Evolution is one of civilized society’s great-unsolved mysteries. Of course, people have attempted to answer this phenomenon with reasoning revolving around religion or natural selection, but never by means of nature’s creations. It is a plausible belief that nature evolved because of other products found in nature. The point I am trying to illustrate here is that humans evolved because of ingesting mind altering substances such as cocaine or mushrooms, but mainly, for this thought, marijuana.
Before I begin, in no way do I condone the use of drugs, nor am I saying that I participate it them myself, I just find the topic interesting and the ideas expressed here are nothing more than a theory of mine. Furthermore, I am in no way saying that cannabis ingestion is the leading factor behind evolution, I am only saying that it could have been a possible contributor.
Before reading the rest of this paper it is important to throw away any previous beliefs you may have had on evolution, and assume that humans have not always “been,” but instead, have evolved over millions of years. But even with evolution there is always the X-factor, I just happen to think that X=THC. This may be a very hard theory for people to grasp because that is the way humans are taught to think. It is somewhat unreal for a person to believe a substance, which has been said to be detrimental to society, was the cause for human’s evolution. My theory has no place for moral standards or beliefs, if someone has an ignorant negative perspective then I suggest you stop yourself from finishing this piece of writing, but if you are open to knew ideas then carry on.
Before the days of cell phones and Facebook, humans existed in a much more primitive state. It is believed that we were originally a species of primates, which was originally illustrated by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Darwin believed that all life evolved naturally over a complex series of mutations and adaptations. Though I am not going into any more detail on Darwin’s beliefs, it is important to note because I agree with this, but have my own modification to add to it.
I am going to skip past the days of one-celled organisms to when humans were primitive primates. As primates we had ingested the marijuana bud, which in terms caused mind-altering effects. After we were “under the influence” we began to start thinking outside of the box and completely change our state of consciousness. As a result, we began to evolve in all aspects including intelligence, linguistic, visual and auditory capabilities. Now no longer are humans these primitive beings, but rather we are able to break away from our animal like instincts. Our creativity is enhanced leading to more innovative inventions such as the wheel, or music. It could have also given us a more complex perspective on reality leading to philosophical beliefs of life or religion. Again, I am not directly saying that marijuana is the definite reason to why humans evolved, there are endless other factors that could have lead to our current state of existence. I am only saying that it could have been a large contribution to why we are the way we are.
Aside from being an evolutionary contributor, about 300 million of the world’s population view marijuana as a part of their culture and lifestyle. For most people marijuana is a recreational drug taken for similar reasons as alcohol consumption, this being social events, an escape from the real, boredom, among other things. For cultures such as the Rastafarians’, marijuana is a cultural symbol, they use the plant to gain wisdom and help them obtain a better understanding of their inner spiritual self. Today in many cultures, including Canadian, marijuana, though still illegal, can be used for medicinal purposes to help relieve pain from such diseases as HIV, or patients suffering from nerve damage. Consistent users of marijuana are said to be more sexually experienced, which could explain the increase in the human population because of an increased sexual desire as explained above. The users are less rigid with their thinking which helped humans break away from their “animal instincts” and begin to think differently. Regular users are also said to be more receptive to change, which can explain our increase in intelligence and our creation of music. Users are also said to have a richer view of complex reality which can easily explain how we began to philosophize and interpret the world outside of our sheltered perceptions.
According to research by Roger J. Sullivan, Edward H. Hagen and Peter Hammerstein, plants evolve by creating stronger neurotoxins, which are used to fend off any plant consumers, in this case, humans. Of course as the plants develop so do the species that feed off them, most importantly, humans. The most amazing aspect of all species is their ability to adapt, and of course if a food source such as plants are creating new ways to fend off enemies, then the enemies are going to create new ways to ingest them. For humans to prevent our bodies from having a negative effect from these neurotoxins created by the plants, we use a detoxification enzyme known as cytochrome P450 or CYP. CYP oxidizes up to 90% of any toxins, or in this case Tetrahydrocannabinol from the marijuana bud, and readies it for disposal from the body. For plants such as marijuana, CYP is what creates the psychoactive content that causes the mind-altering effects on anyone who consumes the bud. The research from the article demonstrates that during the early stages of evolution both plants and animals evolved together. For example, in humans, the CYP had become stronger and evolved at the same time in both carriers. What this shows is that humans were in fact ingesting toxins from plants, or in this case the marijuana plant. There is no other reason why humans would have had to develop such a resistance to the toxins if we were not eating them.
I realize that this is a more biological determinant on human’s evolution in relation to marijuana use, but it again further exemplifies the point. The argument that some people make against this theory, as illustrated in “Revealing The Paradox of Drug Reward in Human Evolution” is that the toxins plants create, would have been more harmful to humans than beneficial. Though a valid argument, humans also possess what is called a mesolimbis dopamine system or “MDS”. Without going into too much detail, this is what creates neurons that go to the brain, which creates unconditioned pleasure caused by such actions as eating food or having sex. By ingesting any drug, we enhance this pleasure. What some evolutionary theorists believe is that the MDS evolved to reinforce the behaviours caused by psychoactive plant toxins. So again our bodies evolved to take something that should be harmful to us, and made it beneficial.
Recently, new studies have been made through testing marijuana effects on rats. Scientist have found that when these rats were presented with the THC compound it had promoted the development of brain cells. The testing consisted of giving rats injections, twice a day for ten days of HU210, which is a synthesized version of a chemical found in marijuana”. After the ten day study was completed, the rats showed signs of new neurons developing in the hippocampus dentate gyrus, which is an area of the brain that helps in developing memory. Obviously, if these rats are generating new neurons in the brain because of exposure to cannabis, then this could again explain how humans evolved as a result of ingesting the plant. Though this type of information may not deal directly with cultural aspects, it needs to be pointed out to show the possibility of humans taking marijuana during evolution.
Aside from the complex scientific reasoning behind humans ingestion of marijuana, the accessibility and simplicity of taking the plant plays a large role in this theory. Not only is marijuana a naturally growing plant that can be found all over the world, it is also very simple to consume. Any unintelligent primate could easily just walk by and eat the plant, unlike today where drugs have taken more culturally acquired methods such as smoking, injecting or snorting.
Did I blow your mind, I would love to hear any new evidence supporting or disproving this theory, feel free to call me a dummy :)