Middle East Drug Cultures in the Long View

This chapter discusses the integration of opium, cannabis/hashish, tobacco, and coffee into Middle East drug cultures from the rise of Islam in the seventh century through the long nineteenth century. Each of these key stimulants or intoxicants was introduced and disseminated in the region independently, some earlier than others, with each drug becoming subject to distinct perceptions; medicinal, legal and political discourses; and distinct social anxieties and controversies. Yet, beginning in the seventeenth century, the budding of new urban coffeehouses throughout the Middle East meant that such drugs could now be consumed together under a single roof. As a result, novel patterns of shared consumption and sociability were forged across Middle East societies. These processes and the debates they precipitated are explored in their Ottoman and Iranian contexts, providing a broader comparative perspective on these drug transformations.