Cannabis may have originated in northwest China, study suggests

Cannabis' earliest roots may have stemmed from northwestern China -- not South Asia as commonly believed, according to a study published on Friday.

Researchers found the Cannabis sativa species -- the "much beloved and maligned plant" widely used as a recreational drug -- likely emerged from the region by Neolithic times (10,000-3,000 BC), according to a news release from the journal Science Advances, where the study was published. Cannabis was one of the first plants domesticated by humans, and has a long history of being used in textiles, food, and oilseed as hemp, the study said. But this history has been difficult to research, due to modern legal restrictions around the plant's use and accessibility.