Talk: Pipe-weed

It should be noted that Saruman actually "derides" Gandalf of this, only shortly after growing fond of it himself from his own wanderings to the North. I found it in the History of Middle Earth Volume Seven, if memory serves correctly, just in case there was any question about sourcing.--Quidon88 07:15, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

It should also be noted that "pipe-weed" is just that, weed. Weed as in marijuna. Gandalf cleary states it calms one's mind and Radagast definitely seems to get some form of a head high when smoking Gandalf's pipe in the Hobbit film adaptation.

I'm pretty sure that i've read a quote from Tolkien himself clearly stating that it wasn't cannabis. However, you are right that in the film it certainly did make Radagast get some sort of headrush and Saruman also comments something about the 'Halfling's leaf' rotting Gandalf's mind which hints that it has similar effects to Cannabis and may enhance the imagination. They probably just put the Radagast bit in for laughs though to be honest. (The Great Goblin (talk) 14:01, December 28, 2012 (UTC))

Is it confirmed anywhere that Pipe Weed is a form of tobacco? I always thought of it as a plant unique to Middle Earth 75.16.46.240 20:53, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

yeah, it seems very odd that Tolkien would include tobacco in Middle Earth when he was otherwise very careful to remove all other references to plants or animals from the Western Hemisphere. For example potatoes and tomatoes are never mentioned in the books (yet are mentioned by name in the movies for some strange reason). 87.82.207.195 11:40, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Not true about potatoes. "'What's taters, precious, eh, what's taters?' [hissed Gollum.] 'Po — ta — toes,' said Sam. 'The Gaffer's delight, and rare good ballast for an empty belly.'" - LotR, "Of herbs and stewed rabbit"

• 2. Concerning Pipe-weed
  
• There is another astonishing thing about Hobbits of old that must be mentioned, an astonishing habit: they imbibed or inhaled, through pipes of clay or wood, the smoke of the burning leaves of a herb, which they called pipe-weed or leaf, a variety probably of Nicotiana. A great deal of mystery surrounds the origin of this peculiar custom, or ‘art’ as the Hobbits preferred to call it. All that could be discovered about it in antiquity was put together by Meriadoc Brandybuck (later Master of Buckland), and since he and the tobacco of the Southfarthing play a part in the history that follows, his remarks in the introduction to his Herblore of the Shire may be quoted. 

From the prologue to the Lord of the Rings:

So, he calls it tobacco in the prologue and refers to it as tobacco in The Hobbit.  Reading it as marijuana, Peter Jackson's "har har, look the wizard's doing drugs" scene aside, is not based on Tolkein's work. 108.28.154.5 22:10, January 13, 2013 (UTC)

 "a variety probably of Nicotiana" The key word here is "probably." "Probably" is not good enough for wikia standards, and this article should be changed to reflect this uncertainty.Darth

Itachi (talk) 10:13, December 14, 2013 (UTC)

Um....no. The "probably" quote above is canon, and thus beyond criticism. It stays, end of story. Even if it wasn't, the "hurr durr, the Hobbits all smoke teh weedz" angle is so unsupported, anachronistic and foolish to a true student of Tolkien that it simply doesn't warrant a single mention. Sorry weed lovers, I realize Tolkien didn't have the prescience to avoid using your favorite term decades before you were born, but there's just no chance. Accept. Court Appointed Shrub (talk) 08:50, September 3, 2014 (UTC)

Any smoking character from European Mythology or stories from before colonization would have almost certainly been smoking pot. As such no character in Tolkien books would be smoking tobacco, if he said anything along those lines it was purely to avoid issues as when the books came out was around when pot first started to become demonized in modern Western Culture. Both by discription of it and what we see from characters use within the stories it is most certainly a type of depressant and not a stimulant, even if it wasn't cannabis it most certainly wouldn't have been tobacco. Again can't stress enough the fact that any character throughout real european mythology would have NEVER been smoking tobacco; even opium would be a better theory for Pipe-weed then tobacco.