Hello All. I have secured a source for sassafras extract from a cousin in Louisiana. She made it with leaves and root in high proof corn likker. Sounds good to me. Would anyone here have any interest in a Sassafras Snuff? It would be very ‘root beer’ like in scent. I’d add some wild cherry bark and a few other nice things to it. Maybe vanilla like a root beer float 
isn’t sassafras toxic? I seem to remember it had a bad effect on the kidneys or something. Maybe wouldn’t matter in a snuff.
There was one study with rats but that was it AFAIK. It was enough to scare the FDA into banning it but I wouldn’t worry, tobacco itself is probably much more carcinogenic and that doesn’t stop us (not that nasal snuff necessarily causes cancer, it probably doesn’t, but cured fermented tobacco has objectively carcinogenic qualities is all I’m saying).
Maybe if I call it by its Cajun name. Gumbo filé. If it was toxic there wouldn’t be a single living coonass left in Louisiana. Also can’t make root beer without it.
The cancer causing compound in Sassafras is called Safrole and it has been removed from all Sassafras extracts/food products since 1960 or so Sassafrass Extract should be safe as mother’s milk (depending on who your mom is).
This is an FDA approved product targeted at the beverage industry in high proof (190) corn based ethanol. I guess some of it didn’t end up in our gas tanks. She makes it in her lab, not in her garage. I hope. She’s got her PhD from Stanford so I don’t think she’s going to risk all she’s earned on some weird voodoo sassafras crap she dug out of bayou. Then again she is a coonass, so all bets are off.
Would be very interested! As far as the toxicity, from my research into making homemade root beer it would take a lot. The study that led to the problems had the mice drinking an equivalent of 30 root beers a day over an extended period or some such shit like that. Pseudo science for political agendas. Excess like that brings many things to toxic levels. Good luck on this endeavor!
grazie