Thoughts about opium as a topic of conversation in China throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries sparked discussions that ranged from arguments in favor of its legalization and praise of its distributors to the full drug prohibition and punishment for all users and smugglers. Those who acted as advocates of the narcotic sincerely believed that this necessary evil was one of the few aspects of the economy that could actually push China into the same class as the world's supreme powers (Janin 6). Those who condemned even the slightest interaction with opium or its derivatives opted for the more “honorable” path, as they pledged to rid their country of such horrible vices in order to follow a purer path in their daily lives (Mackay 124). It was from these arguments that these debates spread rampantly across the country, with neither side actually telling the truth about China's future, and ultimately leaving it to the voices of those in charge of the economy, since they are the ones who control what is worth importing and exporting. If the use of opium was allowed, the impact would be generally positive, as there would be fewer traffickers to worry about breaking the law and more profits would actually be given to the Chinese government as they would effectively be included. On the other hand, by basing this drug trafficking on purely moral and economic terms, the Chinese people will constantly find themselves in a state of inebriation because they will no longer be able to think and process clearly, while the Chinese government's economy may not even be able to possess the purchasing power that they would have previously had when they opened...... middle of the card ......y. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. Print.Lazich, Michael C. “American Missionaries and the Opium Trade in Nineteenth-Century China.” Journal of World History 17.2 (2006): 197-223. JSTOR. Network. .Mackay, Derek. Eastern Customs: The Customs Service in British Malaya and the Opium Trade. London: Radcliffe, 2005. Print.Melancon, Glenn. "Honor in Opium? The British Declaration of War on China, 1839-1840." The International History Review 21.4 (1999): 855-74. JSTOR. Network. Rush, James R. "Opium in Java: A Sinister Friend." The Journal of Asian Studies 44.3 (1985): 549-60. JSTOR. Network. .Wen, Cheng U. "Opium in the Straits Settlements, 1867-1910." Journal of Southeast Asian History 2.1 (1961): 52-75. JSTOR. Net. .