Did He?

 First of all, congrats are in order for Michigan fans this morning.  It will be a very interesting off-season for college football.  There is a question a lot of people are asking about Shakespeare.  Did Shakespeare smoke weed?  Research has been done around Shakespeare's home that indicates Shakespeare was perhaps known to partake in using drugs.  He once complained of writer's block and believed he had to spend his time creating.  As is true of many poets of his day and since, drugs have been used to sttir the creativity of the mind and it seems Shakespeare was no exception.

But before we jump to conclusions a little light must be shed on the subject.  Francis Thackery and his team of researchers from Witwatersand University in South Africa were loaned some clay pioe fragments found on the Bard's property in Stratford-von-Avon.  Eight pipe fragments tested positive for cannibiss and two tested positive for Peruvian Cocaine.  

The fact is that while we can't be sure about the results, the pipe fragments were from his garden and they were from the 17th century. In a number of his sonnets the use of cannibis as a "strange weed" is mentioned, but while these sonnets aren't proof, it seems that there is enough evidence that Sheakespeare did use at least cannibis, if not cocaine as well.

What this study does, in effect, is tell us something about life in the 17th century.  Today we would think nothing of creative people using Marijuana or even Cocaine to expand their minds.  But the clues are given in Shakespeare's work that he may have indulged in drugs.  Although, while the clues are there, there may be some question as to whether the pipe fragments found in his garden are his.  

We may have enough evidence to at least say that even in his day Cannibis was not unknown.  Many famous writers since have at least been known to use various drugs while writing.  Writer's block is the most feared by writer's who stare at a blank page and want to fill it with words.  It is a writer's worst fear to say the words aren't coming.  I came across this tidbit of information about Shakespeare and decided to do a little research on the topic.  

Some questions remain, but it seems there might be enough evidence to suggest that Shakespeare used drugs in order to write.  It's Tuesday today and I've found all sorts of things to write about, but whether these things are interesting enough here just depends.  I found this little tidbit interesting enough and hope you do too.  But maybe you knew this already.

I thought I'd smoke my KS7 Churchwarden pipe today with another of my new tobaccos called Yorktown also by Cornell and Diehl.  I have never even touched that "strange weed" but I have wondered whether I should.   Yorktown is a Virginia that includes toasted Virginia.  It's been gloomy here all week and not the typical sunshine one might find in Florida, although it's warmer this morning, but quite breezy.  So, I hope this brightens your day just a bit no matter where you are this morning.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave