In the beginning.........there was tobacco.

Native American Indians considered tobacco to be a sacred drug to be used only for ceremonial purposes.  The way the conquering peoples have come to use tobacco violates its purpose and spirit. Perhaps cultural misappropriation is fatal.

The Hurons tell this story:

When the land was barren and the people were starving, the Great Spirit sent forth a woman to save humanity. As she traveled over the world, everywhere her right hand touched the soil, there grew potatoes. And everywhere her left hand touched the soil, there grew corn. And when the world was rich and fertile, she sat down and rested. When she arose, there grew tobacco . . .