Researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand, led by Professor Francis Thackeray, have suggested that William Shakespeare may have used Cannabis and or cocaine. Several clay pipes were recovered in the area of Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown, including some pipes found in the grounds of his residence. The 24 pipes were submitted to a South African forensic laboratory. There were traces of cannabis on eight of the instruments, cocaine was present in two pipes and nicotine in one pipe.
17th century contemporaries of Shakespeare included Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake, both were favourites of Queen Elizabeth and both made treks to the New World. Raleigh is credited with introducing tobacco to England. The study done by Thackeray suggests that cocaine leaves might have been brought to England by Drake from his travels in the Western Hemisphere. The report was first published in 2001.
Thackeray has been checking out a possible link between Shakespeare and drugs for many years. In 1999, the researcher wrote a paper titled “”Hemp as a source of inspiration for Shakespearean literature?” The theory is not proved, but he does feel that there are some clues in Shakespeare’s sonnets. His Sonnet 76, for instance, refers to “invention in a noted weed”. Thackeray interprets this phrase to mean the Shakespeare was not averse to using cannabis to improve his creativity. However, the same sonnet seems to mean that cocaine was not used.
The pipes were tested by Thackeray and his colleagues, using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The results showed that the pipes found in Shakespeare’s property might have been used for smoking cannabis, but no cocaine was found in the testing of those particular pipes. Others during the Shakespearean era were known to have used cocaine. The author-playwright could have known about the effects of cocaine, but possibly preferred the mind-stimulating effects of weed.Assisting in the study of the pipes were Nicholas vander Merwe of the Univ. of Cape Town, and Tommy vander Merwe at the police narcotics lab in South Africa.
Although the findings are interesting, there is no proof that Shakespeare owned the subject pipes, or that he used either substance. Thackeray believes that Sonnet 76 indicated that Shakespeare was possibly playing with words and used the subject words “invention in a noted weed” to be a cryptic reference to the use of cannabis as a source of inspiration.
In Shakespeare’s time, various plant products were smoked, using clay pipes. As early as 1597, several different types of tobacco were listed in a botanical reference work called “Herbal”. The tobacco plant, “nicotania” and “henbane of Peru” are listed. Nicotania is credited to Sir Walter Raleigh’s explorations, while henbane of Peru is believed to be cocaine, gained by smoking coca leaves.
Writers from Byron to Hunter S. Thompson are known to have been inspired by the use of drugs. However, the Church had condemned the use of Cannabis before the time of Shakespeare. Writers who referred specifically to weed might be subject to a book burning.
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