A bit about the evolution of cannabis

The origin of cannabis dates back 28 million years. Tectonic plate activity, which caused geological folding as a result of the penetration of the Indian subcontinent into Asia, contributed to the flourishing of cannabis by creating a comfortable habitat for it. Cannabis thrives in open, treeless habitats such as the Tibetan Plateau. From there, it spread eastward and westward. It was domesticated in China 12,000 years ago, but its use as a drug goes back “just” 4,000 years. It is not clear how they were discovered, but probably as a result of starvation. When you are hungry you eat everything.

The earliest clear evidence of people using drug-type cannabis to get high comes from a mountain cemetery in western China about 2,200 years ago. Written evidence from India suggests that people were using drug-type cannabis as early as 2,000 years ago. The use of cannabis spread to Africa in the 13th century and to Latin America in the 16th century.

The psychoactive effects of cannabis are attributed to molecules like THC, which interact with the endocannabinoid system in animals. The endocannabinoid system is a system of regulation and control of signals in various cells in the body, and is found in almost all animals. The system involved in regulating various biological functions such as appetite, sleep, mood, memory, metabolism, and growth. The system uses molecules produced by the body called endocannabinoids, which are similar to those produced by cannabis, and various receptors in the body bind to them. What THC does is essentially mimic these substances and activate these systems.

Compounds such as THC and CBD are called phytocannabinoids, and their function is not entirely clear. They may serve some purpose for the plant, or it may be that in the form of distributing endocannabinoid-like compounds, the plant “punishes” the creature that ate it and causes it to lose control of its body.

Phytocannabinoids have evolved during the evolution of cannabis to protect itself, that’s clear, from various pests such as pathogens and herbivores. But who, where, how, and why? Unclear. Based on the antimicrobial and antifungal properties, it can be assumed that these were the pathogens that prevented cannabis from surviving, and based on the psychoactive properties, either a predator that destabilized cannabis existed somewhere, or one of the side effects of cannabis protection against a threat to it, in case, also affects the endocannabinoid system. And perhaps cannabis developed this substance to specifically attract creatures that would be poisoned from the influence on this system, and through them, it spread better.

the meaning of the hebrew word “Aviv” would indicate the biblical barley at Exodus as an early stage of the evolution of the cultivated barley, as opposed to the relatively more advanced stage of the wheat.

After the hailstorm plague in Egypt, it is told in the book of Exodus that the crop was mostly destroyed, but not entirely. “And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten: for they were not grown up” (Exodus 9:31-32). The word for the reason the wheat was not smitten is “Aphilot”, which is a Hapax legomenon, this is the only way it appears in the bible. The word for reason the barley smitten in hebrew is “Aviv”, which could be translated to the spring season and we see this is the reason why passover should be celebrated at the spring. Still, apart from these references for the exact date, “Aviv” seems to be a singular word as well. The word appears several times in the Torah, but only in the Torah (and in Ezekiel “Tel Aviv”). There are two more mentions of the word “Aviv”, once in the mentioned verse, and the second time in the descriptions of the offering of first fruits (Leviticus 2:14), which is also somehow related to the counting of the Omer, so to passover.

Traditional interpretation, as of KJV and the jewish commentators, claims that “Aphilot” is the opposite of “Aviv,” and “Aviv” means “already grown and ripe,” while “Aphil” means “not yet grown”. I won’t dwell on the meaning of the word “Aphil,” as I really have no idea what it means, but what bothers me are two things: what is the connection between barley and flax, and what is this “flax” at all, and how wheat and barley fundamentally different, when does one ripens while the other is still not. Their ripening times are similar, both sown at the same time and ripening at the same time in early May. Sometimes barley ripens earlier and matures by the end of April, but two weeks here and two weeks there is a matter of standard deviation, and if you look, you’ll find grains that ripened earlier than others. It all depends on environmental conditions. The dating of the hailstorm for a specific period in the year, a particular week at the end of April is problematic to me.

I propose a different interpretation: “Aviv” comes from the root N.V.V., meaning something hollowed inside. The grains were developed through genetic manipulation. The original form of barley has 14 chromosomes (two sets of chromosomes – diploid), it is generally a wild barley form. Domesticated forms have more chromosomes (more sets of chromosomes, tetraploid and above), and are characterized by improved stem and grain properties. Undomesticated forms would shed their grains when ripe, and this required farmers to collect the grains from the ground. Therefore, it was important for farmers to keep the grains close to the stem during harvest, but to keep the grains loose. At this stage, barley was still wild barley, and it released the grains too easily, or shot them with a twist. So that it would hide among the soil clods and be protected.

