Stop complicating things. This is very simple: 1. The British planted opium then transported it to China and traded it. 2. The Chinese told them it was illega

Stop complicating things. This is very simple: 1. The British planted opium then transported it to China and traded it. 2. The Chinese told them it was illegal. 3. They continued trading it. 4. The Chinese seized all of it. 5. They declared war so they could continue trading it. I don't see the confusion or debate here. What the British were doing was very simple: illegal drug trade for profit. What others were doing is a separate debate and does not absolve the British from anything. Don't mix things.