opium

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Afghanistan: opium poppies

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opium: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Did You Know?

Chinese workers traveled to America for jobs in the California gold fields and on the railroads, and they brought opium smoking with them.
Homers "Odyssey" mentions opium and its believed healing abilities.
Anxiety surrounding opium was part of the reason for the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which halted Chinese immigration.

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Afghanistan: opium poppies

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laudanum paregoric drug use opium trade opium poppy Schedule II drug opiate narcotic heroin cocaine oxycodone morphine codeine methadone meperidine fentanyl

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De Quincey, Thomas

Thomas De Quincey

British author