Great piece, Umair. Too bad the other article took the turn it did as it is a well-written summary of a lot of moving parts. One that I disagree with is “The poppy’s power, in fact, is greater than ever. The molecules derived from it have effectively conquered contemporary America.” because the poppy’s power has remained unchanged the 100million years or more the plant has been around, the rest of the world haven’t caved to some new-found change the plant created… and the molecules are molecules and are not the cause of the problem. You’ve beautifully caught some that are. Hopelessness and loneliness… loss of strong intimate relationships… dependence on external validation (or damnation)…