Indigenous Substances Used for Medication (1-1-23) What did they smoke in those peace pipes? Well, I know what I smoked in mine. It was a mixture of herbs they called Kanikanic. It was rather harsh and something other than what I would smoke regularly. First People had several pipes for different events. There was a peace pipe, of course, but there was also a war pipe, a thriving crop pipe, one for the health of a pregnant girl, and so on. Pipes were well cared for and usually required a small ceremony before it was lit. Even today, an Indian-made red soapstone pipe is treated with great respect. North American Indian ceremonial pipes might have included a blend of tobacco and natural aromatic plants, such as willow bark, dried sumac, and white sage. Several tobacco species and types of herbs were ceremonially used based on regional differences. Smoke from ceremonial pipe ceremonies is not inhaled, contrary to popular belief. The word “calumet” for “peace pipe” is French in origin, and the French fur traders were also active traders in tobacco up into Canada. Historical documents show hundreds of medicinal plants, including opium, listed on clay tablets, c. 3000 BC, found in the Sumerian civilization. An ancient Egyptian papyrus scroll, c. 1550 BC, depicts over 850 plant medications. Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army, documented over 1000 prescriptions for treatments utilizing over 600 medicinal herbs in De materia medica, c. 60 AD, which formed the basis of remedies to discomfort and injury for 1500 years. Drug researchers hunt for materials in nature that affect our biology, and the approach has yielded hundreds of helpful products, such as aspirin, digoxin, quinine, and opium. Plant compounds most beneficial are in four major biochemical classes: alkaloids, such as morphine and caffeine; glycosides, sugars, and flavonoids; polyphenols, which help safeguard our body and neutralize free radicals causing cell damage; and terpenes, found in turpentine and other scents. Medicinal plants are commonly used in non-industrialized societies because they are freely available and not expensive, cheaper than current drugs In many countries. There needs to be more control over these traditional treatments, but the World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates a network to encourage safe and rational usage. However, medicinal plants face threats, such as climate change and habitat destruction, and the danger of over-collection to meet market demand. The yearly global export value of all thousands of herbs and plants with medical properties was estimated to be US$60 billion annually, increasing dramatically at 6%. However, the botanical herbal market contains placebo pseudoscience products without scientific research to support their medical claims. A placebo is an inert treatment given in a positive psychosocial context. It produces positive expectations of clinical improvement. Therefore, any procedure boosting patients’ expectations, representing the primary mediator of placebo effects, is acceptable because it can activate the same biochemical pathways and neural networks made credible by hard science. In many countries, regulation of traditional medicine is not encouraged, but the WHO coordinates a network to promote the reliable and rational use of natural products. The botanical herbal marketplace is poorly regulated and contains products with no scientific research to support their medical claims. Herbal medicine does not require approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Medicinal plants face threats, such as climate change and habitat destruction, to meet market demand. People hope against hope for help for their physical and mental health and hangover cures.