Will Miss #302 - spiritual use of incense

Back home, incense was associated with people who smoked pot. Anyone who used incense was viewed with suspicion or mocked as some sort of bizarre New Age hippy type. In Japan, incense is used at shrines as part of spiritual practices. One of my students brought me back an incense burner and sticks as a gift from her travels to an Asian country. I think I wouldn't have been given such a gift back