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The Romans used the poppy's power mostly for its calming, sedative
properties. Hippocrates was an advocate of this approach. As trade
developed with the Far East, the poppy plant extended its fame. In
400 A.D. it was being used in China for its anti-diarrheal effects.

Fast forwarding to the age of exploration, Europeans brought home the
tobacco plant from the Americas along with the new technique of
smoking. The Portuguese combined smoking and opium in the 16th
Century and took both with them to India, where the new technique
spurred greater production and use of the plant. When ingested with
food, or in a beverage, as had been the method for many centuries, the
onset of the effects of opium are somewhat slow, since the material
has to pass through the digestive track before being absorbed into the
blood, by which it can be carried to the brain. When smoked, the
active materials get to the brain very quickly, within a few seconds,
and the rapid increase in the concentration of that substance produces
a more powerful, dramatic impact, which is now known as a "high", in
contrast with the more mellow effect of ingested material. The
practice of smoking opium rapidly spread through Persia and even to
China.

In the 17th Century, an English apothecary, Thomas Sydenham
combined the opium with sherry wine, producing a compound that
became known as "Laudanum" which became a popular tonic for
multiple and various ailments well into the 20th Century and gave rise
to more opium addiction.

The growing power of the British Navy expanded the reach of the
empire's economic force. The British East India Company, chartered
by the crown, soon dominated the trade in opiates. The popularity in
England of Chinese silks and porcelain made them eager to increase
trade with China. The company began importing chests of opium into
Canton, despite the prohibition of the Emperor. Canton was the only
Chinese city in which the western ships were permitted to do business.
Because it was located in the south of China, a long distance from the
Emperor's palace in Peking, a robust smuggling business began to
thrive.