Hi! I read a tale, it was about the Native Americans. Tobacco was sacred for them, they only smoked it in controlled conditions as part of a sacred ritual. When tobacco was smoked there could be no fighting, only peace. For example if the leaders of rival tribes were to meet and smoke a peace pipe together, as long as they were sharing this ritual they couldn't fight with each other. It was a time for negotiations, for truce.
But then along came the white man who didn't believe in the sacredness of tobacco or that tobacco plants (or any plants for that matter) could actually have a spirit and a consciousness of their own. They started to debase the tobacco and use it to satisfy their own base urges and cravings. The tale goes that the tobacco plant was so enraged it vowed that as long as it was being used and abused in this way, it would no longer serve to enrich people or to raise them up, it would only be a poison to people until such a time that people could learn to respect them (tobacco plants) again.
