Most opium dens kept a supply of opium paraphernalia such as the pipes and lamps that were necessary to smoke the drug. Patrons would recline to hold the long opium pipes over oil lamps that would heat the drug until it vaporized, allowing the smoker to inhale the vapors.

There are two cultural forms of ‘true’ opium pipe, those instruments built expressly for the purpose of vaporizing just opium. The differences in overall design largely come down to what is used as a steady heat source – a vegetable oil lamp, or a piece of charcoal.

An opium pipe is a pipe designed for the evaporation and inhalation of opium. True opium pipes allow for the opiate to be vaporized while being heated over a special oil lamp known as an opium lamp .

2023年12月5日 · In the United States, San Francisco became the first city to make operating or visiting an opium den illegal in 1875. These laws coincided with growing international efforts to slow the opium trade as addiction spread. China continued to advocate for ending the trade that affected their citizens but was controlled by Europeans.

2023年7月30日 · Opium dens, very generally speaking, were establishments built into back rooms and basements (via PMLA) where visitors could settle down with the aforementioned drug and a pipe, then smoke to their hearts' content. Quite a few of them started popping up in large cities on the west coast (San Francisco in particular had quite the association ...

2025年4月1日 · In this episode of “Stories from the Collection,” the DEA Museum showcases an opium pipe. Opium pipes were found in opium dens worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries. Click here to view the artifact’s collection spotlight.

The reality of an opium den was simple: a room where opium was smoked, as a rare indulgence, a regular pastime, or an intractable habit. However, society’s image of an ‘opium den’ – at least, in the West – was awash in the mysteries of the incalculable, ranging from wanton, luxurious excess to degraded slavery.

The opium dens bore red signs above their doors reading PIPES AND LAMPS ALWAYS CONVENIENT in Chinese calligraphy. The opium dens were finally wiped out in the earthquake and fire of 1906; most were never rebuilt, and the few that lingered were put out of business by the nationwide drug crackdown a decade later.

The opium pipe was commonly used during the 19th century for smoking opium, a highly addictive drug derived from the opium poppy. Its purpose was mainly recreational or medicinal. People would inhale the smoke produced by heating the opium in the pipe, which provided a euphoric and sedative effect.

The opium pipe is used in a completely different way than the tobacco pipe. To begin with, the pipe is not clamped between the teeth, the stem is too long and the weight too high for that. The long stem with an average length between 55 and 65 centimetres is held by both hands.