Farmers dating sites in usa

Its cultivation spread along the Silk Road, from the Mediterranean through Asia and finally to China where it was the catalyst for the Opium Wars of the mid-1800s. Many countries began to grow and process opium to expand its availability and to decrease its cost. As people learned of the power of opium, demand for it increased. The Sumerians referred to it as Hul Gil, the "joy plant." The Sumerians soon passed it on to the Assyrians, who in turn passed it on to the Egyptians.

when the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia (Southwest Asia). The earliest reference to opium growth and use is in 3,400 B.C. As misused drugs, they are often smoked, sniffed, or injected. However, they are some of the most addictive substances known to man. Narcotics are used therapeutically to treat pain, suppress cough, alleviate diarrhea, and induce anesthesia. The term “narcotic” refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic substitutes.

The poppy plant, Papaver somniferum, produces opium, a powerful narcotic whose derivatives include morphine, codeine, heroin, and oxycodone.