Bernard O’Connor’s latest documentary history is an account of opium, the black drug derived from poppies that was consumed as a medicine, a soporific, a mind-altering drug and a poison. Using the British Newspaper Archive, he has selected newspaper articles from both the Indian and the British press. What follows shed light on the conflicting scientific, medical, commercial and religious attitudes towards opium, the changing economic and political situation in Great Britain, India and China and the effects of its consumption. Given the considerable coverage of opium in the news, this book is Volume I, covering the 18th century. Further volumes are planned.