MARIJUANA PIPES FOUND NEAR BARD'S HOME SITE

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Several 17th-century clay pipes found on
the site of William Shakespeare's home may have been used to smoke
marijuana, scientists reported Thursday.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon in England
allowed South African researchers to analyze 24 pipe fragments in Pretoria.

Though marijuana degrades over time, eight of those pipe fragments
showed signs suggestive of marijuana, the scientists said. Two of the
pipe samples tested also showed evidence of cocaine.

Others showed traces of tobacco, camphor and a chemical with
hallucinogenic properties, the study said.

"We do not claim that any of the pipes belonged to Shakespeare
himself. However, we do know that some of the pipes come from the area
in which he lived, and they date to the 17th century," said Francis
Thackeray of the Transvaal Museum, one of the researchers.

Georgianna Ziegler, head of reference for the Folger Shakespeare
Library in Washington, said scholars had no proof of narcotics use by
Shakespeare, who lived from 1564 to 1616.

"I'm not saying that Shakespeare would never have drunk, or eaten, or
smoked marijuana, because it was used as a medical remedy at the time.
But we have no evidence that he ever used it for pleasure," she said.

John Henry, toxicologist and professor at London's Imperial College of
Medicine, who was not affiliated with the study, said it was possible
that coca leaves -- which contain a small amount of cocaine -- "were
smoked by people in Britain in the 17th century."

Cocaine itself did not come to Britain until about 1900, but coca
leaves, chewed by many Incas in the 1500s, were transported to Europe
in the 17th century by Spanish explorers.

The results of the study are published in the South African Journal of
Science.