So Smoke Your Brains Out, Kemosabe

56 Replies to “So Smoke Your Brains Out, Kemosabe”

1. Is it still sacred after they smuggle it across the border, I wonder?

2. They don’t recommend inhaling or in fact smoking it for most applications.

3. They gave us tobacco, we gave them alcohol.
   Let’s call it even.

4. Is traditional tobacco a healer only to Natives or does it apply to the rest of us as well? I smell a marketing opportunity and one approved by cancercare ontario!!!!

5. Try saying that traditional tobacco is a healer when you are speaking through a hole in your throat.

6. So, if commercial tobacco is a killer, and traditional tobacco is a healer, why is it that when I go to Pharmasave I can only buy killer commercial tobacco and not healthful traditional tobacco?

7. From actually reading the site, you see that what they are calling ‘traditional tobacco’ has no additives and is not inhaled.

8. But if killer tobacco were marketed as healer tobacco, then….
   I’m confused…

9. Is there a “Rasta ganga strategy” paid for by the feds too?
   If not, why not?

10. Traditional Marlboro tobacco is a healer! Please go to the next aisle for the Marlboro Healer Tobacco. Is is not taxed and has health benefits. If you plan on inhaling, you can buy the taxed Killer tobacco here in this aisle.
    The parody opportunities here are endless.
    This is as funny as the Government of Canada publication (Redwire?) filled with articles about KKKanada.

11. Scotch is a healer too! It cures gout, rickets, scurvy, shingles, the shakes, the vapours…you name it.
    Accompanied by a traditional cuban cigar, you have pretty much all the bases covered!
    This pale face wants to smoke his face off too!

12. Hmmm. Are we going to start seeing Medicinal Tobacco at the Pharmacy counter now? Organically grown by Marlboro to Traditional Medicine Man standards.
    Can I get that on my prescription drug plan?

13. Yes Indians … keep smoking your ceremonial tobacco and eating your traditional diet of fat and starch. You will end up solving a lot of problems for the rest of us.
    Thank you … thank you very much.

14. *
    Hey Doc… is it okay if I have a “sacred beer”
    with that?
    “Sacred Tobacco can be used as medicine alone or
    in combination with other plants/herbs to treat
    some illnesses.”
    Yeah… like what… boredom?
    *

15. Small wonder our First Nation’s people have some of the highest smokers per capita in Canada.

16. Todd: “From actually reading the site, you see that what they are calling ‘traditional tobacco’ has no additives and is not inhaled.”
    And I assume that there is also no second-hand smoke. Because all of those smoking bans in numerous jurisdictions were justified by the fact that second-hand smoke is harmful. Even smoking on patios and in other outdoor public places was banned.
    So the point remains: done by natives it heals, done by everyone else it harms.

17. The school division I work for has a very strict no smoking policy in place. Employees can not even smoke in their vehicles if they are parked in division parking lots. They risk suspension or termination if they are caught.
    Aboriginal groups use the libraries, cafeterias and classrooms in many buildings, and are permitted to smoke indian tobacco to the point that people walking by in the hallways complain of headaches, nausea and burning eyes.
    Two tier policy enforcement anyone?

18. The “eye socket” in the pic doesn’t match the face. I can’t believe this claim…

19. Todd also seems ignorant of this thing cigar smokers get, mouth and throat cancers.
    Additives are neither here not there. Back in the day when the original work was done on tobacco, today’s additives weren’t even invented yet.
    The effect of smoking on the heart and lungs is extremely well understood. Roll-yer-owns from ecologically conscious, organically grown, shaman approved tobacco or Lucky Strikes, makes no difference.
    Well, unless you’re a Native Canadian. Clearly they have a completely different biochemistry.
    Now if you’ll all look this way, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

20. But….what about second-hand healing?

21. I see an earring on the kid’s left ear. What’s that, a political correctness-mandated hat tip to “alternative lifestyles”?
    No matter where we go, no matter what the message, there’s seemingly always a subtle reference to “alternative lifestyles”…
    Of course we’ll see it in something put out by anyone connected to “progressivism”.

