Commissioner Lin and Opium
Chinese Emperors banned the importation of opium, writes M. Foster Farley, but it was smuggled into the country by East Indian traders and led to the Opium War of 1840.
Drugs have been used by mankind for thousands of years to relieve distress and to control pain, and many opiates have nearly wiped out some diseases. These same drugs can also be abused. Opium is such a drug. This drug (sometimes referred to in China as the Celestial Drug) has been applied to a wide variety of uses, and has been the subject of more discussion and controversy about its qualities than any other narcotic. Opium comes from the poppy plant; the flower thrives in a hot climate, and the poppy fields must be weeded often.
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