Raw Opium is a journey around the world and through time, where conflicting forces do battle over the narcotic sap of the opium poppy. From an opium master in southeast Asia to a UN drug enforcement officer on the border of Afghanistan hunting down the smugglers of central Asia; from a former Indian government Drug Czar and opium farmer to a crusading Vancouver doctor and Portuguese street worker who daily confront the realities of drug addiction.
Opium is a commodity that has tremendous power - both to ease pain and to destroy lives. For centuries, this flower has played, and continues to play, a pivotal role, not just in the lives of people who grow, manufacture and use it, but also in the increasingly tense sphere of international relations. This program follows a journey around the world, where conflicting forces do battle over this narcotic sap.
We see how this flower has played, and continues to play, a pivotal role - not just in the lives of people who grow, manufacture and use it - but also in the increasingly tense sphere of international relations. In the process, our assumptions about addiction and the War on Drugs are challenged.
Raw Opium is a journey around the world and through time, where conflicting forces do battle over the narcotic sap of the opium poppy. From an opium master in southeast Asia to a UN drug enforcement officer on the border of Afghanistan hunting down the smugglers of central Asia; from a former Indian government Drug Czar and opium farmer to a crusading Vancouver doctor and Portuguese street worker who daily confront the realities of drug addiction.
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