Opium was a poppy plant extract which was variously used as a narcotic, sedative, intoxicant or stimulant. (AUDIO: The Beast of Kravenos) The drug was also known as papaver somniferum, which translated to "pipe of poppy". (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
Opium was commonly smoked as a drug. In 1889, Li H'sen Chang smoked opium to dull the pain of his injuries. Leela thought it smelled like decaying fruit. Magnus Greel regarded Chang's men as "opium-addicted scum". (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
Thomas De Quincey recorded the effect of the drug, notably hallucinations, in his book Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)
The woman who lodged in the rooms immediately below Lisa-Beth Lachlan smoked opium. She always placed the jar in a room near the bottom of the stairway, allowing the fumes to go up to Lisa-Beth's rooms. (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street)
Opium could be mixed with brandy to make laudanum. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors)