Poppies, Pipes, and People

Opium production and use connote international intrigues, illicit wealth, and social degeneracy to industrialized societies. The experiences and attitudes of those growing and using opiumin poppy-producing areas are not always so dramatic or so negative. For a total of three years between 1965 and 1975, Joseph Westermeyer practiced medicine and studied the function of opiumin Laos, where it is a c...