Illicit consumption patterns and effects

Opium Consumption and Trade

The consumption of opium before the First World War was legal. It was legal to trade and consumer opium in public and there was no restriction whatsoever. This however got changed and soon after the WWI and during the war as well, the soldiers going on war were consuming the opium. There was also transformation in social class of opiates as time passed and with the gradual ban on opium smoking. As mentioned by Courtwright that "during the nineteenth century the dominant addict type was a middle-aged, middle-class or upper class female, the drugs most commonly used by addicts were morphine and opium. The majority of cases were medical in origin" (Courtwright, 110).

Although consumed legally, opium was restricted as a legal drug and this caused change in the consumption and trade patterns of opium. In 1909, the London County Council tried to curb the consumption and sales of opium (Lai, Bob and Pippa, 21). Spillane also mentioned that restricting the sale of cocaine was on drug retail stores caused significant development of shadow market of drugs. All these writers have mentioned that trying to eradicate the use of drugs and imposing restrictions on supply of opium drug has only resulted in making this more pervasively used drug in countries like the U.S. And elsewhere. Courtwright mentioned that during the nineteenth century, opium and morphine were most consumed drugs and that too for medical reasons. This was largely the practice of middle and upper class people, mostly females (110). This however changed during the 1940s when majority of the drug users were young people from middle to lower-middle class. There was also a change in type of drug used; now it was heroin and morphine. The people who became addicts from a medical perspective began to decrease and there was an increased illicit consumption of drugs otherwise meant for medical purposes only. Courtwright (112) with the help of graphical representations mentioned that from 1895 to 1935, there was a gradual increase in non-medical opiates and decrease in medical opiates. The author also argued that banning certain drugs or making them unavailable through crackdown on supply-chain of illicit drugs only made the matter worse. There were new female addicts that only became heroin and opium addicts after Harrison Act was passed.

Gradually the restrictions on opium and cocaine drugs got stiff and this caused not only fascination in young people but also for the poor classes. The consumption by socially lower classes caused these drugs to be in more demand while disregarding the health issues. The law of demand and supply was disturbed and thus the shadow markets, as termed by Spillane got established. Spillane (141) also mentioned that cracking down the retail drug sellers only aggravated the issue of illegal sales of drugs. The example is given that illicit drugs were sold by drugstores such as Charles Sonnenberg and Adam Huthwelker (Spillane, 141). Cocaine was sold be these drugstores illegally to consumers through secretive selling techniques. These drugstores are even mentioned as uneducated drug peddlers that took use of restriction by earning hefty profits for selling illicit drugs.

Use as stimulants

The readings clearly indicate towards the trend that opium as well as cocaine was now beginning to be used as 'stimulants' and pleasure seeking drugs rather than for their medical use. The medical addicts were not seen as much as those that sought this drug for non-medical purposes. The story of Annie from Chinatown, London also describes how gradually the trade and consumption of opium transformed and each time that someone consumed too much of opium and died, there was an outcry that resulted in more restriction over opium consumption. The media highlight also caused the restriction on trade and consumption of opium enforced.

There was also a change in perception regarding the people who got addicted. Some researchers termed addiction of drugs as 'psychological disorders' whereas other mentioned these as mental and hereditary disorders. These definitions also altered the behavior of society towards the addicts of opium and there was a resulting surge in geographic area where opium was consumed along with demographic segments that now were called opium addicts.