opium in singapore opium in singapore opium was first recorded in singapore by a written document that record stamford raffles gifting opium to a local ruler in 1819 to establish singapore. opium then became accessible through trading and the opium farms in singapore in the 19th century. it is one of the most traded good along the sea trade route after the end of the opium wars. with the rise of opium farms in singapore, they acted as the middleman that help to process raw opium imported from british india, persia, and turkey to consumable opium and retail them to the chinese coolies in local. in 1946, opium, including the tools (opium pipes and opium lamps), and opium dens are completely banned in singapore. to treat the opium addicts, an opium treatment centre was opened in 1955 and in 1989, the singapore government extends the death penalty for opium traffickers. chinese smoking opium early history historical account suggest that the first appearance of opium (papaver somniferum) in singapore was in a written document that states stamford raffles offer the ruler temenggong abdul rahman opium as a gift after signing a treaty with him to establish singapore in 1819. prior to this, opium was legalised and commonly used in europe, middle east, us, and china for centuries as a form of medicine; while opium smoking was seen as a common practice. 1819-1942: colonial rule