Opium Poppy
BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION
Family :
Papaveraceae
Genus :
Papaver
Species :
somniferum
COMMON NAMES
Opium Poppy; Plant of Joy; Mawseed
EFFECTS CLASSIFICATION
Sedative; Euphoriant
DESCRIPTION
Papaver somniferum is a annual that with brilliant white or red flowers growing on a central bulbous pod. When scratched, the pod produces a milkly latex called opium. This latex contains a variety of opiates including codeine and morphine. It has a long history of use in Asia and Europe.
GENERAL INFORMATION #
HISTORY #
ASK EROWID ANSWERS #
ARTICLES & WRITINGS #
From Flowers to Heroin, by the CIA
MEDIA COVERAGE #
Poppy seed bagel baker charged for narcotics offense - Tai Pei, Mar 2001
CULTIVATION #
Opium Poppy Cultivation, by John W. Allen
PREPARATION & RECIPES #
Making Poppy Tea, by Zort
Opium Poppy Tea: A Simple Recipe, by Dr. Opium
Poppy Biscuits / Pellets, by Sgort
NON-ENGLISH RESOURCES #
EXPERIENCES #
Well, It Did Not Work, by Amateur Chemist
Floating in a Warm Sea, by Phalaris
Trying Seed Tea to Combat Withdrawal Symptoms, by Lola Tanqueray
A Gradual Warmth, by An Inconceivable Sun
Bliss as Always, by Neighborhood Chemist
BOOKS #
Opium: The Potent Poppy, by Michael Robson
On the Trail of the Ancient Opium Poppy, by M. D. Merlin
Poppies: The Poppy Family in the Wild and Cultivation, by C. Grey-Wilson
Opium Poppy : Botany, Chemistry, and Pharmacology, by L.D. Kapoor (Ed.)
Opium Poppy Garden, by William Griffith
OFF-SITE RESOURCES
PRIMARY RESOURCES #
Purdue University - Papaver somniferum (Excellent!)
OpiumPoppies.org (formerly poppies.org)
SECONDARY RESOURCES #
MEDIA COVERAGE #
Police destroy opium, but only during the harvest - KathmanduPost, Feb 2016
Did a bagel cost mom her baby? - SFGate (blog), Oct 2010
Australia: Poppy-Eating Wallabies destroy crops - AP, Jun 2009
A Homebrewed High? Poppy Tea Hits the Web - ABCNews.go.com, Jan 16 2008
Could Afghan Poppies Be Painkillers for the Poor? - New York Times, Oct 14 2007
Extraordinary move to legalise poppy crops - Independent UK, Apr 2007
Mutant poppy makes safer drugs - Guardian UK, Sep 2004
Opium Made Easy - One gardener's encounter with the war on drugs - Harper's, 1997
BIOENGINEERING #
Final step in sugar-to-morphine conversion deciphered - 25 Jun 2015, ScienceMag
Researchers closer to engineering yeast that make morphine, spurring worries - 28 May 2015, ScienceMag
This genetically modified yeast can now brew morphine, May 18 2015, PBS NewsHour
DIY Morphine: Bioengineered Yeast Could Be Used to Brew Opiates, May 18 2015, Vice Motherboard
ARTICLES #
Traditional Medicinal Uses of Afeem [P. somniferum] in Central India, Apr 17, 2008, American Chronicle
World Bank Report on Opium / Poppy Production in Afghanistan, Nov 28 2006, worldbank.org
Transforming Opium Poppies Into Heroin, 1998, PBS