GardenersCardiff answers:

Good question. It is true that some people would grow it at home, just like some people grow their own tomatoes. There’s nothing stopping people from growing their own tobacco, yet the cigarette companies still seem to do well. People can cook at home, too – yet the restaurant industry has thrived for decades.

The fact is that the vast majority of people will not have the time/knowledge/inclination to grow their own, and will buy it pre-packaged.

I don’t smoke, but I definitely think it should be legal, provided that it is regulated like alcohol (no minors, and no driving).

It makes absolutely no sense that cannabis is illegal while alcohol and tobacco (both of which are MORE harmful and MORE addictive) are legal.

Legalization would:

– Create thousands of (legal, income-tax paying) jobs
– Devastate drug cartels, which would suddenly be without 75% of their income
– Provide an enormous windfall for the government, which would bring in billions in taxes and SAVE billions more on law enforcement (ending Prohibition played a big part in getting the U.S. Out of the Great Depression)
– Allow police, courts and prisons to focus their resources on DANGEROUS criminals, rather than harmless potheads

The more taxes the pot smokers have to pay, the less the rest of us will have to pay – everybody wins!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes, it’s legal.

GardenersCardiff answers:

These sites will tell you how to grow it:

http://www.newhopeseed.com/tobacco_growing.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_of_tobacco

And this one will tell you everything you need to know from seed to chew:

http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/index.php

GardenersCardiff answers:

You may be undertaking a little more then you may want to.
I mean the tobacco in gas stations may be crap but it has been honed over years and years to be as crappy as it is today. The curing process alone is mind-boggling. Fun! But mind-boggling. Your tobacco may not taste good the first few plants. Especially if you have never grown a plant before. As for it being better, as i said tobacco companies took years to make their stuff and your just starting. They do all types of soil testing and ph testing. So it would be hard to say. As for the nicotine, cigarettes contain 10% nicotine. Tobacco naturally grows with any where from .05% to 3% Nicotine, depending on the strain. The other is added by the company along with other chemicals. So your first cigar probably wont taste good, smell good, and will have less nicotine. Overtime you should be able to make something more palatable but thats the fun of growing your own.

GardenersCardiff answers:

You have been greatly misinformed. All tobacco contains nicotine. The tobacco plant produces the nicotine itself. Many tobacco blends on the market that are made for rolling contain many different additives. I grow strait pure tobacco and I can tell you it is not nearly as pleasant as the stuff the tobacco companies put out. Many of the additives the tobacco companies use are flavorings to make it more pleasant to smoke.

Please do some real research on this matter before you end up fooling yourself.

GardenersCardiff answers:

It is currently legal in all 50 states to grow your own tobacco. The USDA even sent me free tobacco seeds last year, (you have to request them). It’s actually legal to sell tobacco, (whole leaf only without the midrib removed). Any processing will require you to get a permit before you can sell it.

The USDA provides seeds for both research and education. Tobacco seeds are not the only seeds they provide. You do not have to be a teacher, a company, nor a scientist. You do have to provide your results once your project is finished. In my case I am attempting to cross one variety with another in order to produce a hybrid of the Rustica strain that will grow larger and produce less nicotine.

GardenersCardiff answers:

NO,it isn’t!
Don’t be ridiculous.

GardenersCardiff answers:

It isn’t found naturally, and it isn’t added by tobacco companies. Burning the tobacco creates OH free radicals by homolytically breaking C-O bonds in the sugars and sugar polymers (cellulose, for example) that give the leaves their structure. Two OH radicals can combine to form hydrogen peroxide, but the real damage is caused by the OH radicals themselves – the danger of peroxide is that the O-O bond is easily cleaved to form two OH radicals which can do a lot of oxidative damage.

Growing your own baccy won’t change a thing. If you’re a cigarette smoker you might want to start rolling your own, though. Tobacco companies do add nitrates and nitrites to tobacco and to cigarette paper so that the cigarette burns evenly (and of course burns away without going out if you set it down, so you’ll have to light another one.) These are also carcinogens, which you won’t find in rolling tobacco or in retail cigarette papers.

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