Opium is the first substance of the diverse group of the opiates. It has been known for a long time, and the first evidence of a poppy culture dates from 5 thousand years by the Sumerians. During the years, opium was used as a sedative and hypnotic, but it was determined to be addictive. 1

Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy (2009). Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy. Harvard University Press. pp.9–. ISBN 978-0-674-05134-8. Heroin (diacetylmorphine) is derived from the morphine alkaloid found in opium and is roughly 2 to 3 times more potent. A highly addictive drug, heroin exhibits euphoric ("rush"), anxiolytic and analgesic central nervous system properties. The Greek gods Hypnos (Sleep), Nyx (Night), and Thanatos (Death) were depicted wreathed in poppies or holding them. Poppies also frequently adorned statues of Apollo, Asclepius, Pluto, Demeter, Aphrodite, Kybele and Isis, symbolizing nocturnal oblivion. [1] Islamic societies (500–1500 CE) [ edit ] Opium users in Java during the Dutch colonial period, c. 1870 Michael-Titus A., Revest P. and Shortland P. (2010). The nervous system (2nd ed.). Churchill Livingstone.These ancient societies used opium to help people sleep, to relieve pain and even to calm crying children. There is also some evidence that opium-based medicines were used as anesthesia during surgery. They may also have used the drug recreationally, though they probably weren’t aware of its addictive effects. Presley CC, Lindsley CW. DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: opium, a historical perspective. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2018;9(10):2503-18.

Smoking of opium declined in the 20th century, partly because it had been supplanted by more-potent derivatives and partly because of determined efforts in China and other developing countries to eradicate it. In the late 1990s, drug-control programs headed by the United Nations and by individual governments contributed to a reduction in opium poppy cultivation in the Golden Triangle. However, the region subsequently became a major producer of other illicit substances, including methamphetamines. United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Communist china and illicit narcotic traffic. 1955年: United States Government Printing Office. OCLC 6466332. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location ( link) Opium Tincture ( Paregoric) is a prescription medication in the opioid class, and is classified as a Schedule II or III narctoic. This medication is used to decrease control diarrhea by the reducing the number and frequency of bowel movements. It works by increasing smooth muscle tone and decreasing fluid secretions in the intestines. This slows the movement of bowel matter through the intestines. Heroin abuseLayton, Thomas N. (1997). The Voyage of the 'Frolic': New England Merchants and the Opium Trade. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804729093. Dr Roland Quinault; Dr Ruth Clayton Windscheffel; Mr Roger Swift (28 July 2013). William Gladstone: New Studies and Perspectives. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp.238–. ISBN 978-1-4094-8327-4.