THE AGE OF OPIUM—THE DRUG THAT WE KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT, YET DOES SO MUCH

Opium some times called heroin, Is a class A drug and very illegal. It comes in many forms and often brings hallucinations and unnatural behavior.
In the book The Ruby In The Smoke, many characters are effected by the drug, especially Mathew Bedwell who hallucinates about his past and things that really ought to be kept secret. Sally is also under the effect although to this point we do not know why, Madame Chang suggested that she had been under the ‘smoke’ before, after the attack sally suffered when breathing the smoke. In the book we also know that Sally’s dad and his company had something to do with the opium trade in the Far East, surprisingly this was Captain Lockhart’s last voyage before he died ‘mysteriously.’
Mathew Bedwell is so addicted to the drug that he is found begging for the pipe and gum… ‘
More, Come on Adelaide, he whined.’

There were 2 Opium Wars and they lasted from 1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860. Involving to nations the British and the Chinese. The Chinese eventually lost the wars and were forced to allow the British opium trade.
The wars started because the Chinese had banned the opium trade they did this because they realized early on that the effect was disastrous , although this was not the only sole reason for the conflict. The British were so offended by the ban (because at the time Opium was a ‘big thing’) that they engaged in war.
A little bit of info…
Opium is a drug now a days produced from mainly Afghanistan, and is a drug that comes in many different forms. (Afghanistan is the country in the top left, the color of turquoise.)

Opium is the crudest form and also the least potent of the Opiates. Opium is the milky latex fluid contained in the un-ripened seed pod of the opium poppy. As the fluid is exposed to air, it hardens and turns black in color. This dried form is typically smoked, but can also be eaten. Opium is grown mainly in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Afghanistan. Today opium is sold on the street as a powder or dark brown solid and is smoked, eaten, or injected.

There were 2 Opium Wars and they lasted from 1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860. Involving to nations the British and the Chinese. The Chinese eventually lost the wars and were forced to allow the British opium trade.
The wars started because the Chinese had banned the opium trade they did this because they realized early on that the effect was disastrous , although this was not the only sole reason for the conflict. The British were so offended by the ban (because at the time Opium was a ‘big thing’) that they engaged in war.
A little bit of info…
Opium is a drug now a days produced from mainly Afghanistan, and is a drug that comes in many different forms. (Afghanistan is the country in the top left, the color of turquoise.)

Opium is the crudest form and also the least potent of the Opiates. Opium is the milky latex fluid contained in the un-ripened seed pod of the opium poppy. As the fluid is exposed to air, it hardens and turns black in color. This dried form is typically smoked, but can also be eaten. Opium is grown mainly in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Afghanistan. Today opium is sold on the street as a powder or dark brown solid and is smoked, eaten, or injected.