You're not entirely wrong. Opium reversed the flows of silver specie that was the lifeblood of the China Trade. Before opium, most of the European trade was Mexican or Peruvian silver for tea, or china, or what have you. After opium, it was those Chinese products, or silver, for opium.

Opium addiction ravaged China (although by the point it really became a public health problem, domestic opium production had exploded). But the wild swings in the price of silver fucked the Qing economy, that had a bimetallic currency between silver taels and copper cash.

The point was reaching destabilization through drug use, which seems to have happened in China, despite the reason. i.e. Chinese are not more susceptible to being drug addicts than any other grouping, so it's noteworthy that policies resulted in such widespread addiction. Therefore, the policies are worth studying as they serve as a red flag for all future generations.