the mention of opium smoking in a kid's cartoon
It was in the short entitled "Bathing Buddies", with Wally Walrus as the landlord of a boarding house, and Woody is a renter. " No opium smoking" was a restriction in the lease. I am watching the retro 3 DVD archive set now. That really surprised me. To clear things up, Woody was not smoking opium, LOL, but was wasting water, or causing some kind of racket.
In addition, in the special features, creator Walter Lantz mentions his inspiration for Woody. While living in Sherman Oaks, he saw a woodpecker on his roof. I live in Chicago, and see them at times too. I knew his wife voiced Woody.