Drug trade in Daxia: Difference between revisions

Undoubtedly in addition to the enormous profits derived from the drug trade both legal and illegal, there are other considerations to take into account. The governmental pursuit of the creation of new, fresh horrors to control or break the minds and will of its people may be behind the legal status of addictive substances. Already the government has instrumentalized the use of opiates through colonial organs such as the [[Xisheng Office of Contentment]] to enact the wholesale sedation of unruly and restive populations to great success. According to leaked government timetables similar operations are planned to start taking place in Daxia controlled parts of [[Varshan|League-occupied Varshan]].

==History==

Opiod use in [[Daxia]] dates back to the 7th century, when it is believed to have been first introduced into the country through trading with merchants from the [[Arunid Empire]]. The poet Ye Chinchuan reported the use of opium as a sedative and and aphrodisiac in noble circles. Opium was later received from the Nasrad kingdom as part of the [[Tributary system of Imperial Daxia|tribute system]]. The surviving [[Imperial Tallies (Daxia)|imperial tallies]] record the annual receipt of fifty chests in 1025, while during the late Qian period the figure was close to ten thousand chests or the equivalent to 650 tons of opium. Use of recreative opioids became very common and legal during the late Qian period, with the [[Hongli]] emperor reportedly consuming them to counteract his frequent bouts of anxiety and pscychotic breakdowns during the [[Second Great War|war]]. The military governments that followed the monarchy tred very hard to tamp down on the use of drugs. They clamped down harshly on users, producers and traffickers when they could get their hands on them. Campaigns to burn opium poppy fields took place yearly, traffickers were hanged in public places in an effort to create fear, drug users were jailed, sent to mental asylums and their families ostracized. These draconian methods failed to make a dent, the astronomical profits meant that new criminal outfits such as the National Opium Syndicate were undaunted. By the 1970's the war on drugs was quietly and reluctantly shelved, and from then on the problem was basically ignored.