22. I don’t know, I think we may be overreacting a bit here, no? Isn’t the point of this site to educate young people that just because tobacco is used in many sacred First Nations rituals that that doesn’t mean smoking tobacco is good, and that people need to understand the difference between the sacred uses of tobacco, and simply smoking it. Most of the uses of tobacco discussed at the site don’t even involve lighting the tobacco on fire, let alone smoking it.
    In fact, the only time smoking tobacco is even mentioned on the sacred side is smoking tobacco from a peace pipe in a special ceremony to commune with one’s ancestors and the spirit world. And yes, it does state that the tobacco is not inhaled in these ceremonies, though NOT that this makes it harmless.
    It seem to me this site is all about aboriginal Canadians NOT smoking, and realizing that most of the sacred uses of unprocessed tobacco don’t even involve lighting it on fire, and that the one that DOES involve fire also involves a sacred pipe, a sacred ceremony, and no inhaling. In fact, if I were Shere Khan dealing with aboriginal groups being allowed to smoke around campus, I might show someone in authority this site, which seems to pretty clearly explain that simply smoking tobacco is not some aboriginal rite (nor right).
    I suppose if people are really upset about this site though, and its implications, we could take away their sacred pipes and ban the practice of their religion. Seems like that’s the only thing we HAVEN’T gotten around to doing to them yet.

23. Actually, if it is considered a “healer” it probably will be covered by their treaty health care card. They get 100 percent benefits covered for all sorts of things you and I wouldn’t receive like vitamins, cough syrup, cane tips and condoms.

24. That settles it for me…I’m gonna smoke my way to immortality.

25. Canadian Sentinel,
    I don’t know what you think the earring signifies (in terms of an “alternative lifestyle”) but I’m pretty sure it has a different meaning among the First Nations.
    Unless you meant to imply that since the kid is a First Nations kid that being an aboriginal Canadian is now considered an “alternative lifestyle”. I never thought of that.
    As for what you PROBABLY thought the earring “meant” that would be the RIGHT ear, not the left. Though, no one really pays attention to that anymore either (not since the 80s). I think it stopped mattering which ear a man had pierced just around the time it became pretty common for men to have BOTH ears pierced.

26. Earrings were worn by sailors, in the past, to acknowledge that they had sailed around the Horn (around the tip of South America). Young males, wearing ear rings look like little girls; old males wearing ear rings look either repulsive or silly,(unless they are indeed, hardened old sailors who have sailed around the Horn; IMO.
    Tobacco is a healer in that it disinfects and has been used for years in chicken coups etc. It also calms the nerves because it is enjoyable and non toxic. I have found that it is also a pain killer.
    Smoking is no where near the problem to society that alcohol and drugs are – it is up to the individual if they smoke or not…living is fatal in case the hyper ventilators forget that fact. In this country we still chose our own ‘quality’ of life. Some eat, some drink, some ‘do’ drugs, some smoke tobacco, some like risky relations and get AIDS, some do nothing, some do everything but in four score ten (more or less): we all croak! Living is terminal.

27. Yes indeed, and even a cynical type like myself can wonder just how much further politically correct multicultural hypocrisy can go: this is really low stuff. “Tobacco Wise?” “Sacred Tobacco?” Government logos (and financial support!) and a kid? Who has the furthest to go here before they get back within a light year’s distance of sanity- white liberals or natives?
    I was tempted to crack a joke here about what a perfectly pitched piece of unintentional irony this poster is, but- ugh; it’s just not funny.

28. Oh Kate
    Such pointed questions. That you even dared to ask them will be noted as proof of any number of isms of which you will be pronounced guilty.
    Sadly, realism will not be mentioned.
    Syncro

29. “enjoyable and non toxic”
    Yeah, there are a lot of things that can kill us -that’s why we avoid them, not embrace them with deluded phrases like that.
    If you smoke, you are choosing reduced quality of life and bad health; if that’s your choice you better look at your priorities.
    Most smokers would like to quit, they can’t, so they fool themselves into thinking they don’t want to.
    Did you ever wonder why it’s so popular in prisons and not so popular in society?
    Indeed, life is terminal – that’s why I prefer to enjoy my time on earth in an active and healthy fashion for as long as possible.

30. *
    getting back to basics, huh? that’s nice.
    whatever happened to the traditional slaughter
    of the french jesuits, anyway?
    *

31. It’s easy to spot the difference in Alberta:
    The “corporate” tobacco is packaged with a red duty-paid label and costs 13 bucks, the “traditional tobacco” is packaged with a yellow duty-free label and costs 6 bucks.
    Unfourtunately, only special nobility possessing the rare and magical “white card” may purchase this amazing “traditional healing” variety of the plant…

32. I picked a few hundred kilns of tobacco as a kid. (before I turned 25). The work wasn’t as dangerous as the time I spent as a roughneck, and I learned a lot about the plant. I liked to smoke and while I believe that, in moderation, there are medicinal qualities to it, I quit years ago. And I hope that I’m able to refrain from it’s use, as I am a true nicotine addict. And in light of the nonsense being spewed out by the good folks at tobaccowise(or whatever) of most of the tobacco was picked with my right hand. Picked the medicinal stuff with my left.

33. I can hardly wait for government sanctioned ads of sacred brands of shoe polish, lysol and glue. The bureaucrats that gave their stamp of approval to the ad must be overindulging in those sacred products to the point where their brain cells are becoming endagered species.

