In the 19th century, European travelers to Iran frequently commented on the prevalence of opium smoking. Some likened it to the role of coffeehouses in Europe: spaces where men gathered, conversed, and sought escape. For many Iranians, the pacharagh was as familiar as the mosque, the bazaar, or the tea house.
Reza Shah’s Reforms
The rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the early 20th century marked a dramatic shift. Determined to modernize and “purify” Iranian society, Reza Shah viewed dispensaries as symbols of backwardness. By the 1920s and 1930s, he had closed down most of these establishments and criminalized their operation. His campaigns against opium dens were part of a broader effort to discipline Iranian society—eliminating what he perceived as archaic practices while centralizing power under the modern state.
Yet, despite legal prohibitions, the underground economy of opium consumption persisted. Records from 1311 AH (1932–33 CE) indicate that at least eight dispensaries were still active in Tehran’s Bagh Ferdows neighborhood, operating under the guise of “juice shops.” These were cleverly disguised establishments where opium smoking continued behind closed doors.
