Even the milder herbs are useful during meditation and vision quests. Smoking is a ritual, and the more conscious we are of it, the more we will get from it. It is such a powerful mixture of fire and air. A number of factors contribute to making a palatable smoking mixture. First and foremost is the way you cure the herbs.
Tobacco is semi-dried slowly, allowing for chemical changes, and is never dried to a crisp.
It is packaged slightly moist in air tight containers. If it dries out, the smoker adds an apple slice or sprays it with water. Dried out Tobacco is harsh. Herbal smoking blends are similar. In most cases you do not want the herbs to be dried crispy.