Opium was the miracle drug of the day back in the 1500s, it was being smoked and eaten and drank to relieve everyone's pain. It made its way into the most reluctant countries and even into the Romantic world of art and poetry. Opium was a much harder drug than the rest of the other soft drugs of its time. The overall reaction to opium could be paralleled to other drugs because people seem to act the same over and over again without realizing it. By analyzing what Thomas De Quincey means when he describes "the great light of the majestic intellect" as well as the immense pain he felt from its withdrawal and long term use we will establish why people were so enthralled in this drug. Opium followed similar patterns and trends of the other successful…show more content… For one to understand how opium was able to do what it did, one has to know what it truly does to a person. De Quincey writes of his experiences and memories, spanning from his rather delightful indulgences to his misery and suffering. He catalogues his accounts, (be that as it may he was high on opium at the time of writing this) and eventually transforms it into a confession. What De Quincey describes is that users obtain a feeling of short term bliss prolonged to the extent of their connection with the drug, followed by a state that De Quincey describes as "a state of unutterable irritation of the stomach, accompanied by intense perspirations,"(p. 56) meaning that when you're high you're sedated and in a state of happiness almost like a newborn, and then when it wears off you get jittery and very uncomfortable but not…show more content… The people of the 15-18th centuries did not limit themselves resulting in these real problems that they had to face. This unmoderated consumption lead to incredible health risks and addictions trapping people into revolving around the drug. Opium's standout addiction and withdrawal is most prevalent here in its drastic impact comparative to the rest of the soft drugs. No other drug could cause such uproar because no other drug of that time could cause such a dependency. Opium is above the other drugs of its era for how it impacted the world more heavily, opium while, above the others still follows some of the same patterns as its fellow drugs such as gin. Finally, opium's effects on the body and the mind are pivotal in its world domination as seen through the words of Thomas De Quincey. Opium was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to opiate use and abuse but the way it affected the world when it was the only opiate available was critical in how it ended up in our society
