Each box of opium is 40 pieces per box, about 60 kilograms, or 132.275132 pounds (some history books say that a box of opium is about 50-60 kilograms or 100 kilograms, which is not precise enough, but the above data is from the Guangzhou Municipal Records, which is more credible and precise.

There are raw and cooked opium. Raw opium is obtained by gently cutting the capsule of the poppy with a knife, collecting its white latex, exposing it to the air, and due to oxidation, the latex dries and congeals and turns brown, and some varieties are black, and can be made into round pieces, cakes or bricks. Raw opium is generally dry and brittle on the surface, while the inside remains soft and viscid, and has a strong, sickening odor, somewhat like that of ammonia or urine, and a very bitter taste. To keep it moist, it is usually wrapped in

cellophane or plastic wrap.

Raw opium contains 10-20% of specialized alkaloids in addition to 15-30% of minerals, resins, and water. These alkaloids can be divided into three categories: the first category is the morphine alkaloids, which includes three kinds of components: (1) morphine, in the opium contains 10% to 14%; (2) codeine, which is the morphine of the methyl ether, in the opium contains 1% -3%; (3) Tibaine, in the opium contains about 0.2%. The second group is the poppy alkaloids, which are present in opium at

0.5-1 percent. The third category is narkotine hydrochloride alkaloids, the content in opium is 3%-8%. Raw opium needs to be further processed before it can be used by drug addicts, and smokable opium is cooked opium.

Cooked opium is raw opium after boiling and fermentation, made into strips, slabs or blocks; its surface is smooth and soft, greasy feeling, brown or golden yellow, usually packaged in thin cloth or plastic paper. When smoked, cooked opium can emit a strong sweet odor. Opium smokers roll it into small pills or strips, bake it on the fire to soften it, stuff it into the pot of the pipe, and then flip the pot against the fire to inhale the smoke produced by burning. A smoker who is not addicted to cigarettes smokes 10 to 20 times a day

while a "smoker" smokes more than a hundred times a day. The most common current smoking methods are to take one or two small opium pills at a time, or to dissolve opium in water and inject the solution. Some opium smokers also save the residue from burning opium to reuse in case of an opium shortage.

Generally, the first few puffs of opium are uncomfortable and can cause dizziness, nausea, or headaches, but then a euphoric feeling accompanied by wild hallucinations can be experienced. In order to achieve a numb, meditative state, opium smokers need to remain motionless while smoking. Opium smokers remain professionally and intellectually active for a considerable period of time, but if they smoke too much, they become thin and bloodless, with a straight, dull gaze, narrowed pupils, insomnia, and indifference to anything. Prolonged opium use can cause loss of innate immunity and make a person highly susceptible to various diseases. Addiction to opium can lead to serious physical weakness and mental decadence, and life expectancy will be shortened; overdose of opium can cause acute poisoning, can be asphyxiation and death.