Were There Ever Any Opium Dens in Michigan?

Were There Ever Any Opium Dens in Michigan?

Before I get to that answer, let’s establish – for the uninformed - what opium dens were:

According to Wiki, opium dens were “establishments where opium was sold and smoked, prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century.....Dens were airless, usually windowless spaces with air vents and doors sealed with blankets to prevent the telltale smell of opium smoke from escaping.”

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The first opium dens popped up in San Francisco’s Chinatown district. Soon, dens began appearing in many U.S. cities that had a Chinese district.....and that included Detroit.

How did they originate?

In the 1860s, there was a massive migration of Chinese manual laborers to America. They were used as cheap labor, usually when it came to building railroads. When the railroads were completed, many laborers were no returned to China, leaving them to find living quarters in various cities and towns. The sections of cities where the Chinese migrated became known as “Chinatowns”.

The former workers who came to America already addicted to opium, began frequenting - and opening - opium dens in an attempt to escape prejudice and their yearning for back home. After a while, the secret of these dens began to leak out through the underground and soon Americans began visiting the dens. Opium smoking spread from the west coast throughout the country, catching on with many Caucasians; from the lower class, up through the middle class, and finally to the (ahem) “respectable” people.

The dens provided everything you needed: opium, pipes, sleeping quarters or cots, and an opium pillow to store your belongings while you spaced out.

If there is any actual proof of former opium dens in Detroit - or in any other major Michigan cities - , it is well-hidden...but it is widely believed that they did indeed exist. One of Detroit’s old Chinatowns exists where the MGM Grand Hotel now sits near 3rd Avenue and Bagley Street, and another near Cass and Peterboro Streets.

So to answer the original question "Were There Ever Any Opium Dens in Michigan?"
Chances are, yes.