The European country of Georgia has a distinct landscape. The Svaneti province is evidence of this; its mountain peaks are always snow-capped, and its valleys so remote that for seven months each year, the region is completely snowbound. This is where the Svan people built defensive towers back in the 9th century that are now recognized and protected by UNESCO, this is where they preserved their pagan-inflected animist traditions and polyphonic folk music, and cultivated a relationship with cannabis so complete and integrated into every aspect of their daily life, that when Soviet authorities eliminated the crop, what they had really done was dismantle an entire culture.
Local people still say that somewhere in the highest settlements of the Caucasus, the ancient Svans make a fragrant, weed-filled version of khachapuri, Georgia’s beloved cheese bread. Some dismiss it as folklore, others logically speculate that the tradition died during Soviet narcotics crackdowns.
The truth is more complicated, and more tragic, than any of these theories suggest.
While dispensaries across America debate terpene profiles and Amsterdam’s coffee shops cater to tourists, few in the West know that one of the most sophisticated cannabis food cultures existed for thousands of years in the Caucasus Mountains. The Svans lived with it, cooked with it, celebrated with it, mourned with it, and integrated it deeply into their cuisine in ways that make modern edibles look like amateur hour.
Photo courtesy of George Dagerotip via Unsplash
An Ancient Intoxication
A 35-year-old man from the Jushi community has just died. His people drape 13 cannabis plants across his body—neck to waist—some over three feet tall. They lay him on a wooden cot, tuck a reed pillow under his head, then lower him into the ground.
This is a 2,500-year-old funeral in the Turpan Basin, in …
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Author: Samuel Peters / High Times
