Opium Den

An opium den was an establishment in which opium was sold and smoked, prevalent in many parts of the world during the nineteenth century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France. Throughout the West, opium dens were frequented by and closely associated with Chinese communities because the establishments were usually operated by Chinese operators, who supplied the opium and prepared it for visiting smokers who were often not themselves Chinese. Most dens kept a stock of dedicated opium paraphernalia, chiefly the long pipes and oil lamps needed to smoke the drug, and patrons would recline while holding a pipe over a lamp to heat the opium until it vaporized so it could be inhaled. Opium dens in China were frequented by every level of society, with the opulence or plainness of a given den reflecting the financial means of its patrons, and the establishments were similarly present in urban areas of the United States, particularly on the West Coast.