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In
the 19th Century,
opium dens were
a dangerously exotic
place in which to
escape reality,
or to lose inhibitions
and experience vividly
inspiring dreams,
frequented by such
revered writers
as Mark Twain, Rudyard
Kipling, Edgar Allan
Poe, Charles Baudelaire,
Oscar Wilde and
many others.
Writers, poets and
free thinkers of
the Victorian era
would recline in
the dimly lit rooms
where the sweet
scent of opium hung
heavily in the smoke-filled,
humid air. Black
'pills' of 'ah-pen-yen'
were placed in an
opium pipe and held
over a flame until
it bubbled, ready
for the long, deep
draw that would
inhale the entire
vaporized contents
of the bowl.
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Opium
dens were common
in the 1800's in
the Chinatowns of
cities like London,
San Francisco and
New York. The dens
often became tourist
attractions for
the curiosity seekers
from small towns.
Prior to its introduction
to the West by Chinese
immigrants, and
before Western influence
in China, 'chasing
the dragon' was
an accepted and
largely moderate
practice in Chinese
society as a way
of easing the pain
of the incurably
ill and in certain
ceremonial rituals.
Ironically, when
opium use became
taboo in the West,
heroin and morphine
were used for some
time as a "helpful"
substitute for opium
addiction.
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