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
NON-ENGLISH RESOURCES #
EXPERIENCES #
Floating in a Warm Sea, by Phalaris
Chasing the Dragon, by Mr. Frog
First Pod Experience, by Murple
It Came in Waves, by Anonymous
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!)
MEDIA COVERAGE #
Mutant poppy makes safer drugs - Guardian UK, Sep 2004
Opium Made Easy - One gardener's encounter with the war on drugs - Harper's, 1997