BARD ON POT? WEED IT & WEEP

To toke or not to toke - that apparently wasn't a tough question for
Shakespeare.

Scientists say he may have smoked marijuana for inspiration.

Pipes dug up from the garden of Shakespeare's home in Stratford-upon-Avon
in England contain traces of pot, researchers say.

A team of scientists began their study after noting that Shakespeare's
Sonnet No. 76 refers to "invention in a noted weed."

"Weed" is a slang term for marijuana, and "invention" refers to writing.

The findings spark speculation that the world's most famous author may have
been inspired to write his enduring classics while stoned.

"We do not claim that any of the pipes belonged to Shakespeare," Dr.
Francis Thackeray, head of paleontology at the Transvaal Museum, writes in
the South African Journal of Science.

"However, some of the pipes come from the area in which he lived, and they
date from the 17th century.

"So we put forward a hypothesis that Shakespeare may have used cannabis as
a source of inspiration."

Marijuana was first grown in England in the year 400. In the 16th and 17th
centuries, it was used to produce hemp for ships' ropes and canvas.

"The [marijuana] was found in two of the 24 pipe fragments examined, which
is really quite remarkable," Thackeray said.

In the same sonnet that refers to "a noted weed," the Bard also mentions
"compounds strange" - another possible reference to drugs.

"But I think Shakespeare, who may have experimented with these substances,
is saying he would rather turn away from them. I would not read it as an
endorsement of drug use," Thackeray said.

Professor Stanley Wells of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which lent
Thackeray the fragments, said the conclusions were "regrettable."

"I think it's trying to suggest that Shakespeare was not a great genius,
but somebody who produced his writings under an artificial influence," he said.

"There are about 8 million cannabis takers in this country at the present
time. Are they producing anything comparable to Shakespeare's sonnet, I ask
myself? I doubt it."