Did they have people who worked there, trying to get people addicted, like modern drug dealers? How did it work in England around the same time, who sold opium there? Was it legal in England or were there criminal elements dealing it? Do you have any good sources to learn more about the criminal and social aspect of opium in 19th century China and England?
Thank you!
One factor which effected the availability of Opium was when the East India Company lost monopoly status. ("Government of India Act," 1833) At that point, additional operators started flooding Chinese markets with Opium, and there was price competition which meant Opium quickly became more readily and more cheaply available in mainland China. Early on, Westerners only oeprated in Guangzhou. They wouldn't have directly employed people working inland to spread the drug in a formal sense. But, locals were very much involved in smuggling it into the country. Most of the 'pushers' in the internal industry would have just been working toward personal profit, rather than intentionally for the benefit of Western powers. (Much like a typical American cocaine dealer in the midwest would probably have no strong ties or interest in the political situation in Nicaragua/Colombia/Cuba, though there was a "Canton" in Miami where the Latin American importers set up shop during the 70's/early 80's.)
Opium was sold openly in Britain (as well as in the US and, as far as I know, the rest of Europe) and consumed by all classes as a medicinal cure-all - opiates are powerful painkillers and also relieve diarrhoea, and were prescribed for a wide range of ailments. Laudanum, a kind of opium drink, was sold in pubs, and opium popsicles were given to children to quiet them. It was sold to China by the East India Company, which operated openly under the auspices of the British state.
A good source on the opium trade is Narcotic Culture - although the book makes a very strong case that opium addiction was far less widespread or problematic in China than people tend to believe.