OFFICIAL NAMES: Opium, laudanum, paregoric, Dover's powder

STREET NAMES: Big O, black stuff, block, gum, hop/hops, ah-pen-yen, Aunti, Aunti Emma, black, black pill, chandoo/chandu, Chinese molasses, Chinese tobacco, dopium, Dover's deck, dream gun, dream stick, dreams, easing powder, fi-do-nie, gee, God's medicine, gondola, goric, great tobacco, guma, joy plant, midnight oil, O, O.P., ope, pen yan, pin gon, pin yen, pox, skee, toxy, toys, when-shee, ze, zero

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Schedule II, narcotic

Overview

Opium, the parent of heroin and a myriad of other addictive derivatives, has a long and fascinating history. Opium has been used for medical, religious, and recreational purposes, and has been featured in, and used to inspire, art, literature, and poetry. As an international commodity, it has been the focus of regulation, legislation, even war. Opium's addictive and detrimental effects have caused untold suffering throughout history. Its ability...