Heady Times at the Bakery

The Plant of Joy

The opium extracted from poppy plants has been used to ease peoples' trouble since possibly as early as 4,000 BC. Many civilizations, including the Sumerian, Greek, and Egyptians, used this plant as a means of relieving sorrow. Ancient people either ate parts of the flower or made them into drinks. By the 7th century, the Turkish and Islamic cultures of western Asia discovered that the plant was most effective when smoked. Even today, in some parts of the Middle East, poppy tea is served to mourners at funerals to ease their pain. Greek physicians also used the plant. One Greek physician wrote about the many things opium could cure, including chronic headaches, melancholy, and "the trouble to which women are subject." Even though opium obviously does not cure these ailments, the physicians who prescribed saw its uplifting effects as cures. Some physicians even believed that the poppy plant was a gift from God, to be used as a "Destroyer of Grief."

In the 15th century, a man known as Paracelsus made an important discovery concerning opium. It was discovered that the alkaloids in opium are significantly less soluble in water than in alcohol. So Paracelsus made a sort of "witch's brew," which he called laudanum, out of opium, brandy, and some extra ingredients. These ingredients were later refined by the English physician, Thomas Sydenha, during late 1600s.

By the late 1700s, most of the world's poppy plantations were controlled by the British East India Company. In the mid 1800s, when opium imports increased greatly, even children were introduced to opiates in the form of syrups. Parents used these as a way to keep their children calm and soothed. People viewed opiates, such as heroin, as mere medicines and were unaware of their addictive potential.

Opium was used in China as a recreational drug long before the British East India Company had the monopoly on poppy plants. Although the drug had been outlawed by the Imperial Chinese court, it was still widely sold. In 1839, however, the emperor took action. He ordered the confiscation of 20,000 barrels of opium. The British, who were at the time making money from opium, were not very happy about the confiscation. They fought back and attacked the port-city of Canton. This was the beginning of the First Opium War. Though the British won, peace did not last very long as the Second Opium War began and ended in 1856. The British were once again victorious, and there was more opium in China than ever before. By the end of the 19th century, more than one-fourth of the male population in China was addicted to opium.

Source:
A Brief History of Opium

posted by Amanda @ 6:01 AM