Beginning of Essay
It was a sunny June morning in 1996. Jimmy Chaimberlin walked into Jonathan Melvoin’s hotel room. He found him lying unconscious in his bed and rushed to dial 911. Despite his quick reaction, when the paramedics arrived, they pronounced Melvoin dead at 4:00 a.m. ....

Middle of Essay
.... many people know roughly where comes from, not as many know how it is transformed from a flower to an illegal street drug. The entire metamorphosis starts with the opium poppy plant. This flower is grown chiefly by impoverished farmers in remote regions of the world. The opium poppy flourishes in the dry, warm climates of countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Laos and Colombia. After three months, the flower’s petals fall away, exposing an egg-shaped seed pod. The opaque, milky sap is extracted from the seed pod by slitting it vertically in parallel cuts with a special curved knife. When the sap oozes out, it forms a thick, brownish-black gum which i ....