Opium (Papaver somniferum), contributed significantly to the general trade in Singapore's pioneering years. Encouraged by the British colonial government, it reaped heavy profits from opium licenses although many Chinese coolies succumbed to this vice as they tried to escape from the harsh reality of their mundane lives. Despite a ban of the narcotic and addictive drug in 1943, the opium trade continued clandestinely, so a death penalty was introduced for opium drug dealers and peddlers in 1989 to put a complete stop to it.

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