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Drug trade in Daxia: Difference between revisions
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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 Shang noble circles and later among the urban middle classes. Opium was also received frequently 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 845, while during the late Qian period the figure was close to ten thousand chests or the equivalent to 650 tons of opium. The Zhong made important and succesful efforts to limit the consumption of opium by heavily increasing custom duties and taxation of opium itself in addition to a special tax on pipes and a steep increase in the price of licenses for purchasing agents. Some scholars at the Zhong court advocated for a complete prohibition of the substance on the basis of deleterious effects from overuse both from a health and moral points of view. The official Wan Shi Tung likened it to a gangrenous limb that needed to be cut off before it could kill the rest of the body. These efforts came to nothing as the incomes from regulating and taxing the product were most helpful in funding Zhong's military expansion and court expenses. Consumption plateaued during this period and remained steady at around 120 tons per year. | 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 Shang noble circles and later among the urban middle classes. Opium was also received frequently 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 845, while during the late Qian period the figure was close to ten thousand chests or the equivalent to 650 tons of opium. The Zhong made important and succesful efforts to limit the consumption of opium by heavily increasing custom duties and taxation of opium itself in addition to a special tax on pipes and a steep increase in the price of licenses for purchasing agents. Some scholars at the Zhong court advocated for a complete prohibition of the substance on the basis of deleterious effects from overuse both from a health and moral points of view. The official Wan Shi Tung likened it to a gangrenous limb that needed to be cut off before it could kill the rest of the body. These efforts came to nothing as the incomes from regulating and taxing the product were most helpful in funding Zhong's military expansion and court expenses. Consumption plateaued during this period and remained steady at around 120 tons per year. | ||
Restrictions were loosened again with the arrival of the Qian dynasty, whose clan members had a long history of usage and even addiction before rising to imperial power; the secret history of the Qian mentions the deaths of at least three Qian emperors to drug abuse. | Restrictions were loosened again with the arrival of the Qian dynasty, whose clan members had a long history of usage and even addiction before rising to imperial power; the secret history of the Qian mentions the deaths of at least three Qian emperors to drug abuse. The substance was so popular and lucrative that great sums were invested into growing a domestic source; in the 1700's the Qian dynasty emerged as a leading producer and exporter of opium, as they no longer accepted opium as tribute they instead moved to take control of Nasrad's native opium operation through intermediaries. Qian opium found its way north all the way to [[Oyashima]], west to to the Aab-e-farus and across the [[The Southern Route|southern route]] to [[Sarpedon]]. | ||
Within [[Daxia]] itself the use of recreative opioids became continued to rise during the entire Qian period, with the [[Hongli]] emperor reportedly consuming them to counteract his frequent bouts of anxiety and psychotic breakdowns during the [[Second Great War|war]]; thousands of troops in the frontlines of [[Audonia]] also became addicted to the substance to calm their nerves during battle. The military governments that followed the monarchy tried very hard to tamp down on the use of drugs, especially in the armed forces that were the base of their power. 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, exiled to camps and their families ostracized. These draconian methods failed to make a lasting dent, the astronomical profits meant that new criminal outfits such as the National Opium Syndicate were undeterred. By the 1970's the war on drugs was quietly and reluctantly shelved, and from then on the problem was basically ignored, leading to increased deaths from overdose and criminal infighting. The drug epidemic was one of the key ingredients of the erosion of authority of the [[National Reconstruction Front (Daxia)|NRF]] government known as the Slow Death. | |||
The arrival of the [[Party of Daxian Democrats|PDD]] brought a change in the governmental approach to the drug problem. The new government saw drug use as an insidious tool to increase its grip on the population and as a revenue stream that could have explosive growth internationally. The new and now ideologically motivated intelligence apparatus infiltrated groups like the National Opium Syndicate, but instead of being destroyed, these criminal entities were coopted and directed to act in service of government aims. The crime bosses now had government minders, quotas to fill and very specific instructions of who and where to sell. Dissidents point to an entire superstructure organized from within the bowels of power to profit from the international drug trade. This network would include the largest pharmaceutical companies in [[Audonia]] such as [[Opdo Corporation]] and [[Samgor]], banks and credit institutions, government ministries and the ever present security services. The Daxian government has consistently denied these accusations. | The arrival of the [[Party of Daxian Democrats|PDD]] brought a change in the governmental approach to the drug problem. The new government saw drug use as an insidious tool to increase its grip on the population and as a revenue stream that could have explosive growth internationally. The new and now ideologically motivated intelligence apparatus infiltrated groups like the National Opium Syndicate, but instead of being destroyed, these criminal entities were coopted and directed to act in service of government aims. The crime bosses now had government minders, quotas to fill and very specific instructions of who and where to sell. Dissidents point to an entire superstructure organized from within the bowels of power to profit from the international drug trade. This network would include the largest pharmaceutical companies in [[Audonia]] such as [[Opdo Corporation]] and [[Samgor]], banks and credit institutions, government ministries and the ever present security services. The Daxian government has consistently denied these accusations. | ||
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===Bando Gora=== | ===Bando Gora=== | ||
Bando Gora are a gang operating in the areas of [[Varshan]] annexed by [[Daxia]]. The group operates labs in the jungle where they manufacture important quantities of low quality crystal methamphetamine and smuggle it into settled areas of the [[Zanoma Regional Administration|ZRA]] and [[Varshan]] proper. The Bando Gora are notorious for worshipping the [[Orthodox Arzalism|Arzalist]] Death God, raids by authorities into the jungle have documented the discovery of shrines with human and animal skulls, bones and hair. People previously reported as missing have been found murdered in gruesome ritualized fashion. The group is considered especially dangerous as the region is flooded with weapons after the end of the war. | Bando Gora are a gang operating in the areas of [[Varshan]] annexed by [[Daxia]]. The group operates labs in the jungle where they manufacture important quantities of low quality crystal methamphetamine and smuggle it into settled areas of the [[Zanoma Regional Administration|ZRA]] and [[Varshan]] proper. The Bando Gora are notorious for worshipping the [[Orthodox Arzalism|Arzalist]] Death God, raids by authorities into the jungle have documented the discovery of shrines with human and animal skulls, bones and hair. People previously reported as missing have been found murdered in gruesome ritualized fashion. The group is considered especially dangerous as the region is flooded with weapons after the end of the war. | ||
===Party of the Revolutionary Path=== | |||
==Government involvement== | ==Government involvement== | ||
The matter of involvement by the [[Daxia]]n government in the international drug trade is a matter of speculation and guesswork. The legality of the production, sale and consumption of most well known drugs inside the country leaves only international sales as truly illegal avenues of revenue. Fue to the need to maintain good diplomatic relations with other nations the [[Daxia]]n government has always denied any accusations of criminal collusion in the drug trade. Nonetheless former government officials turned dissidents and exiles have repeatedly accused the state of building 'an invisible empire' in the drug world. The website StopThePoison.org owned by dissident Magi Chu published a report in 2018 detailing an operation from inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to transport thousands of captagon pills inside briefcases carried by diplomatic passport holders. The destination was allegedly the city of [[Alba Concordia]] and the pills would be distributed in the premises of the [[League of Nations]] to various delegates on behalf of international clients. The minister of foreign affairs rubbished the report as 'fake news and disinformation for the gullible' and invited League security to conduct an inspection of the [[Daxia]]n diplomatic office; the inspection never took place. | The matter of involvement by the [[Daxia]]n government in the international drug trade is a matter of speculation and guesswork. The legality of the production, sale and consumption of most well known drugs inside the country leaves only international sales as truly illegal avenues of revenue. Fue to the need to maintain good diplomatic relations with other nations the [[Daxia]]n government has always denied any accusations of criminal collusion in the drug trade. Nonetheless former government officials turned dissidents and exiles have repeatedly accused the state of building 'an invisible empire' in the drug world. The website StopThePoison.org owned by dissident Magi Chu published a report in 2018 detailing an operation from inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to transport thousands of captagon pills inside briefcases carried by diplomatic passport holders. The destination was allegedly the city of [[Alba Concordia]] and the pills would be distributed in the premises of the [[League of Nations]] to various delegates on behalf of international clients. The minister of foreign affairs rubbished the report as 'fake news and disinformation for the gullible' and invited League security to conduct an inspection of the [[Daxia]]n diplomatic office; the inspection never took place. | ||