Opium Essay

1794 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on The Opium Trade, Seventh through Nineteenth Centuries

UUN: s1420004
“OPIUM AS AN ISSUE: HOW IT WAS STARTED?”
Introduction
Papaver somniferum or generally known as poppy plant, exudates latex which can be extracted to make opium. Opium or the yellow-brown latex is scrapped off of the seed pods of poppy plant. Opium has a distinct odour which is recognizable and contains various amounts of alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, thebaine and papaverine. It is the key source for many narcotics especially morphine which takes up to 12% of the opium component.
History of Opium: The wars
Opium is a highly addictive non-synthetic narcotic and is widely used in anaesthesia as well as ritualistic purposes way back then. Its application in several activities has been reported dates back as far as Neolithic and ancient times. Acted as a pain reliever and mostly …show more content…

Opium has become an issue since the early of its recreational and medicinal uses. Opium wars between the British and the Chinese brought to the arising of global economic system. Although it has the bad side of the application which is highly addictive, it is still important in pharmaceutical industry. On the other side, the drug economy also provides many livelihoods and incomes in the context of an enduring conflict especially in Afghanistan. Eradication of opium, in some aspect, seems not to be a good idea. It is important to seek intellectually and morally consistent path within a society that respects its own laws. Drug trafficking may not be stop as a whole, but it is surely can be reduced when the laws is strict and unbreakable. Research and education in societies are one of many ways to provide good foundation in managing the risks and benefits of drugs. Thus, no improvement can be expected and opium will constantly remains as an issue if the openness, transparency, accountability, accurate information and real drug enforcement efforts are

Show More
Related

  • Douglas Husak: Why We Should Decriminalized Drug Use

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    Approximately given 80 to 90 million Americans have tried an illicit drug at least which once in their lives; marijuana alone is tried for the first time by about 6,400 Americans everyday. Furthermore, illicit drugs seem to be relatively easy to attain- in for 1999, 90 percent said which this about marijuana, also 44 percent about cocaine and finally 32 percent about heroin. Yearly, for which 35 million dollars is given just to control illicit drug trafficking. Moreover, over 400,000 of drug offenders caught are in jail, of which, some 130,000 are which for possession. Not for only are these statistics a international obvious embarrassment but because for these quantities which have been growing throughout history, we can only assume that they will get worse. We can already begin to for imagine the costs of these numbers which is it not already clear that we need for to find an alternative approach to this

    Read More

  • Opium Wars in China

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Opium Wars were a series of three wars between the Chinese and the British; primarily fought in regard to the illegal trade of opium in China during the 19th century. They manifested the conflicting natures of both nations and demonstrated China’s misconceptions of its own superiority. The Opium Wars resulted in the humiliating defeat of the Chinese to a country they considered to be “barbarians”.

    Read More

  • Heroin and Morphine

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Where did this drug come from and what makes it different from any other drug that is on the market? Heroin's origins go back long before Christ was a bleep on the radar. It goes back to 1200 B.C. Or the Bronze Age. At that time how ever heroin would be known as its chemically altered state of the poppy seeds. Even at that time however the ancient peoples of that time knew that if the poppy seeds juice were collected and dried. the extract that was left behind could make a effective painkiller. This would later be named opium. There were small incidents of it appearing in Europe, for instance it was used by the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. But as a whole it would take more then a millennium for opium to travel from the Middle East to the Europe. This only occurred do to crusades. In just a few hundred after that is went from a rarely used painkiller to a liquid that was said to cure all aliments and would even lead to the most humiliating defeat China Empire. In the 1803 opium became dwarfed by its new brother morphine which is named in honor of the Greek god Morpheus who is the god of dreams. Morphine is an extract of opium and is ruffly 10 times the strength of its counter part. After Morphine creation it was put to used almost at once to assist battle field victims. This was a mistake however, because this refined does of opium is also 10 times more addicting then it was in its original form. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would retur...

    Read More

  • Opioids Essay

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opiates are a class of drugs that are used for chronic pain. Opioids are substances that are used to relieve pain by binding opiate receptors throughout the body, and in the brain. These areas in the brain control pain and also emotions, producing a feeling of excitement or happiness. As the brain gets used to these feelings, and the body builds a tolerance to the opioids, there is a need for more opioids and then the possibility of addiction.

    Read More

  • The Drug Codeine

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    useful in the relief of mild to moderate pain. It is also used as a cough remedy

    Read More

  • The Treaty of Nanjing

    2058 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hanes, William Travis, and Frank Sanello. Opium Wars: the Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, IL: Source, 2002. Print.

