Drugs
Drugs have been around for hundreds of years. Indians were known to
have used Opium and other drugs for medical and various other purposes. During
the 7th Century A.D. in China a drug emerged called Opium. Opium, the dry juice
from immature seed pods of the opium poppy plant, is a narcotic drug that is
very powerful in the relief of pain but is also very addictive. At the beginning
Opium was like any other drug, but then people unaware of the harm it could
cause began to use it more and more often. During the 19th century in China
there was a period called the Opium Wars where the use of Opium had become such
a problem the government tried to prohibit it. But by then no one could stop its
growth. In 1803 the compound responsible for the painkilling effect was found
and called Morphine. This discovery brought even more use of Opium. Finally in
1898 a chemist discovered diacetylmorphine or Heroin. Heroin was at first
considered a safer, stronger but less addictive pain killer and was used by
doctors everywhere. However doctors soon found out that it was more dangerous
and even more addictive. During the 70's heroin reemerged as a powerful drug
but many were afraid to use it. Throughout the 80's strong anti-drug campaigns
seemed to be winning the war on drugs. But, in 1996 people have become alert to
the increase in Heroin addiction. Heroin use has doubled every year since 1992.
What caused the use of heroin to increase? The growth of heroin abuse has
increased in the United States because famous musicians and movie stars have
been caught with the drug, because pop culture continues to make heroin seem
glamorous, and because babyboomers have a relaxed view on drugs.
To begin with, the abuse of heroin has increased because famous
musicians and movie stars have been caught with the drug or have been known to
use it. Kurt Cobain, lead singer for Nirvana, openly admitted to abusing the
drug and checked himself into a detox center weeks before his suicide. Kurt
Cobain had chronic stomach problems and was always looking for something to ease
the pain. During an interview with MTV he commented on his stomach pain with,
"The pain in my stomach made me feel like a junky so if I was going to feel like
a junky I might as well become one." Cobain's stomach pains made him look, talk,
and feel like a wrecked individual. So...
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...s body or future. During the 80's
there was a huge war against drugs. Many parents thought that the government
was doing a good enough job of informing children of the risks about drugs and
let their guard down. Obviously, the government did not do a good enough job of
informing children of the dangers of drugs, recently there have been a number of
studies showing that almost every illegal drug's use among teenagers has risen
dramatically since the early 90's.
In conclusion, the use of heroin has grown because rock stars and actors
have been caught with the drug, because the media glamorizes the use of heroin,
and because some parents have a carefree view of drug usage. Almost everybody
knows at least one person who has at one time done an illegal drug. Anybody can
become hooked on drugs. Today the percentage of teenagers using drugs keeps
rising just as it was in the sixties. Chances are in the future there will be
another strong anti-drug campaign just like the one in the 80's which will
reduce the amount of drug abuse for future generations. When today's teenagers
become parents what will the attitude on drugs be? Will it be more accepting or
less accepting?
Later, the Qing refused to accept European goods and demanded bar silver as payment. As a result, The Western powers began experiencing an outflow of silver to China. The countries, especially Britain, needed to find a way to reverse the flow of silver so the trade was even. So the British resorted to opium, a drug from the sap of the opium poppy. Originally used as medicine in western countries, opium was sold to China as a recreational dr...
... the drug but have made a big controversy about not using the drug at all. Causing a big dramatic scene that just makes the problem even worse for the person involved in the situation, though problems can’t always be solved to a certain extent. It’s the people trying to help change the problem and not promote people to the Hall of Shame.
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”.
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...
The first law against drugs was made in year 1908 in Canada called the Opium Act of 1908. In the year1850 onwards there were many Chinese immigrants coming to Canada through British Columbia .These Chinese immigrants were a cheap source of labour to Canadian government. The consumption of opium by the Chinese immigrants was another way to gain income for the Canadian government by taxes on the opium manufacturing factories in1871. In late 1800s an...
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Hanes, William Travis, and Frank Sanello. Opium Wars: the Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, IL: Source, 2002. Print.
The thought of opium as a topic of conversation in China throughout the late eighteenth century and nineteenth century brought about discussions that varied from arguments for its legalization and praise of its distributors to the complete ban of the drug and punishment for all users and smugglers. For those who acted as proponents of the narcotic, they sincerely believed that this necessary evil was one of the only aspects of the economy that could effectively propel China into the same class as that of the world’s supreme powers (Janin 6). Those who condemned even the slightest interaction with opium or its derivatives opted for the more “honorable” route, in that, they pledged to rid their country of such horrible vices in order to follow a purer path throughout their daily lives (Mackay 124). It was from these arguments that made these debates rampantly widespread throughout the country, with neither side effectively telling the truth about the future of China and ultimately being left to the voice of those in charge of the economy, since they are the ones who control what is worth importing and exporting. If the use of opium were permitted, then the impact would have been generally positive, in that, there would be fewer smugglers to worry about breaking the law, and more profit actually being given to the Chinese government since they would actually be included. On the other hand, basing this drug trade on purely moral and some economic terms, then the people of China will constantly be in a state of intoxication because they will no longer be able to think and process clearly, while the economy of the Chinese government might also not be able to possess the buying power that they would have previously had when they unc...
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.
Allingham,, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." The Victorian Web: An Overview. 24 June 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2011.
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.
The biggest question people ask is if the “war on drugs” was successful. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), “The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.” The best way to measure the effectiveness of the “war on drugs” is to focus on these basic questions; Is drug use down? Is crime down? and Are drugs less available? Since 1988, drug use by individuals ages 12 and over has remained stable according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The number of individuals reporting any drug use has increased by approximately 7 million and the number of those who reported drug use in previous months or previous years has remained unchanged. The Organization Monitoring the Future studies drug use, access to drugs, and perspectives towards drugs of junior and senior high school students nationwide. Results of a study conducted in 2005 showed a minor decline in substance abuse by older teens, but drug use among eighth graders stopped remained the same. However, the changes were not statistically significant and ultimately there was no reduction in substance abuse among young students. Crime in the United States has decreased significantly since 1993, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. On the other hand,
Shannon, Elaine. “The War on Drugs: A Losing Battle.” Time.com. Time Magazine, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .
This failure is due in large part, Benson and Rasmussen explain, to drug entrepreneurs’ adoption of new production techniques, new products, and new marketing strategies in response to greater law enforcement. Their “innovations” include lengthening the drug distribution chain and using younger drug pushers and runners (to reduce the risk of arrest and punishment), increasing domestic drug production (to avoid the risk of seizure at the border), smuggling into the country less marijuana and more cocaine (which is harder to detect), development of “crack” cocaine (a low-cost substitute for higher priced powdered cocaine and for marijuana, which the drug war made harder to obtain), and development of drugs with greater potency (because they are less bulky and because punishment is based on a drug’s weight, not its potency).
The "War on Drugs" Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1986. Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron, eds. The Bedford Reader. 6th ed. of the book.