Known to mankind since before the time of Christ, opium is probably the oldest and most widely used narcotic drug. Its dual properties - both as a painkiller and as a derivative, heroin - have lent it an ambiguity. On the one hand, its deadly addictive properties have given birth to the heroin industry which grows from strength to strength; despite the efforts of governments and law enforcers to crack down on it, the addict population is rising. On the other hand, production of the opium poppy is a vital income for peasant farmers in Third World countries. This book offers a history of the drug, examining its multi-faceted nature, spanning both centuries and continents. It explores the drug's cultivation, spread, usages and influences.
- ISBN10 0684816865
- ISBN13 9780684816869
- Publish Date 3 June 1996
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 7 May 2016
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Simon & Schuster
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 400
- Language English