Let alone knowing that Istanbul was the “capital of heroin” at the time, this issue, whose name cannot be mentioned now, had a capacity to produce an average of three tons per month.
So how did this dangerous element get banned? More precisely, how was it legal enough to establish a factory at the time?
During the Ottoman period, opium was a valuable trade commodity that increased export revenues and made a significant contribution to the economy.
However, what stands out here is; The main actors in international trade were British and American companies, not the Turks. This showed that the real income for the country came from them. Opium, which was one of Turkey’s leading exports even during the Republic period, maintained its strong role in the Ottoman period for years.
The opium plant, known for its recreational properties for thousands of years, was also very interesting for the medical world. German pharmacist Friedrich Sertürner obtained a compound from this plant in 1804 and named it “morphine”, inspired by Morpheus, the god of sleep in mythology.
Morphine soon began to be widely used in medicine, but considering the disadvantage of addiction, laboratories began searching for an effective but non-addictive drug that would replace morphine.
The invention of the Englishman Charles Romley Alder Wright in 1874 was turned into a commercially available product in 1898 in the laboratories of the Bayer company in Germany. Felix Hoffmann developed diacetyl morphine in Bayer laboratories.
People have described feeling great when they used diacetyl morphine.
Bayer launched this drug under the name “Heroin” in 1898, and this drug became a major brand. Yes, you’re not reading it wrong. Heroin was also supported by medical experts and was announced to cut morphine addiction through clinical trials.
Within two years, Bayer’s production of heroin, which was offered for sale everywhere in various forms such as lozenges, water-soluble tablets and cough syrup, reached one ton per month. This drug was easily found in pharmacies and even markets, like bread, and was consumed by people unsupervised.
The measures taken on opium and morphine have come to the fore in many countries, especially in the USA.
The first international meeting on opium was held in Shanghai, China, in 1909. At the meeting, the issue of banning production, use and trade except for medical needs was discussed.
Although the Ottoman Empire was invited to the Shanghai Conference, it did not participate. That’s why he was involved in a more comprehensive international conference in The Hague on 1 December 1911. 12 states, which are the most important opium producers and processors, came together, but there was no consensus on the issue.
This time, 24 countries attended the conference, which was held for the second time in 1913 upon the invitation of the Netherlands. At this conference, a valuable legal infrastructure was created that affected the internal affairs of the countries under the influence of the USA.
The Ottoman Empire did not want to sign the contract on the grounds that it would suffer economic losses.
After the crisis, it was decided that the contract would be implemented by countries other than the Ottoman Empire and Serbia. The economic contribution of heroin to the country continued for years. Even when we entered the Republic phase, the Republic of Turkey continued the resistance it inherited from the Ottoman Empire.
At that time, Turkey’s industry was weak and trade was mainly based on imports. The effects of the war were still not over. During this difficult period, export of agricultural products constituted an important alternative for the economy.
Afyon was the agricultural product that provided the highest income per acre. Blue poppy, which has a long history in Anatolia and was widely cultivated during the Ottoman Empire, was a profitable agricultural product sought by pharmaceutical factories around the world with its high morphine content.
It was generally produced in provinces such as Izmir, Aydın, Manisa, Karahisar, Kütahya, Eskişehir, Konya, Malatya, Kırklareli, Edirne and Tekirdağ.
The world’s highest quality opium was grown in Turkey and marketed freely.
There were no legal restrictions on the production of heroin, creating an attractive opportunity for major smuggling schemes. Entrepreneurs who visited Turkey saw that three heroin factories were established in Istanbul and that many people did not know that they had been producing for years. So how were these factories established?
The Japanese started production by establishing a company named Oriental Products Company in Taksim in 1926. The second heroin factory was established by Ecza-i Tıbbiye ve Kimyeviye (ETKİM) in 1929 and started operating in Eyüp. The third factory was established in Kuzguncuk in 1929 by the Turkish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company (TETKAŞ).
The common feature of these factories was that they were partners of international drug dealers.
Due to legal gaps and lack of control, Istanbul quickly became the “capital of heroin”. While the total capital of 27 industrial companies in Turkey was 10 million liras in 1929, the profits made by heroin factories had reached extraordinary levels, overshadowing these numbers. The annual budget of the factories exceeded 4 million lira, and the profit gained had turned into a power that could exceed all kinds of controls.
It was clearly seen that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, which was responsible for inspecting the factories, was ineffective.
By the 1930s, American newspapers began to make news under the title “Our Turkey Problem”, placing Turkey at the center of illegal drug production and trade.
In these news, Turkey’s failure to sign the Hague and Geneva conventions was emphasized as “a behavior outside the civilized world”. This situation turned into a boycott, first in the USA and then in Europe.
In the midst of a global boycott that significantly affected Turkish goods, the Turkish economy, which was already under the influence of a major world crisis, was significantly affected. All goods coming from Turkey, both in America and Europe, were strictly inspected at customs and were subjected to bureaucratic processes that sometimes lasted days.
During this period, news and articles accusing Turkey about drugs increased in the foreign press.
This situation was also effective in the meeting of the Opium Board of the League of Nations, which started in Geneva on January 9, 1931. Turkey’s role in drug production and trade constituted the discussions at the center of the committee, and the committee report included words accusing Turkey. During this period, the head of the Turkish delegation in Geneva was Hasan Latife, the leader of the management council of the heroin factory in Kuzguncuk.
With a decree dated May 20, 1931, the activities of heroin factories were regulated again. This decree imposed strict control and restrictions on the production, export and sales of factories.
In particular, it was envisaged that factory owners would be punished in accordance with the 403rd element of the Penal Article by increasing their controls against illegal activities such as smuggling. With another decree, the TESİRİM heroin factory in Eyüp was closed.
Atatürk held a cabinet meeting on this issue on December 23, 1932.
At the meeting, a program was announced that included the acceptance of the Hague and Geneva consensuses and measures to prevent the reopening of closed heroin factories. However, obstacles were encountered in the Turkish Grand National Assembly to enact this program.
Drug and smuggling lobby; It consisted of influential names such as Deputy Leader of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Hasan Latife, Minister of Internal Affairs Şükrü Kaya and Cumhuriyet Newspaper owner Yunus Nadi. Even though they were an obstacle to this situation, after a year of obstruction by this lobby, the expected law was finally passed on January 14, 1933. With international pressure, the Turkish government imposed a significant restriction on poppy cultivation starting from 1933.
In 1936, the number of provinces where poppy was cultivated decreased from 62 to 17, and opium production decreased from 200 thousand tons to 80 thousand tons per year. On May 31, the Narcotic Drugs Monopoly was established within the Ministry of Economy. State; While it monopolized the production, export and import of opium, morphine and its derivatives, it freed the domestic raw opium trade.
This is how the story of heroin, which is now a dangerous drug throughout the world, passing through our country, began and ended, at least legally.
Our other contents about the Ottoman Empire: