Queen Victoria's Forgotten Legacy: How She Commanded History's Largest Drug Empire

Oct 25, 2025 03:12 pm CST

In a shocking historical revelation, Queen Victoria oversaw one of the world's most extensive drug operations, generating revenues that funded the entire British Empire. Author Sam Kelly details how the monarch, herself a regular consumer of opium, cocaine, and cannabis, orchestrated the massive opium trade with China that led to the Opium Wars and cemented Britain's imperial power while creating devastating addiction across Asia.