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The Role of the Chinese in Opium Production and Consumption in Canada

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There has always been a discussion on whether Cannabis Hemp and opium were brought to the Americas by the immigrants or were native to the land. One of the men at the center of the controversy is Jacques Carter who mentions in his journals that he saw the plan somewhere in Canada. Critics have argued that he never actually saw opium but long stemmed fibrous plants. History, on the other hand, insists that opium was among one of the few crops to be grown by a European on Canadian soil. The firm farmed was Louis Hebert who came to the country in 1609 from France. Louis brought with him extensive knowledge of drugs and various herbs3, 1. The 1500s were a time when opium was a rare commodity to find in Europe. Holland had become a monopoly in the importation of opium from the East Indies1. There was a naval blockade which cut off the supply from Russia which was previously the supplier to the continent. The Europeans, therefore, looked to the new world to be a source of cheap opium for the continent. The beginning of the seventeenth century was a time when Spain was growing opium in Chile while New England was growing opium for the British. Canada, on the other hand, was the territory of the French who promised to buy every kilo of opium that the farmers would grow2. Massive quantities of opium were required by the naval powers at the time to outfit their warships and naval fleets. Opium was so important in the 1500s and 1600s that bounties were offered for its cultivation2, 3. There were many taxes associated with opium stalks, and penalties were imposed to those who did not farm enough of the plant. An interesting thing to note is that many modern cities took their names from the plant because it was their main crop; Hampshire, Hamptons, and Hempstead are examples. The problems experienced at this time was how to get it ready for the market. The sophisticated machinery available today to break the opium only came to be in the 1920s. Opium was, therefore, a crop which required a lot of labor to produce. The preparation was done using a process referred to as retting1.

Entry of the Chinese

The importance of Opium went into a decline to the start of the 19th century even though it was still the largest source of paper until much later. Trees had not yet come in as the primary source of paper. The invention of steam engines also affected the trade because they eliminated the need for the opium canvas sails in the navy. Another invention which affected opium is the cotton gin. It made it easy to retrieve cotton fibers as opposed to the hard labor needed to get fiber from opium.

The 1800s, however, marked the start of the first international drug related trade and it became popular swiftly. The main party in the trade at the time was Britain. The country was able to move a lot of things over the sea because of its naval supremacy. Britain was the chief trader in alcohol, tea, opium, and tobacco. Opium at this time was very popular among the Chinese even though it was a banned substance in the empire. The Chinese government at this time was trading gold for tea which was significantly consumed by the Britons. The Chinese had over the years managed to monopolize the production of tea in the world2. By 1820s, however, the payment in

Gold to the Chinese was, however, leading to the bankruptcy of the treasury. To preserve their gold, the British started selling opium to the Chinese consumers through intermediaries who were

known as hongs. The Chinese eventually lost their control over the tea market when tea plants were smuggled from China in the early 1850s and replanted in Sri Lanka and India. The Chinese were also trading in opium in British Columbia, and it is the drug that led to the growth of Victoria’s Chinatown2. The consumption of opium among the Chinese, however, continued until it became a huge concern to the government. The Chinese authorities eventually banned the sale of opium in their nation, and this led to massive losses to the British opium traders. The loss of the trade resulted in the declaration of war in 1839 so that the Britons can regain rights to sell their opium. The Chinese lost eh “Opium War” and had to concede the British trading outpost (Hong Kong) as well as pay all the costs of the war3, 1.

The entry of the Chinese in British Columbia came in 1871 when gold was discovered in the colony. The Chinese were running from the California mines which had become exhausted. It is during this period that the Onderdonk construction company was allowed to bring in more than 17000 Chinese workers from south China to work on a railroad in British Columbia. The company was very cunning and enticed the workers with a promise of high fast returns. They were promised riches beyond recognition. The workers, however, were greatly exploited in the building of the railway. Merciless labor gangs were also attacking them, and more than 4000 of them were killed during the building of this railway1, 2. The completion of the railway saw the establishment of a community of impoverished and jobless Chinese living in shanties and tents. The men were banned from alcohol consumption as well as social intercourse, and the frustrations made them run into opium use. Opium became a common drug, and it was used to ease the pain of their frustrating circumstances. The labor movements at the time feared that the Chinese were going to lead to a further flooding of the labor market and reduction of wages. The government was under pressure and instituted a head tax on every Chinese immigrant. The head tax was fifty dollars, but by 1904 it was 500 dollars1, 3.

