The Opium Act
For thousands of years, opiates, derived from the poppy plant, have been used for medicinal and recreational purposes around the world. By the late 19th century in North America, laudanum and morphine were common medicines known to soothe pain, dysentery, and other physical ailments. People also smoked opium using elegant pipes, whether for similar medicinal purposes or for pleasure.
However, during this period, authorities increasingly viewed opium smoking as dangerous, associating it with what they called the “evil and immoral” character of Chinese people. When the United States clamped down on the industry with tariffs and laws, many opium producers moved to Canada, where regulations were still lenient. Victoria became a hub, with 13 opium factories operating in 1888.
After the 1907 anti-Asian riots in Vancouver, two Chinatown opium manufacturers filed claims for damages. When William Lyon Mackenzie King, then the deputy minister of labour, investigated their legitimate claims, he issued a report calling for an opium ban. Using racist rhetoric targeting the Chinese, King’s report prompted the passage of Canada’s first drug prohibition law, the 1908 Opium Act.
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