We realize that the subject of Chinese opium use in 19th century North America can cause unease and controversy among modern American and Canadian Chinese. However, we think it is important, especially where we, the authors, live in the Pacific Northwest with its long history of smuggling and using the drug. Many writers still treat opium smoking by Chinese as a moral and even racial issue, as if Chinese were somehow more guilty than others of using opiate drugs. Many Chinese American historians have shied away from the subject entirely. Is this because they feel that long-ago opium addiction somehow reflects badly on their culture or themselves? Must one keep quiet about one's predecessors' vices, in spite of the horrifying damage that was sometimes caused, in order to validate one's cultural inheritance?
