The Allure of Opium Abuse in 19th Century Europe

Opium was introduced to Europe in large amounts in the early 1800's by European sailors and travelers, as well as by Chinese immigrants. Arriving from the Orient, opium had an air of exoticism surrounding it, as well as a certain artistic appeal. Many notable European personalities were either occasional users or outright addicts. Among the better known were Allister Crowley, Pablo Picasso, Charles Baudelaire and Thomas De Quincey, author of Confessions of an Opium Eater.

It was within literary circles that opium use became somewhat romanticized. Many writers of the time who were also users, wrote of opium's mysterious allure; from the exotically furnished opium dens in London's Limehouse district to the ethereal visions and revelations associated with the drug. Claude Ferrere, during the late nineteenth century wrote: "Where would I find opium? The opium that is my life, the magic opium that intoxicates me with pleasures and illusions, intrepid opium that here sustains me."

Truth be told, the reality of opium addiction was far less glorious. Despite literary elaborations, the majority of opium dens were unfurnished, squalid rooms hidden in back alleys, where addicts could succumb to their destructive habit undisturbed. However, there were exceptions. Europe's fascination with opium in the 19th century was not completely limited to poor squatters in even poorer surroundings. In aristocratic circles, opium possessed a certain allure. France in particular was known to harbor a great number of opium users. Reports from the time claimed that in 1901 Paris had more up to 1200 opium smoking establishments. A cultural craving for foreign indulgences helped increase interest in the drug.

France's Montmartre area, known for its hedonistic leanings, was the location of Moulin Rouge, a famously plush cabaret. Visitors to the establishment would first notice a facade decorated in glittering lights; a rare sight in 1889. They would then pass through scarlet-colored halls and enter into an aromatic garden with a giant-sized, mock elephant. Supposedly this elephant was itself an opium den, where gentlemen could indulge in their habit. Moulin Rouge remains a place shrouded in infamous tales of opium dens, prostitution, and the driking of absinthe, a mildy hallucinogenic liquid.

A cabaret with more hedonisitc leanings, but certainly no less drug and alcohol use, was Zurich's Cabaret Voltaire. Opened by the German poet Hugo Ball in 1916, Cabaret Voltaire was characterized by unusual and unique artistic performances. It was here that the Dada group (Tristan Tzara, Hugo Ball, Jean Arr, etc.) had its beginnings.

Prefiguring Cabaret Voltaire and similar establishments was the Bohemian Salon, a place where one could revel in decadence. "The 19th century witnessed the rise of the Bohemian salon-one characterized by lack of money (or at least unemployment), long hair, loud ranting against the bourgeoisie, unruly sexual behavior, and copius consumption of wine, absinthe, opium, hashish and other substances d'abus."

(http://www.salon.com/archives/welcome/history2.html)

Opium is derived from the opium poppy, papaver somniferum. Although the origin of opium use is shrouded in the mists of time, the poppy has long been used for numerous purposes, such as providing food, oil, and fuel. The poppy's euphoric qualities come from its principal active ingredient, morphine. Morphine's initial widespread abuse occurred in the 1850's, with the invention of the hypodermic needle. As is the case with many absused drugs, the medicinal uses of the poppy were unparralleled during this time. The drugs opium, morphine and heroin are known to be extremely effective in pain relief and fever reduction, as well as aiding in cough suppression, relaxing spasms, and inducing sleep. Similar in today's world, many legitimate medicinal users succumbed to opium abuse after a downward spiral into addiction. Up until approximately 1910, opium was often prescribed for ailments ranging from dysentery and cholera to bronchitis and measles. A popular cough syrup of the day, Ayers Cherry Pectoral, contained opium and was given to babies in Europe as well as America to treat a vast multitude of illnesses and irritations in chldren; often administered to simply quiet a crying baby. A popular publication of the day, The Family Physician, in an effort to dissuade such frivolous use of a narcotic, stated "a man who would use opium for every little trivial ache and pain would take an 80-ton gun to go rabbit shooting."

By the early 1900's, the effects of opium on society were becoming more evident. The consequences for the military were, in isolated incidents, disastrous. The French navy ship "La Nive" was involved in an accident in 1907 due to its officers being opium addicts. Planes crashing due to pilots being under the influence was also known to happen.

In America, opium use was largely limited to the Chinatowns of San Francisco, New York, and the larger cities in general. Due to the prevalent racism towards Asian-Americans at that time, criminalizing opium was an easier task than say, criminalizing cocaine or heroin. By the 1920's great measures were taken all over the world to curb opium use and to end addiction. Anti-opium legislation had put an end to its exotic status, and it was soon available only by prescription. Greater scrutiny in labeling foods and drugs was enforced by the 1906 U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act, which stated medicinal suppliers must specify any narcotic ingredients in their products.

Today in the West, one rarely hears of opium abuse, or simply opium for that matter. But in the 19th century, opium abuse was as much of a scourge as meth or heroin is today (especially in China). Initially opium's status could be compared to what we call designer drugs today, drugs that are expensive and popular. Many European writers and artists were daily users, and often integrated their love for opium into their work. Opium also found its way into the clubs of the day, being used by the patrons and performers of cabarets, salons and taverns. Its popularity as a medicine inevitably led to the patient's dependence on the drug, which in turn led to measures taken to curb its widespread use; and they obviously worked, but only for opium. The opium problem of the 19th century was but a shadow of today's drug problems.