Throughout recorded history and in most parts of the world, OPIATES have occupied a central place in medicinals. They have been used popularly against a wide range of ills and to produce calm or well-being. Opiates are renowned for their powerful ability to relieve PAIN. They also have been used for their PSYCHOACTIVE properties and, within the last 100 years, have come to symbolize the problems with attempts to control drug use through legislation and enforcement. (Technically, opiates are a subset of the OPIOIDS, which also include synthetic agents and naturally occurring peptides that bind to opioid RECEPTORS found in certain animal species.)

The OPIUM poppy (Papaver somniferum) grows easily in semiarid parts of the Middle East and southern Asia, including dry or steep locales where other crops are difficult to cultivate. For thousands of years, farmers in these regions have...