Cannabis had at least some level of presence in Europe for centuries. Robert Hooke, a contemporary of and fierce rival to Isaac Newton experimented with it in 1689. Still though, I have no idea to what extent. You may well be right that Tolkien never heard of it.
Where’s this coming from?
The books, Tolkien’s letters, and a section of the appendices at the end of RoTK all explicitly say it’s tobacco.
Tolkien was a big smoker. You rarely see pics of him without a pipe in his mouth.
Cannabis had at least some level of presence in Europe for centuries. Robert Hooke, a contemporary of and fierce rival to Isaac Newton experimented with it in 1689. Still though, I have no idea to what extent. You may well be right that Tolkien never heard of it.