All that the verse says about barley “Aviv” is that unlike wheat, which was already in its mature evolutionary stage, barley was still in an early stage of evolutionary development, so its grains were easily detached, especially when hit by a heavy weight of hail. Aviv, therefore, comes from the moment just before the grains detach themselves from the ear to spread themselves with the wind. Perhaps more cultivated editions overcame this tendency. However, more cultivated editions were more exposed to diseases and pests.

Wheat and spelt are supposed to be synonymous words, spelt in hebrew is “Kusemet”, derived from “Kisuy”, “a covering”, which means that the husks of the wheat still cover the grains, so the grains are still stuck to the stem. Therefore, according to parallelism, a “flax”in this context of the verse should be some kind of wild barley and not a linseed. Since our question is what is common for the between flax and grains, which are mentioned together, and what is the meaning of the description of flax as a “stem”? In the book of Joshua, they talk about the fact that the spies hid by the “trees of the flax”, we can only assume that when talking about barley they are talking about the stripped barley stem, and then “trees of the flax” means “hay”, and all Rahav did was put them in a box and cover them in the hay. So too when in the book of Job they talk about “yWhile still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass”, they are actually talking about a hollow stem that is drying up even when it is still connected, before the grass will dry (that is, stems that have detached).

When it says “Aviv” in the verse “If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire” (Leviticus 2:14), it means “Abuv” or “hollowed instrument of the roasters”, as described in the Mishnah of tractate Menachot. The hollowed instrument was a perforated clay vessel for roasting. Through the holes, the heat penetrated, and roasted the grains (or “Groats”, hebrew: Geres). Geres Carmel in hebrew would mean: crushed kernels of newly ripened ears, which were the grains of barley that were “threshed” for “roasting”. These roasted grains were offered for the offering of first fruits. Again – “Aviv” from the word hollow and perforated. Alternatively, it can also be interpreted that “Aviv” refers to the barley stem after they have removed all the grains from it. And then it means that the offering of the first fruits should be offered after they have turned the stem into “Aviv”, and the grains themselves, without the stem, should be roasted.

Fermentation, the engine of culture

Fermentation gave humans evolutionary advantages due to cultivating their ability to deal with processed food in a way that was good for them. By processed food is meant food that has already been digested once, by bacteria or yeast. A form that will be good for them: that will facilitate digestion and allow them to get the same dose of energy that they would get from eating raw food.

Fermentation allowed food to be preserved, and its advantage is that it allowed humans to get almost the same amount of energy from processed food, so they did not have to consume the food raw. Since processed food is not considered fresh food, man has developed a technique that will allow him to distinguish between processed food that will be good for him and processed food that will harm him (i.e: spoiled food). This technique is called taste. Through taste man has developed a primitive mechanism that analyzes and predicts to him in a more or less reliable way the quality of the food. Tastes have evolved to be able to identify high-energy foods (ie: carbon/sweet and sodium/salty), to know how to identify poisons (bitter) or to identify processed foods, i.e those that have undergone some sort of microbial digestion (sour or umami).

The sour taste for example evolved to suggest to man to recognize acids, and therefore to know how to recognize vitamin C. The ancient man was a meat eater. Carnivores get their nutrients from meat, because they eat the organs that store vitamin C in the animals’ internal organs. But raw meat is hard to eat and digest, and the ancient man preferred to heat and cook his food in order to ease his fast. However, vitamin C dissolves when exposed to oxygen, heat and light (and therefore: cooking and heating), and therefore when cooked in the bone this nutrient evaporates and humans lack it. Fermenting meat helped them get it back, while maintaining the effect that refines the food and allows for easy digestion. By burying the meat, they prevented the food from being exposed to light and oxygen, and along the way also did not allow the bacteria that cause food poisoning to survive. This was an axiom until it was discovered that there are tribes of Inuit (Eskimos) who still maintain this practice, which allows them to survive on a carnivorous diet.

This is how man discovered the benefits of fermentation, and realized that he could benefit if he fermented his food. He began to ferment food such as milk, vegetables and other plants, and this made him domesticate the fermented products. For example, he domesticated the animals that give milk, in order to make cheese from it. For example, he domesticated vegetables in order to allow them to be pickled. For example, he domesticated the vine and the grain in order to consume the fermented drink obtained from soaking them in water. One of the byproducts of the fermentation of sugars is alcohol, or ethanol. And hence, the road to “revelation” is short.