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Some Relevant History

Some archeologic remnants of poppy seeds suggest that this
fascinating plant was valued by early members of our species, dating
back to the end of the last ice age. But the first clear records we have
were provided by the Sumerians, the people who inhabited the fertile
valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers approximately 5000
years B.C.

The era in which our ancestors followed herds of animals on their
annual migratory paths, sharing many of the same foods, gradually
gave way to the time when they began to domesticate plants and
animals and settle in one place rather than constantly moving. Fertile
valleys would provide enough grain during the growing season to last
the entire year. One of the other plants that was cultivated by the
Sumerians was the poppy, which they called "the plant of joy"; more a
testimonial than a description. The milky liquid that filled the seedpod
was separated and dried. It could then be ingested --low and behold,
powdered joy, now known as opium. We have no way of knowing
how addictive this material was, nor how highly concentrated the
active material was in the plants. . But we are able to know about the
joyful plant because the Sumerians had developed a written language,
which has provided descriptions of their culture.

After the two rivers meet in the middle of what used to be called
Mesopotamia, they flow into the Persian Gulf, which provided the
Sumerians an exit to lands and societies beyond. Overland, they could
follow the upper reaches of the Euphrates through the upper arc of the
"Fertile Crescent" and into the lands that bordered on the
Mediterranean sea. These routes gave the Sumerians access to other
societies, such as the Egyptians who began to enjoy the substance in
about 2000 B.C. The Sumerians were succeeded by the Babylonians
who carried the joy plant to Greece. We know that the plant was
fondly regarded in Greece because it is described in Homer's Odyssey
in about 1000 B.C. From there, Alexander the Great took it along with
him when he invaded the Indian sub continent in 340 B.C.