996), and Walton (1938). Evidence ofman's first use of cannabis has been found in fragments of pottery bearingthe imprint of a cord-like material thought to be hemp, in China,dating around 10,000 B.C. Other early evidence for hemp cultivationcomes from the finding of fragments of hemp cloth in Chinese burialchambers from the Chou dynasty (1122-265 B.C.). It seems likely that