The opium poppy is, frankly speaking, a particular poppy from which one could derive natural opiates, but most specifically, the drug opium. Apart from opium, opiates like morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, and yes, today’s opiate of choice, heroin.

Opium poppy is also “lovingly” known by some as the “sleep-bringing” poppy, as it has narcotic properties that have been used for many ceremonial purposes in the oldest traditions (this was, of course, immortalized in fiction in one of the scenes in the “Wizard of Oz” where Dorothy fell asleep in a field of poppies).

Today, opium poppy farming is done for several things: to extract the natural opiates (for legal/medical purposes and illegal/recreational purposes), to be able to cultivate some of the most pleasant-looking decorative plants in the world, and to harvest its seeds and oils which are used as part of a healthy diet.

The more dangerous products of the opium poppy are, in fact, derived from the sap that one could gather by cutting or slicing its immature seed pods. Each pod contains sap that has up to twelve percent morphine, which is the most vital of ingredients when manufacturing the more dangerous and addictive of the opiate drugs.

In this section of the site, we will provide you all the information you may want and need with regards to the opium poppy.