> .. with both alcohol and opium, the critical factor is not their chemical composition but their social history, that is to say the length, duration and historical circumstances of a population’s exposure to the substance. When alcohol fell on ‘virgin soil’, as ‘smoking opium’ did in China and Southeast Asia, it too could have devastating consequences, as it did among Native Americans and indigenous Australians.
#SmokeAndAshes #AmitavGhosh
#DrugSocialHistory #PsychoActiveDrugs