Opium is a drug that has deep roots in the history of man. The oldest known opium seeds date back to 5000 BCE and there is evidence that the plant was used as food and as an analgesic at this time. The plant was discussed throughout much of the history of the East and it made its way into wider European medicine around 1527, although it is believed to have been used centuries earlier though the practice was lost at some point.
Around this same time opium began being used recreationally throughout China, but it did not truly become popular until the 17th century when global trade routes allowed for it to become less expensive and more readily available. The drug traditionally was smoked and it sometimes even was mixed with tobacco, which at the time was another luxury.
While opium had made it way to America early in the countries history, its rise in usage truly took off on the West Coast of the US in the late 1800s, when a wave of Chinese immigrants brought the practice with them to their new country. Soon after this most countries began to outlaw the production and sale of opium as they began to see the horrors that it could bring.
In 1905 it was estimated that 25% of the male population in China were regular opium users and this was a trend that was being followed suit through a lot of the world.
While the modern era of drug usage has not really heard much about opium usage, besides in regards to the wars that have been fought in the first part of the 21st century, it is still an opiate, and it is still a dangerous controlled substance.
In a very real sense the basis for all opioids and all of the issues we face today have their grounding in opium and although the average recreational opiate user in the U.S. tends to favor heroin or morphine, opium is still a problem that must be faced.
Also when taking into account the larger implications of opium and poppy production, and the fact that Americans consume roughly 80% of the annual opium harvest worldwide, you can see how this single plant has been and still is a scourge on our country.
While it may not sound believable at first, and while you may want to think otherwise, if you believe that your loved one is currently abusing opium, then please read on so that you can learn more and find a way to help them into recovery.
