TRACES OF POT, COKE FOUND AT SHAKESPEARE'S HOME

Analysis Of Clay Pipes Suggests Drug Use

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 narcotic 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.