Things We Didn’t Know About Weed Until AI Told Us

If you have yet to use ChatGPT, you are behind the times. From recipes to math equations, AI is the new information superhighway. You can love it, or you can hate it. Frankly, it’s scary. But it means we have more access to information than ever, and it’s instantaneous. This means that rather than spending an hour googling and skimming articles for answers, we can get them in seconds. It means we have an amazing opportunity to gain vast amounts of knowledge in less time than ever before. And that includes knowing stuff about weed.

For this week’s article, we spent some time on ChatGPT and a few other AI apps. Why? We wanted to learn stuff about cannabis. Mind you, we already know a lot about weed, but the power of AI is truly staggering. And not surprisingly, we were humbled. So, here are some of the most extraordinary things we didn’t know about weed until AI taught us.

To start, we asked AI the following: “Tell me 25 things I probably don’t know about weed”. It mostly came back with some basic knowledge, like the definitions of “toke” and “blunt,” and some text on the variance of legalization by state, but it also gave us some other interesting info. Such as:

Ancient Warfare: “Cannabis was used by ancient civilizations in warfare. For instance, the Scythians, a nomadic warrior society from Central Asia, were known to consume cannabis before battles to induce a trance-like state and boost their courage.” Who knew that smoking a joint before rushing headfirst into 1000 Vikings was a thing? AI, that’s who. It also told us that the Zulu warriors of southern Africa are said to have used cannabis preparations before engaging in battle as well.

Stoned Presidents: We know that George Washington grew hemp on his farm. We heard Clinton claim that he “didn’t inhale,” we already knew that Obama tried it in high school, but AI had some other tea for us on US presidents and ganja. “During his time as a student at Yale University, former President George W. Bush was reported to have been a member of a group called the “Choom Gang,” known for their cannabis use. However, it’s important to note that the specifics of his involvement or frequency of use are not entirely known.”

While stoned warriors heading to battle and high college students heading to the white house are interesting, we wanted to find information that really meant something. This is where things got interesting. Here is what AI told us when we asked about new science being conducted on cannabis:

“Exciting and innovative scientific research is being conducted on cannabis across various fields. Some notable areas of study include Cannabinoid Delivery Systems: Scientists are developing innovative methods for delivering cannabinoids to maximize their therapeutic potential. This includes exploring novel drug delivery systems such as transdermal patches, inhalation technologies, sublingual formulations, and nanoemulsions, aiming to improve bioavailability, onset time, and dosage control.”

We dove deeper and asked AI what kind of new delivery methods were being explored. Here are two that we didn’t know about:

Microencapsulation: “Microencapsulation involves encapsulating THC in tiny spheres or microspheres, which can be incorporated into various food and beverage products. This approach helps protect THC from degradation, mask its taste, and provide controlled release in the digestive system for improved absorption.” Being able to control the release rate of THC is incredible! This means extended release for all-day effects.

Suppositories: “Rectal suppositories containing THC are being explored as an alternative delivery method. Suppositories can provide efficient absorption due to the abundance of blood vessels in the rectal area, and they may be useful for patients who have difficulty swallowing or have gastrointestinal issues.” For medical patients, this route of administration would offer significant benefits. Although this has been a thing for a while, It hasn’t been mainstream info among the general public. But there it is.

Before we finished, we looked for simple things we didn’t know, such as what they call marijuana in Croatia. It’s “kanabis”, by the way. Here are the rest of the things we didn’t know about weed until AI told us:

• The oldest known cannabis stash was discovered in a 2,700-year-old tomb in the Gobi Desert of China. That means that weed is older than Jesus.
  Ancient Chinese texts mention the use of cannabis as a treatment for gout, malaria, and rheumatism. Cannabis seeds were used as a food source during times of famine.
• The first e-commerce transaction ever was reportedly a bag of cannabis sold in 1971 by Stanford students using Arpanet.
• The first recorded use of cannabis as an anesthetic dates back to ancient India, around 1000 BC.
• The Church of the Universe is a religious organization founded in Canada in the 1960s. They believe that cannabis is the Tree of Life mentioned in the Bible and consider it a sacrament for religious ceremonies and personal use.