a powerful illegal drug made from the seeds of a type of poppy (= flower) . Opium was used in the past as a medicine for reducing pain . 鸦片（过去曾作为药物用来减轻疼痛）
2
something that tends to prevent people from having their own opinions and makes them quiet and easily controlled 起麻木作用的事物；精神鸦片
the opium of the people/masses Television had replaced religion as the new opium of the people. 电视已取代了宗教成为民众新的精神鸦片。