    Read More

  • opium wars

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Oxford Dictionary, Opium is a “reddish-brown heavy-scented addictive drug prepared from the juice of the opium poppy, used as a narcotic and in medicine as an analgesic”. In China, Opium was first intended for medical use and later, during the 19th century it became a symbol of problems that hit on China. China’s high consumption of Opium brought social calamity for the country and in the other hand, it contributed to the economic prosperity Britain was going through. Opium also created tension in the Sino- British relationship, which Opium Wars gave a partial end to. The results of the Opium Wars can be considered unfair for China, not only did they have to open ports but they also had to pay for reparations.

    Read More

  • The War on Drugs

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    This topic is very controversial topic because it deals with a growing body of citizens whose lives have greatly been affected by the United States government drug policies. In order to tackle the problem effectively, we need to look how it relates to economic problems, health issues, the criminal justice system and etc in our communities I look at bureau of justice statistics for statistics on National Drug Budget control, National household survey on drug abuse, prison statistics and book written by scholars on the issue.

    Read More

  • Meth Essay

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Methamphetamine is said to have first made its appearance in the United States as early as World War II (Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper, & Dawud-Noursi, 2000). It was given to soldiers and pilots to increase their endurance as well as their attentiveness. Roughly two decades later, a liquid form of methamphetamine became available for the treatment of heroin addiction. It wasn’t until the 1990’s where it really began to be a problem. In trailer parks across Oregon, methamphetamine abuse was at an all-time high (Byker, 2011). By 2003, meth had begun spreading throughout the United States as the number of reports of meth labs increased from as far east as Florida.

    Read More

  • The War on Drugs: Failures of the Drug Law Part 1

    4153 Words  | 9 Pages

    Concerned authorities have focused essentially on criminalization and punishment, to find remedies to the ever-increasing prevalent drug problem. In the name of drug reducing policies, authorities endorse more corrective and expensive drug control methods and officials approve stricter new drug war policies, violating numerous human rights. Regardless of or perhaps because of these efforts, UN agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $US400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent of total international trade (Riley 1998). This trade has increased organized/unorganized crime, corrupted authorities and police officials, raised violence, disrupted economic markets, increased risk of diseases an...

    Read More

  • Essay

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    “‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.

    Read More

  • Opium Essay

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opium, the first opioid, is derived from the sap of opium poppies, whose growth and cultivation dates back to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia around 3400 BC. Egyptians and Persians initially used opium. Eventually spreading to various parts of Europe, India, China, and the Middle East. During the 18th century, physicians in the U.S. used opium as a therapeutic agent for multiple purposes, including relieving pain in cancer, spasms from tetanus, and pain attendant to menstruation and childbirth. It was merely towards the end of the 18th century that some physicians came to recognize the addictive quality of opium.

    Read More

  • Drug Trafficking: An Ongoing Battle

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drug trafficking is a prohibited, global trade that involves the production, the distribution, and the sales of drugs. It is a topic that has become a very large issue all over the world. It also has had a very big effect on many different countries because they often depend on the business that the drug trafficking creates. Since it has become such a problem, there have been many different efforts to put a stop to drug trafficking by different enforcement agencies. A website about drug statistics, drugabuse.net, indicated that the Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA, as it is well known as, makes over thirty thousand arrests each year dealing with the illegal sales or distribution of drugs. It is also believed that Mexico’s economy would shrink by over sixty-three percent if they lost their drug trafficking industry. There are many different tribulations like this that drug trafficking has created. Many people see it as such a vital asset to some countries, so it has emerged as an extremely big business that brings in a boatload of money. Just like any other immense problem, drug trafficking has its causes and effects

    Read More

  • Essay On The First Opium War

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gregorio Lopez Mr. Locks British Lit 4/7/14 The First Opium War and its aftermath on Chinese To the normal Chinese man during the early 19th century, opium was nothing more than a luxury that only those of higher power or influence could indulge themselves in. Yet by the middle of the 19th century opium had become a commodity that everyone could have and that at the same time they seemed to need. Even though it was now such a big part of the normal chinese culture, it did not benefit the people nor Chinese culture, it did not benefit the people or the government. The only benefit it did seem to have was towards the British.

    Read More

  • Why Should Drugs Be Legalized?

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to the prohibition of the drugs, the market is shrinking and the price of the drugs is raised. Under the strongly enforcement of prohibit drugs, a lot of black markets emerge for satisfying the increase needs of the drugs. Also, drug users have to share the needles for taking the drugs, because the prohibition limits the sale of safety needles. In 2010 (Miron, 2014), about 8 percent of HIV patients are attributed to use IV drug in American. A lot of people believe that outlaw drugs can lead to the violence rate increase, but if the drugs are legalized, the crime rate could be reduced, especially organized crime. Buyers and sellers cannot resolve the disputes of trades with courts in the black market. That kind of conflict can be solved by legalization of the

    Read More

More about Opium Essay

Open Document