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Articles on Opium

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Taliban militants and Afghan civilians celebrate the signing of a peace deal with the United States on March 2. Noorullah Shirzada/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban are megarich – here’s where they get the money they use to wage war in Afghanistan

Because the Taliban’s insurgency is so well financed, the Afghan government must spend enormous sums on war, too. A peace accord would free up funds for basic services, economic development and more.
Kids teething? Back in 1885, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, containing morphine, was close at hand and earned the nickname the “baby killer.” Concerns about the dangers of readily available medications played a big role in how Canada’s drug laws evolved. The U.S. National Library of Medicine

The influence of opium and cocaine panic in Canadian drug policy

Canadian drug policy began to take shape well before anti-immigration attacks on Chinese establishments in 1908. Drugs like opium and coke were causing grave public health concerns.
‘Confessions of an English Opium-Eater’ was the first modern drug memoir and set the tone for opium use for decades. Here: Papaver somniferum (Opium poppy), a group of deep red flowers, buds and seed pods. Opium is extracted from the latex of the unripe seed pods. Ripe seeds are innocuous and widely used in baking. (Rowan McOnegal/Wellcome Collection)

The 19th century book that spawned the opioid crisis

‘Confessions of an English Opium-Eater’ is considered the first modern drug memoir. Many believe it is responsible for our romantic ideas of opium-based drug use today.
Canada is on track to legalize marijuana on July 1. But why was it criminalized in the first place? THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

How pot-smoking became illegal in Canada

Canada is legalizing marijuana on July 1. But how the drug became criminalized in the first place is an interesting saga that involves anti-Chinese racism and international influence.

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