I just put up a post at littletinsoldier.net about Manchu China, Opium, and drug legalisation.

When drug-legalisation campaigners point to the 19th Century as a time when drugs were legal, accepted and harmless, they are looking at the wrong society.

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Then came opium. First in large amounts, then in overwhelmingly large amounts. Hundreds of tons of the poison year after year, ruining fortunes, families and morals.

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State authority and ethics were undermined. Corruption was so ubiquitous, eventually the Manchu Emperor could not establish an uncontaminated flow of information, even in secret. Authority withered. Criminality flourished, entwined with the corrupt agents of an impotent government. Normal economy suffered, while wicked men amassed immense wealth and power. Generations were impoverished. legions of children were orphaned. Millions upon untold millions shuffled to an early death (the life expectancy of an opium user was five years).

If, like me, you have strong opinions on this subject, please read the rest of it.