In 1907, there was civil unrest promoted by the labor unions against the presence of the Chinese in British Columbia. Mackenzie King, a private citizen, came up with the proposal that ending the civil unrest could only be done by eliminating the Chinese. He wrote the infamous report, “The Need for the Suppression of Opium Traffic in Canada.”2 The report took most of its content from the sensational reporting in the papers showing how white women were suffering as a result of opium use. The pressure from the public and the report by Mackenzie led to the establishment of the Opium Narcotic Act of 1908. The act has been the basis of most Canadian legislation related to use of illicit drugs up to today. The law did not consider any scientific or medical research but was meant to eliminate the Chinese from the labor pool. Critics of the act doubt up to today if Mackenzie had intended for a law to be applied to the white population in British Columbia. King in his report to the Parliament of Canada said that the opium ban was necessary as a moral reform and was a way of freeing people from the bondage of the drug1. There were, however, problems in enforcing the law and smuggling routes came up. The government

formed a royal commission on chines opium smuggling. Another act was established, and it made the use and possession of the drug offense. The police were also given more powers to search and

seize the drugs. The police began a huge crackdown on the drug dealers who were invading Canada from the south. The government felt that police would need to be more active because the dealers were not crooks but were well-dressed gentlemen who could not be easily caught. There was also an increase in the calls to prosecute offenders to combat what was referred to as the drug evil. The RCMP continued waging war on drugs and statistics show that the convictions in 1922 had2, 3

increased to 32%. The raids also increased in Chinatown and calls for deportation of offenders were at an all-time high. The Chinese communities living in Canada at the time were full of anxiety and fear because of the victimization.

The period building up to the 1920s was a time when the extracts of opium used in medicines to cure more than twenty difference diseases. Queen Victoria was also a supporter of the opium medicine and was feeding the opium seeds to the birds in the Royal Sanctuaries. Three states in the United States at this time had already outlawed opium even though they were not backed by scientific data. The laws were mainly established as a way of deporting the minorities who preferred drugs different to those used by the Europeans. The biased laws later made their way to Canada mostly because of the Maclean’s Magazine1. The magazine ran a series of articles which condemned drug trade in Canada. The articles were later compiled into a book which was named The Black Candle. The articles were the work of Mrs. Emily Murphy who was a leader of the Irish Orange Order which was advocating for a pure white Canada. The book and the articles were just meant to arouse emotions among the people. The book, however, got the government to create stricter laws, and opium and Cannabis hemp were made illegal under the name “Marijuana.” The ban and fight against Opium and other Narcotics continued even though now there is a great fight to end the prohibition of marijuana and other narcotics given the medical evidence that is present3. There is however little effort that is made to legalize Opium. The drug is still highly feared in the world by many governments and research is yet to dismiss the side effects of the drugs1, 2.

Opium extracts are however used for medicinal purposes and growth and manufacturing is controlled strictly by the government.

Conclusion

Trading in opium started out early in the day, and it was not a banned product given its use in the navy and medicine. Smoking of opium in Canada was not standard, and the behavior only became serious after Chinese immigrants came into British Columbia. Manufacturing and trade in opium were of a large economic benefit to the British Empire, and it’s for this reason that it had remained legal. Opium was a main source of revenue for the British Columbia government. The trade at the time was not associated with vices such as crime, gang fights and prostitution as it is today. Opium was an employer to many, especially among Chinese traders. The prosperity of Chinatown in Victoria can be associated with the success of the trade. The prohibition of the drug in 1908 significantly affected the trade and the economy of Chinatown. When the ban of opium was initiated, it might have affected their economy negatively, but it eventually helped the community to get rid of the drug menace. Chinatown, however remains solely responsible for the spread of opium use in Canada.

References

Greenberg, Michael. "OPIUM." British Trade and the Opening of China 1800–42 (n.d.), 104-143. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511896286.006.

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