34. Oops, that’s “endangered”.

35. “Separation of church and state: my ass!
    (Is airplane glue a sacred prescription drug yet?)

36. Too funny!!!
    Mike….I suppose this would explain the virtues of left hand ciggies or lefties as we called them on the rig. Incidently I still posess all my digits (although my right pinkie has a permenant molsens curve) I hope you retired unscathed.
    Knight…I have noticed this as well. Fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be) I benefit from a friendship with one who holds this mythical “white card”. Needless to say I offset my intake of bad tobacco with the medicinal variety.
    Syncro

37. If separation of church and state is good enough for Christians it’s certainly good enough for First Nations, yes? If tobacco promotion to minors is illegal in white communities, it should be illegal in First Nations communities as well.
    Yes?
    Yes?
    C’mon Kate this is all covered by ” The Charter ” ….. well at least half of it is , right ?

38. It’s a darn shame when you have to ‘splain the point like that….

39. If a FN individual were to jump up on a desk top and drop a deuce on it, the PC left / Libs would likely worship the result as a culturally modified desk top (CMDT). This would be followed by an Indian industry ambulance chaser who would declare the desk top as having historical significance and grounds for a rights and title land claim. This would all lead to a further ruling on the significance of CMDTs by the SCC. The legislators would respond with……….

40. you’re never gonna win that judgeship position while posting this sort of opinion…
    “just sayin'”

41. When it comes to the mandated support of FN culture, separation of church and state is impossible. It is a spiritual culture. Really, all cultures are. A description of a given culture includes a stance on spirituality — even if it happens to be an a-theistic, a-religious one.
    That’s why multiculturalism doesn’t work.
    Moving culture to the forefront runs totally against the separation of church and state, making it necessary to invest so much energy into managing the contradictions lest the facade crumble.
    Before you know it tax dollars are being spent to convince kids to smoke more. Oops.

42. Just so the context is clear:
    “This website is part of the Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy Mass Media Campaign whose goal is to create tobacco wise mass media messages targeting urban Aboriginal youth. This campaign is intended to denormalise the use of commercial tobacco, educate youth regarding traditional tobacco and provide support for non-smoking ways of life.”
    I suppose it’s easy to have an opinion about what you don’t understand, though, but, hey, it’s your blog.

43. What led you to believe I “don’t understand” the context?
    I understand it perfectly well.
    I just happen to reject it.

44. well..it would seem context is everything..realatively speaking..
    Syncro

45. But, but, you have it all wrong. The tar tobacco came from England. Says so right here;
    http://www.tobaccowise.com/traditional/elders
    We were already smoking our traditional tobacco but they brought that tar tobacco over from England.

46. Kate, YES!

47. It seems to me that tobacco has a religious significance to our native people – and I think that that needs to be respected.
    I read an article recently about incense use in Buddhist Temples and Shrines in homes in Hong Kong and Taiwan – apparently this causes cancer big time.
    I remember going to the the big Buddha Monastery on Lantau Island (Hong Kong) and basically choking on the incense – it is part of their religion and it needs to be respected – even though you’re a goner.
    Or if you’ve ever been to Bali or India, waking up and having the beautiful little Hindu incense and flower purification thing happening outside your door – it is ultra cool and incredibly relaxing – but cancer causing and you’re going to kick the bucket in a hurry.
    It’s the same thing with Catholic Masses – if you miss the fast 8:00am or 9:00am Masses – you’re stuck going to the long 11:00am Mass and getting a big dose of incense.
    Let’s have a little more respect for our native people and their traditions.

48. Hypocrisy in overdrive…delicious irony…political correctness on the defendant’s stand here.
    Tobacco is not bad if it has a native source
    Open displays of religious iconism by the secular state are OK…if they have a native source
    side stream smoke from Indian holy tobacco is healing but sidestream smoke from the same tobacco in cigarettes is deadly.
    The list is endless. Modern political correctness is a form of mental retardation caused by toxic hypocrisy.

49. Actually, tobacco is used for all kinds of healing deals in traditional first nations medicine. How well it works is another thing altogether, but tobacco extracts do actually have medicinal benefits. None of them, as far as I can tell, involve inhaling or even lighting it on fire.

50. well, the thrust of the advert is on the mystic spiritual healing and for that they burn the plant….generally in a dish in small enclosed sweat or vision lodges (so they inhale side stream smoke) or smoke it in a pipe (taking direct hits)..the magic spirit of the leaf is our old friend nicotine which produces a mild disorienting euphoria which natives held to be a spiritual experience…..frik the PC apologists around here and their revisionist BS get thick when traditional native culture is spotlighted.