# Heroin Poppies question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 3, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673 "2018-09-03T05:06:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673/21 "2018-09-05T21:42:34Z")

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> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> You can buy Papaver somniferum hybrids from a number of ornamental seed sources (some will just list the hybrid name and omit the fact that it’s P. somniferum).
> 
> Curiously, at least a couple firms say they can’t ship such seeds to West Virginia ([this source](https://www.selectseeds.com/Search/papaver.aspx) says shipping is unavailable to WV and Canada).
> 
> I’ve never seen the straight species P. somniferum offered anywhere. Even with strains bred for maximal opioid content I suspect you’d need to harvest a sizable field in order to process enough for use.

I did a search for opium poppies, and one result was a report of a man in NC who was growing an acre of poppies. The report estimated there would have been about 600 gms of heroin from his acre.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673/22 "2018-09-05T21:48:08Z")

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> [@teela\_brown](#):
>
> So the poppy seeds I eat on my bagel or in my pastry are from the opiate-producing poppy?

[Yep](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/poppy-seeds-alter-drug-test-results/).

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673/23 "2018-09-05T22:59:16Z")

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BTW, poppy seeds are best harvested from the ripe seed pods of the opium poppy. Opium is produced from the latex, which is more abundant in the green seed pods. So opium production and poppy seed production are somewhat at odds with each other.

Also, both the corn poppy and California poppy, and probably several other poppy family species, produce mild sedatives. Just not opium. Some people claim tea made from the California poppy is a good sleep aid. It seems to activate the benzodiazapine receptors similarly to a tranquilizer like valium.

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-poppies-question/820673/24 "2018-09-06T02:08:39Z")

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There are companies that sell dried papaver somniferum pods online. They sometimes masquerade as dried flower suppliers but usually the poppy pods are pretty much all they sell. Although the pods are purportedly sold for decorative purposes they are really expensive and most buyers grind them up and make tea out of them. They are actually pretty potent. Dried pods were big on eBay until about 10 years ago when they caught on and cracked down.

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