In a new book, Dr. John H. Halpern and documentary filmmaker David Blistein trace opium's use over millennia, starting with the discovery of poppy artifacts in ancient Mesopotamia. In Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World, Halpern and Blistein describe the global spread of opium, through trade and war, and how some medical practitioners of ancient times, while refining its power, issued warnings about opium that resonate today: "The sweeter the dreams, the rougher the