Poe was not an opium addict.
The idea that Poe was a drug addict probably started in 1845 when a reviewer compared his writing to "the odd outpourings of an opium eater," despite the fact that many of Poe's protagonists consumed opium. Two doctors who knew Poe said they never observed any signs of the writer using the substance, and one of them, Dr. Thomas Dunn English, detested Poe just as much as Rufus Wilmot Griswold did! Without a doubt, Poe occasionally utilized opiates for medical purposes. When he was a child, his grandmother gave him laudanum to help him sleep. His sister Rosalie paid him a visit in 1845 while he was living with his wife, who was also their cousin, in Fordham, New York.
Edgar returned home sick after spending some of the visit away on business. Rosalie reported that evening that Edgar "spoke out of his head" and "begged for morphine." His health started to get better after a few days. This could have been a sign of drug withdrawal. It's also possible that he needed it to help him sleep because he was unwell. Poe's use of opiates in one instance may also show that he is unfamiliar with the medication. After a "long, awful night of Despair" the year after his wife passed away, he told Annie Richmond that he had purchased laudanum and hoped she would come see him. He acknowledged that his dosage had a greater impact than he had intended. He became ill and then recovered. Some point to this episode as proof of his immoderate use, while others conclude that he was not a habitual user, given his inability to predict the impact of the dose.
