Contemporary drug abusers often take powerful opiates such as morphine, heroin, Oxycontin, and codeine. These narcotics cause rapid addictions to develop in their users, and opium-related dependencies are some of the most difficult to treat and manage. However, opiate addiction is by no means exclusive to the modern world, as humankind has struggled with this problem for thousands of years. The long-standing, far-reaching nature of opiate addiction shows that drug abuse is an issue which has little to do with wealth, religion, culture, or any other aspect of people's roles in their communities. It is a physiological, human ailment with which individuals and societies have always had to cope.

Ancient documents from Sumer, the world's oldest known civilization, depict the use of opium poppies. However, the Sumerians did not apply the same stigma to opium that modern societies do, and they even referred to the plant as the "happy plant" and the "joy plant." Ancient Greeks also valued opium and used it extensively for medical and recreational purposes. Addiction was still a tremendous problem, but the Greeks' desire for opium's practical applications outweighed its dangers.

Over a period of roughly two thousand years, people spread opium from the Mediterranean to almost every part of the world. Civilizations in China, Africa, India, and the Middle East used opiates extensively. These drugs were generally tolerated, if not celebrated, and many of these societies even set aside public areas for opium use. Opium became a staple cash crop for a slew of powerful nations, and its trade was one of the primary reasons for the rapid expansion of worldwide trade routes. These routes led to the destruction or mingling of old cultures and facilitated the rise of new ones. Like salt and spices, opium has been a vehicle of cultural diffusion for ages.

However, the nineteenth century saw a drastic change in the way opium affected civilizations. Opiate addiction rose to epidemic levels in the 1800s and hamstrung the economies of many powerful nations. Some historians estimate that over half of the male Chinese population was addicted to opium derivatives at this time. In response to such a staggering problem, the Chinese government cut off opium trade routes. This far-reaching and impactful decision ignited two conflicts with Great Britain which scholars now refer to as the Opium Wars.

While the British and Chinese were at war, the young United States was plagued by its own addiction problems. Morphine, an opium derivative, was developed just before the Civil War and its widespread use resulted in never-before-seen levels of opiate addiction. Heroin, another opium derivative, was invented to treat these morphine addicts. Ironically, this led to an even larger addiction problem, as heroin users became addicted to that substance, as well.

Since the Civil War, little has changed in regards to the opiate addiction problem in America. Heroin, Oxycodone, codeine, and other opium derivatives are still some of the most widely abused drugs. Attempts at controlling or destroying the opium trade have made little impact, and opiates are still some of the most readily accessible drugs in the world. Overall, the millennium-spanning history of opium addiction indicates that we will not see a reduction in cases of addiction in the near future.