In his new history, Amitav Ghosh shows how the world’s first international drug cartels were run by the Dutch and British governments through their monopoly East India companies.
Eating culinary poppy seeds won’t get you high, but they could lead to a failed drug test.
Linda Caldwell/EyeEm via Getty Images
Poppy seeds can become contaminated with opiates during harvesting. For the US Defense Department, invoking a ‘poppy seed defense’ may not be enough to rule out a positive drug test result.
Published in 1821, Thomas De Quincey’s book created the archetype of the drug addict as cultural figure. Part story, part memoir, part essay, it mines the highs and lows of addiction.
An Afghan boy collects raw opium east of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2018.
(AP Photo/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)
Badtjala woman and visual artist Fiona Foley looks back at Australian history, and her own art making, in this powerful new book.
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)
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.
Opium played a fascinating role in southern African colonial politics, conflict and social change - from the poppy fields of Mozambique to the early days of Johannesburg city.
From colonial poppy fields to pharmatrash, southern Africa offers a fascinating history of drug regimes – one that helps us make sense of drug policies and legislation today.
It doesn’t always pay to know what’s really in your food – but it’s fun to find out, anyway.
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
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.
Pain of the sick: ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ by Sir Charles Bell, 1806.
Wellcome Collection
In today’s opioid crisis, why are some people with addictions treated with empathy and others with disdain? The answer to that question has roots in the 19th century.
‘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)
‘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
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.