American Opium Dens, 1850–1910

Abstract

Abstract Many Chinese men emigrated to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century and Americans criticized their opium smoking, though the practice later caught on among native-born Americans. Xenophobia flourished as Chinese immigrants successfully competed with native-born Americans for jobs. Smoking opium provided solace for Chinese immigrants as they endured prejudice and homesickness. Some Americans suggested that smoking opium was a sinister pastime. Opium dens were typically dark, hidden, underground spaces, and reporters visited Chinatowns and described the dens to their readers. Some suggested that den owners enticed and corrupted white youth—which would become an anti-drug trope—and most of these accusations were revealed to be lies. Opium smoking did spread eastward and catch on with a white clientele, first members of urban underworlds and then more “respectable” people. The earliest law against drugs other than alcohol was a San Francisco ordinance barring opium smoking.