Opium
From Drug Rehab Wiki
Opium is a highly addictive stimulant narcotic drug, consisting of the dried milky juice extracted from the seed capsules of the opium poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. The juices are obtained by making incisions in the unripe opium capsules during a ten- to twelve-day ripening period. The opium’s juice is brownish-yellow in color, and has a faint smell and an acrid taste. The juice, or latex, dries as it is exuded; once dry, the latex hardens into a sticky residue, which is then scraped off the pod. Opium itself is not a single chemical compound, but rather is composed of an elaborate mixture of water, sugars, fats, proteins, ammonia, latex, gums, plant wax, lactic acids, sulfuric acids, meconic acid, and over 50 alkaloids including morphine (the most potent alkaline and from which heroin is derived), codeine, noscapine, papaverine, and thebaine.
When consumed, opium can produce hallucinations, a sense of euphoria, and lethargy; when an excessive amount is consumed, the narcotic can result in coma or death. Opium is a drug from antiquity and was often used as an analgesic or narcotic for medicinal purposes. It has been used illicitly as an intoxicant drug, usually by smoking the substance, and causes serious harmful effects. Its potency and addictive effects have been well known for over 4,000 years throughout Indochina, and its popularity spread throughout continental Europe and Asia. Over time, opium made its way around the globe and is harvested and distributed throughout all major continents. Opium gradually became regulated and banned in various countries; in medicine, opium is now often replaced by its derivative alkaloids (morphine or codeine) or manmade substitutes.
A naturally occurring substance, opium may very well be the first drug discovered with evidence of its existence and use apparent as far back as the prehistoric ages. Neolithic tribes of the 4th millennium B.C. cultivated the poppy plant for its analgesic effect and for religious ceremonial purposes. Anthropological research has discovered that the poppy plant possibly originates from the eastern Balkans region of Old World Europe circa 3400 B.C. into Egypt where knowledge of the plant spread throughout Asia Minor. The Sumerians were largely responsible for spreading knowledge of the opium poppy throughout the 3rd millennium B.C. to all of Mesopotamia (mainly Assyria and Babylonia) and beyond via their invention of writing. By the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe had become aware of opium. Physicians of these ages believed opium to be the cure for virtually all ailments, from headaches to cantankerous children, to surgical procedures to chronic pain relief. The Egyptians recorded opium in over 700 cures in their medical writings dating from the 18th to 22nd centuries B.C., and the Assyrians recorded opium’s use within the royal court during 7th century B.C. It was also well known as a poisoning agent to eliminate one’s victims or execute prisoners. While other civilizations would crush the poppy plant or soak it in wine or honey mixtures, the Assyrians were the first to use incisions to excise the opium from the plant. Their method spread to other civilizations of the ages, and is still used today.
The Egyptians performed extensive opium trading with Mediterranean nations and European civilizations. The Persians attained knowledge of the poppy plant after conquering the Assyrians and Babylonians in 6th century B.C. Opium was used in religious rituals within many civilizations such as the Greeks, and practiced mainly by priests, healers, royalty, and soldiers. Physicians began to note opium’s addictive quality around the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., but their findings were usually ignored since opium was regarded as having divine powers and remained associated with the occult. Hippocrates and other physicians of the time studied opium’s beneficial uses in medical procedures but recognized the dangers of recreational use.
The Arabs are believed to have introduced the Chinese to opium after the Arab empire conquered Egypt in the 7th century B.C.; trading of Egyptian opium from the Arabs to China is evidenced around A.D. 400. Opium became highly popular among Chinese and European societies for its analgesic and narcotic abilities, but records of opiate use nearly vanished from European history, accounting for over 200 years, due to the Spanish Inquisition. Opium use was considered evil by the Inquisition because it was associated with the East; not until Paracelsus introduced laudanum to the European public in 1527 was opium accepted again. The Chinese were using opium primarily for countering infection, but were introduced to its further medical use by the Arabs around the 11th–13th centuries. The Portuguese, however, were the ones to introduce opium smoking to the Chinese during the 15th century when European trade became predominant in China. Opium smoking was already rampant throughout all of Europe. Emperor Tseng Chen banned tobacco smoking in 1644, similarly considering the substance as evil since it derived from New World Europe. As a result, the Chinese began smoking opium mixed with tobacco (known as “madak”) in increasing increments. Eventually, pure opium was habitually being smoked throughout China, and 25% of the population became addicted to opium. Opium was believed to enhance strength, vitality, virility, and sexuality. It was regarded as a privilege among the elite, but was accessible even to the working class from opium dealers and dens. Opium prohibition in China began in 1729 during the Qing Dynasty, banning the sale of opium and operation of opium dens. By 1799, the drug was banned completely, including its medicinal use.
