How did we even make it this far?

Same with caffeine - it's designed to kill insects

The nicotine we have in tobacco nowadays is actually a much less strong variant of the tobacco we found when we first came to the Americas, it was so strong it'd get you high as a kite and the pilgrims/settlers selectively bred a few strains to the watered down version we have today.

Same with pepper

Why are we like this

@grimreaper I think someone steered you wrong. Nicotine is nicotine...period. There is no "stronger" version. If it had hallucinogenic properties, they could be easily manifested just by upping the dosage, same way beer will get you just as drunk as vodka...if you drink enough of it. Nicotine is an addictive stimulant in low doses and a deadly poison in high. Too much nicotine, delivered over a short period may result in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, bradyarrhythmia, and possibly seizures, hypoventilation, and death. Furthermore, it was Columbus who was introduced to tobacco and soon after sailors brought it back to Europe where it quickly spread.