Reflection of drug Addiction in the Poetry of Safavid Poets

 Before the Safavid era, the use of substances such as opium as a medicine was common. But in this era, all kinds of drugs for pleasure spread and different classes of people, soldiors, ministers and even the king himself turned to it and tried to use them to advance their political goals. So that it’s improper use, the society was caught in a problem called addiction. The literature of this period was not far from the effects of addiction and it was clearly reflected in the poets' poems. Accordingly, the present study seeks to address the issue of addiction through the lens of poetry of Safavid poets and to answer the question that from the poets' point of view, how did drug addiction spread and what was their reaction as a group of intellectuals in society to this issue?

 This research is descriptive-analytical and the method of collecting data is library and historical research.

Ethical Considerations:

 In this research, the ethical aspects of library study, including the authenticity of texts, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed.

 The findings indicate that people turned to drugs with the intention of stimulating taste, pleasure, sadness and happiness, stimulation of sexual desire and therapeutic use. But due to its destructive effects, they wanted to quit and while condemning the use of such substances, they also suggested gradual quitting them.

 In the poets’ works of the Safavid period, types of drugs were mentioned 85 times. Opium and tobacco are the most used and poppy and hemp are the least used. Many examples of terms related to drugs, how to prepare and use these drugs, condemning the sufferers and presenting various suggestions to get rid of addiction, in the poets’ poems of this period indicate the prevalence of drugs in those days.