organic tobacco

25: web.wealth/organic tobacco:
26 summary:
. I promised myself I would never smoke again
unless I was going to die soon anyway;
and since we are having WWIII by 2016,
I became curious about my favorite tobacco,
organic, of course, and then I also stumbled upon shamanic
(in the usa we call that organic insecticide base).

usda's intro to tobacco:
Aztec tobacco (Nicotiana rustica L).
cultivated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L)
. all the other species and varieties .

organic nicotiana rustica is labor intensive:

Keep an eye on pests because
you lose a lot if you lose a little. 

. ask growers another question .
Tobacco Seeds at amazon.com .

French 2011`How to Grow Your Own Tobacco;
-- "if you can grow a tomato you can grow tobacco".
-- but this book is not about curing .

how to cure tobacco:

. avoid drying the tobacco too quickly.
as some of the green pigment may remain.
. curing is complete when the tobacco leaves have turned brown,
and the mid-rib is bone dry and brittle.

how to avoid carcinogenic nitrosamines:

. every tobacco product has nitrosamines
except for purified nicotine (gum, lozenge, patch)
and snus, a Swedish style snuff
that is pasteurized and not fermentation-cured .

tobacco-specific nitrosamines:

. due to tobacco's moisture level being high;
but dehydrated tobacco is too brittle to process
[except for use as snuff .]
. nitrites are produced by the microbes during the
curing's late yellowing to early browning stage.

Method for reduction of tobacco specific nitrosamines:

Tobacco is treated before or during curing
to lower or eliminate bacterial and fungal growth,
wherein the tobacco is treated with bicarbonate salts.

-- keep in mind that a tobacco with no additives
may have no way to control nitrosamine levels .

Little et al 2008`Organic Tobacco Growing in America
and Other Earth-Friendly Farming
-- about the recent history of growing
and not about techniques for growing tobacco.
-- a big plug for Santa Fe Natural Tobacco?
perhaps they sell organic?

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company:

. best known for its production of the
Natural American Spirit cigarette brand.
-- purchased by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 2001
and is currently a division of Reynolds American.

. at the the Natural American Spirit cig's website
they warn you "organic tobacco
does NOT mean a safer cigarette"
new users:

"Welcome to the home of Natural American Spirit
100% additive-free natural tobacco, organic tobacco,
as well as 100% U.S. grown tobacco."

the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company's website:

usa states growing certified organic tobacco:

"We now contract with farmers in North Carolina,
Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Brazil[sic]."

organic suckercide:

. suckers used to be killed with veg'oil;
now they are using O-TAC™ Plant Control Agent.
It's primarily a fatty alcohol product derived from
natural palm oil .

--. but isn't that an additive?
it's only on the unused stems:

No additives or flavorings.
Use the best part of the tobacco plant.
No stems, no puffed tobacco,
no reconstituted sheet and scrap tobacco.
Just 100 percent tobacco leaf.
It might cost us more, but it’s well worth it.
And has been since the company began in 1982.

other sources of organic tobacco

$50/lb botanicalspirit.com`Mapacho Rolls

Nicotiana rustica "Sacred Tobacco" Mapacho Rolls
- Rainforest Cured, organically grown in Peru.
They are cured with enough moisture to ferment evenly.
With a small percentage of moisture within the rolls
the outer layer will contain a small amount of non toxic mould,
for those who know the curing process this is a fantastic thing.
The mapacho is so tightly rolled that the inner leaf material
will not have any mould as mould needs oxygen to flourish,
so the inner material will be perfectly cured,
amazingly fresh aromatic rustica!
We offer extra weight with each shipment knowing the first layer
will be peeled and discarded so you will always get
as much or more quality product than you paid for.
Traditional & Modern Use:
The N. rustica is the most sacred of all the tobaccos
within American indian tribes.
It is most commonly mixed with other tobaccos such as
N. glauca or N. sylvestris to lessen the potency of it
as it is by far the most powerful of the Nicotianas. 

"Mapacho"?
cyclopaedia's intro:

. "mapacho" is the South American name for
Nicotiana rustica, with 9 times more nicotine
than the usual (Nicotiana tabacum)
and therefore useful as an organic pesticide.
. it has has MAO Inhibiting beta-carbolines,
including the harmala alkaloids, harman and norharman,
useful to shamans .

$180/900g heavenly-products.com:

Mapacho is considered very sacred by Amazonian shamans
and is employed alone (by tabaqueros)
or in combination with other plants in shamanic practices.
Some shamans drink the juice of tobacco leaves alone
as a source of visions. Mapacho is used extensively in
healing practices and is considered a medicine,
Chewing tobacco leaves is common practice in numerous tribes,
e.g., Cocamas, Omaguas, Zaparos, Omuranas, Sionas, Inganos;
Waika men keep a quid of tobacco leaves in the lower lip all day.
The Nonoyu mix tobacco with coca powder for chewing.
Tobacco juice is taken by the Jivaros
alternately with Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis)
or maikoa (Brugmansia).
Amongst the Coto Indians of the Rio Napo of Perú,
only the shaman is allowed to take tobacco juice through the nostrils;
the general male population drink it.
The Jivaros of Ecuador drink the juice in initiations,
visionary quests, war preparations,
victory feasts and witchcraft .

sources of pure if not organic nicotine

AllWorldScientific  17120 Tye St SE, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 453-2090
-- find out what they have for sale by
googling spectrumchemical.com, then expect to pay
double of what wholesaler's pay .

types of nicotine carriers:

. dilutions with vegetal glycerine,
for improved safety for handling in production.
Nicotine bitartrate dihydrate:
. a pure, water-soluble crystalline salt of nicotine
for use in lozenges, gums etc .
Nicotine polacrilex:
. nicotine powder bound with an ion-exchange resin
to maximise oral nicotine release and absorption

$51.75/25 ML TCI [insecticide not foodgrade]
$482/ 5g Nicotine Polacrilex usp

$242.60/5gm Nicotine Ditartrate, Dihydrate
--
labdepotinc is half-price (5 g $133.40)
but "labdepotinc cannot ship chemicals to individuals".
. spectrumchemical.com directs their individual sales to
AllWorldScientific (360) 453-2090