Episode 32: The Rise and Fall of the Opium Den

The extract of the Opium Poppy is one of humanities oldest drugs, and has been widely used and traded for thousands of years. However when the mass production of refined Opium by the East India Company combined with a new and efficient method of smoking it, a worldwide sensation ensued.

At the height of its popularity, Opium was a worldwide sensation. On major cities across the globe, sumptuously appointed opium dens could be found where the rich, famous, and adventurous could enjoy a pipe of the drug. Imaginatively styled after the private chambers of oriental princes, they were a fixture of nightlife in many cities for almost a century.

In this episode we talk about the history of opium, the history of its abuse, and how it eventually fell out of favor and was replaced by stronger alternatives.