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Opium (poppy tears, ''lachryma papaveris'') is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum'').〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Opium definition )〕 Opium latex contains approximately 12% of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off, and dehydrated. The word "meconium" (derived from the Greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to infant stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.〔(Health on the Net Foundation Mother and Child Glossary )〕 The production of opium itself has not changed since ancient times. Through selective breeding of the ''Papaver somniferum'' plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine, has been greatly increased. In modern times, much of the thebaine, which often serves as the raw material for the synthesis for hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and other semisynthetic opiates, originates from extracting ''Papaver orientale'' or ''Papaver bracteatum''. Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which is less bulky, making it easier to smuggle, and which multiplies its potency to approximately twice that of morphine. ==History== Cultivation of opium poppies for food, anaesthetics, and ritual purposes dates back to at least the Neolithic Age (new stone age). The Sumerian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Indian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Persian and Arab Empires all made widespread use of opium, which was the most potent form of pain relief then available, allowing ancient surgeons to perform prolonged surgical procedures. Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civil War before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage. In China, recreational use began in the 15th century, but was limited by its rarity and expense. Opium trade became more regular by the 17th century, when it was mixed with tobacco for smoking, and addiction was first recognized. Prior to the arrival of the tobacco pipe, opium was only taken orally; when smoked, the drug has a far more potent effect, and its addictive effect is greatly magnified. Opium prohibition in China began in 1729, yet was followed by nearly two centuries of increasing opium use. China had a positive balance sheet in trading with the British, which led to a decrease of the British silver stocks. Therefore, the British tried to encourage Chinese opium use to enhance their balance, and they delivered it from Indian provinces under British control. In India, its cultivation, as well as the manufacture and traffic to China, were subject to the British East India Company (BEIC), as a strict monopoly of the British government.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Opium Factories of Bihar - Bihargatha )〕 There was an extensive and complicated system of BEIC agencies involved in the supervision and management of opium production and distribution in India. A massive destruction of opium by an emissary of the Chinese Daoguang Emperor in an attempt to stop opium imports, led to the First Opium War (18391842), in which Britain defeated China. After 1860, opium use continued to increase with widespread domestic production in China. By 1905, an estimated 25% of the male population were regular consumers of the drug. Recreational use of opium elsewhere in the world remained rare into late in the 19th century, as indicated by ambivalent reports of opium usage.〔Opium : Dikotter, Frank, Lars Laamann and Zhou Xun. 2004. Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; Zheng Yangwen. 2005. The Social Life of Opium in China. New York: Cambridge University Press.〕 Global regulation of opium began with the stigmatization of Chinese immigrants and opium dens in San Francisco, California, leading rapidly from town ordinances in the 1870s to the formation of the International Opium Commission in 1909. During this period, the portrayal of opium in literature became squalid and violent, British opium trade was largely supplanted by domestic Chinese production, purified morphine and heroin became widely available for injection, and patent medicines containing opiates reached a peak of popularity. Opium was prohibited in many countries during the early 20th century, leading to the modern pattern of opium production as a precursor for illegal recreational drugs or tightly regulated legal prescription drugs. Illicit opium production, now dominated by Afghanistan, was decimated in 2000, when production was banned by the Taliban, but has increased steadily since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and over the course of the war in Afghanistan.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=UN World Drug Report 2007 – Afghanistan )〕 Worldwide production in 2006 was 6610 metric tons〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=0.0_Front Matters_05-31-07.qxd )〕—about one-fifth the level of production in 1906. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Opium」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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