a b Hammond, Ken (2023). China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future. New York, NY: 1804 Books. ISBN 9781736850084. The Nationalist Government under General Chiang Kai Shek during the Nanjing Decade (1928- 1937) followed contradictory opium policies. Chiang himself was morally opposed to opium use, but other government ministers saw opium as a source of much needed revenue. The government first attempted to reform the people into proper citizens to conform to the modern standards, then raised the official price, which discouraged a certain number of people, then sometimes shot the recidivists (strangely about one per county). [47] Chiang also turned to the Green Gang mob boss Du Yuesheng to head the Shanghai Opium Suppression Bureau. Remarked one American diplomat, "the real motive appears to be to increase revenues by drawing within the orbit of the Opium Suppression Bureau the opium traffic in the Settlement and French Concessions." Prohibition, that is, was a guise to extend the government opium monopoly. "Suppression" officials talked openly of their duty to realize more opium revenue for the government. [48] a b Gaur, B. L.; Gupta, P. C.; Sharma, D. D. (January 1986). "Weed management in opium poppy Papaver somniferumL". Tropical Pest Management. 32 (4): 267–268. doi: 10.1080/09670878609371076. ISSN 0143-6147.

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. The side-effects of laudanum were expanded upon by surgeon George Young, who wrote in 1753: ‘Everybody knows a large dose of laudanum will kill, so need not be cautioned on that head; but there are few who consider it a slow poison, though it certainly is.’ Its addictive qualities were noticed particularly in women, who, according to French doctor J. Hector St John de Crèvecœur, were ‘taking a dose of opium every morning, and so deep-rooted is it that they would be at a loss how to live without this indulgence’. In the growth development of P. somniferum, six stages can be distinguished. The growth development starts with the growth of the seedlings. In a second step the rosette-type leaves and stalks are formed. After that budding (hook stage) takes place as a third step. The hook stage is followed by flowering. Subsequently, technical maturity is reached, which means that the plant is ready for cutting. The last step is biological maturity; dry seeds are ripened. The photoperiod seems to be the main determinant of flower development of P.somniferum. [27] Liu HC, Ho HO, Liu RH, Yeh GC, Lin DL: Urinary excretion of morphine and codeine following the administration of single and multiple doses of opium preparations prescribed in Taiwan as "brown mixture". J Anal Toxicol. 2006 May;30(4):225-31. [ Article]

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As you reduce the supply of prescription drugs, addicts aren't going to stop using," Cicero told Live Science. "Rather, they're going to switch to something else." Heroin comes from the gum of opium poppies ( Papaver somniferum). These flowers aren't difficult to grow, Wankel said. They thrive in temperate climates and are probably native to the Mediterranean, but they can be grown in subtropical and tropical regions as well. Bajpai, S.; Gupta, M. M.; Kumar, S. (September 1999). "Identification of Indian Landraces of Opium Poppy Papaver somniferum Resistant to Damping-off and Downy Mildew Fungal Diseases". Journal of Phytopathology. 147 (9): 535–538. doi: 10.1046/j.1439-0434.1999.147009535.x. ISSN 0931-1785. Opium became a major colonial commodity, moving legally and illegally through trade networks on the Indian subcontinent, Colonial America, Qing China and others. [60] Members of the East India Company saw the opium trade as an investment opportunity beginning in 1683. [61] In 1773, the Governor of Bengal established a monopoly on the production of Bengal opium, on behalf of the East India Company administration. The cultivation and manufacture of Indian opium was further centralized and controlled through a series of acts issued between 1797 and 1949. [61] [62] East India Company merchants balanced an economic deficit from the importation of Chinese tea by selling Indian opium which was smuggled into China in defiance of Qing government bans. This trade led to the First and Second Opium Wars. [63] [62] [60] [64]

Canada forbids possessing, seeking or obtaining the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), its preparations, derivatives, alkaloids and salts, although an exception is made for poppy seed. [52] There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. It’s important to be careful when taking any type of drug. After oral administration, opium bioavailability is poor. 9 In the form of opioid tincture, the Cmax and AUC of opium are between 16-24 mg/ml and 3237-6727 ng/ml.h, respectively. 4 Volume of distribution

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. Opium was for many centuries the principal painkiller known to medicine and was used in various forms and under various names. Laudanum, for example, was an alcoholic tincture (dilute solution) of opium that was used in European medical practice as an analgesic and sedative. Physicians relied on paregoric, a camphorated solution of opium, to treat diarrhea by relaxing the gastrointestinal tract. The narcotic effects of opium are mainly attributable to morphine, which was first isolated about 1804. In 1898 it was discovered that treating morphine with acetic anhydride yields heroin, which is four to eight times as potent as morphine in both its pain-killing properties and its addictive potential. The other alkaloids naturally present in opium are much weaker; codeine, for example, is only one-sixth as potent as morphine and is used mainly for cough relief. Since the late 1930s, various synthetic drugs have been developed that possess the analgesic properties of morphine and heroin. These drugs, which include meperidine (Demerol), methadone, levorphonal, and many others, are known as synthetic opioids. They have largely replaced morphine and heroin in the treatment of severe pain. Chen P, Braithwaite RA, George C, Hylands PJ, Parkin MC, Smith NW, Kicman AT: The poppy seed defense: a novel solution. Drug Test Anal. 2014 Mar;6(3):194-201. doi: 10.1002/dta.1590. Epub 2013 Dec 12. [ Article] Hayatbakhsh M, Oghabian Z, Conlon E, Nakhaee S, Amirabadizadeh A, Zahedi M, et al. Lead poisoning among opium users in Iran: an emerging health hazard. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. 2017;12(43).