Given the United States' established law enforcement and stiff penalties for manufacturing heroin, most of the country's supply of the drug comes from Latin America, Wankel said. Countries in which the government is ineffective are the most fertile ground for large-scale poppy cultivation, he said. Fairbank, John King. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the treaty ports, 1842-1854 (Cambridge, Harvard U. P, 1953) online. a b Hammond, Ken (2023). China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future. New York, NY: 1804 Books. ISBN 9781736850084.

World Health Organisation. Information sheet on opioid overdose Online: World Health Organisation; 2018 Opium has a harm. Opium is a poison, undermining our good customs and morality. Its use is prohibited by law. Now the commoner, Yang, dares to bring it into the Forbidden City. Indeed, he flouts the law! If your use of opium is affecting your health, family, relationships, work, school, financial or other life situations, you can find help and support. Opium is a depressant drug, which means it slows down the messages travelling between your brain and body. It is derived from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) and is one of the earliest plants recorded for medicinal use. 1 Evidence of opium cultivation by the Sumerian people dates to 3400BCE, although some scholars believe opium use predates Sumerian culture. 2Kiple 2007, p.177: "England going to war for the principle of free trade -- in this case the right to sell opium -- and on behalf of "free tradres" determined to see China "opened" to the West.". New medical uses of opium were found by various Arab scholars who contributed to developments in anaesthesia, analgesia, pharmacology and surgery. In Baghdad, opium was being used in pills and as an ointment to treat diseases, including leprosy. The Basra physician al-Kindi drew up a valuable list of the correct amount of medicinal opium to administer, while the better-known al-Razi was possibly the first physician to use opium as a general anaesthetic. Alfred W. McCoy. "Opium History, 1858 to 1940". Archived from the original on 4 April 2007 . Retrieved 4 May 2007. The first problem for do-it-yourself growers is that it would be hard to plant enough poppies to make an appreciable amount of drug without being noticed, Wankel said. The plants can grow more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and are topped with brightly colored flowers that look a bit like frilly tulips. Any reasonably sized plot of these flowers would easily stand out in terrestrial or aerial surveys done by law enforcement agencies, Wankel said. In 1676, physician Thomas Sydenham made perhaps the biggest impact on society by publishing his recipe for laudanum, sharing his discovery worldwide. As Inglis points out, ‘Opium, through the old manuals, apothecary shops, and increasingly through laudanum, paregoric and Dover’s powder, had found itself a place in almost every home.’ It was so well-liked that it was used for ailments until after the Second World War.

By the Age of Discovery, the plague had killed millions of people in Europe and opium was reintroduced as a method to protect and treat wealthy patients. Recreational use of the drug was taken up enthusiastically by the citizens of the Persian Empire during the late medieval period. Rulers of the Mughal Empire formed opium habits by eating it; Emperor Jahangir was so inebriated on the drug and wine it left him incapable of ruling. His wife had to fill his role. In Turkey, its use was so widespread, it was said: ‘There is no Turk who would not buy opium with his last penny.’We do not just learn about opium, however; Inglis’ book informs us about immigration, disease, trade, missionaries, racism, Opium Wars, the Gin Craze, addiction and the multifarious subjects which contribute to its history. Even the Crusades and Marco Polo get a mention. This highly informative exploration of the history of opium (and the world, it would seem) sweeps from the prehistoric to modern recreational use.