The Turks primarily supplied opium to 15th century Europe; Turkish soldiers believed opium made them more valiant on the battlefield, and opium eating was encouraged. Europeans used opium as a “cure-all” pharmaceutical and also smoked the drug recreationally. The Ottoman Empire was a mass supplier of opium; modern day Iran, in fact, holds the world’s largest population of opium smokers. However, in 1750, the British East India Company gained control of India’s most populous opium supplies in Benghal and Bihar and expanded its opium trade throughout China and India. By the end of the 18th century, Britain acquired Turkish opium supplies and was dominating the world market with its opium monopoly. When opium became banned in China, British sailors made attempts to smuggle opium into Canton for decades; Commissioner Tse-Hsu completely banned the importation of foreign opium by 1839, and the British initiated the First Opium War. After defeating the Chinese in 1842, the British gained access to China’s multiple trading ports, Hong Kong, a sizeable indemnity from China, and continuation of its drug trafficking within China. The dispute was challenged by supporters of Chinese drug policies, and lapsed into the Second Opium War from 1856–1860. France, Russia, and the U.S. became involved in supporting British attempts to open China’s markets, and the Chinese were yet again defeated. Opium trade finally became legalized. Britain expanded its global market trade, supplying the U.S. and Southeast Asia. China and Britain finally enacted a ban on Sino-Indian opium trade in 1906, and eradicated the Indo-China opium trade in 1910.
The U.S. experienced the importation of opium from emigrants and British trade during the 1800s, and imposed an import tax on opium in the 1840s and again in 1890. Opium was extensively used during the American Civil War to medically treat wounded soldiers and surgical procedures. Once morphine was isolated from the opium plant in 1804, its medical use grew throughout the U.S. and Europe (particularly during the Civil War), and caused high dependency and withdrawal symptoms in its users. After heroin was synthesized in 1874, it was prescribed by physicians to counter morphine addiction, yet itself caused dependency among its users. U.S. policies against recreational use of opium were created during the 1870s to challenge the spread of Chinese opium dens springing up along the west coast. The U.S. officially banned opium in 1905. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was installed, and opiate use and importation drastically declined. By 1909, the importation of opium into the U.S. was prohibited, and the U.S. supported efforts to eliminate opium sales in China. However, a major black market of opium and heroin trade from China into the U.S. flourished during the Prohibition Era. The U.S. cut off opium trade routes from Persia and India during World War II, and independent Burma became the world’s leading opium cultivator. Since this time, the U.S., Burmese, Thai, and UN member countries have attempted to eradicate the prosperous opium cultivation and distribution coming from The Golden Triangle—the southeast Asian region consisting of Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and parts of China—by forming prohibition laws, dismantling trafficking routes, and destroying opium crops. The U.S. remains the top market for opium sales today, due to the U.S. population’s high levels of abuse of opiate derivatives.
After many countries (including Burma) began prohibiting opium harvesting, sale, distribution, and both recreational and medical use, illicit opium production moved to Afghanistan. Enough land was available for farmers to harvest mass quantities of opium, which would be sold on the global black market and monitored by national and international gang councils. In 2000, the Taliban enforced strict bans on opium in Afghanistan, and production was radically reduced. After U.S. and British forces dismantled the Taliban in 2001 during the Afghanistan War, Afghan opium farmers were able to resume production, and opium growth has abounded since. Although opium crops are still produced throughout the Golden Triangle, Mexico, Columbia, Hungary, and India, Afghanistan has become the leading distributor of opium worldwide.
