# poppy seed bread **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711 "2005-09-08T20:43:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Future\_days](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@Future\_days](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_days)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/1 "2005-09-08T20:43:29Z")
You know how you get some bread with poppy seeds on, well I was wondering if you can get bread with opium poppy seeds? And do the normal poppy seeds have any opium compounds in them? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/2 "2005-09-08T21:03:22Z")
Poppy seeds used for bagels and other culinary applications _are_ opium poppy seeds. Yes, they contain small amounts of opiates. Usually, they’re sterilized before they’re sold, so you can’t buy a bag of poppy seeds at the grocery store and grow opium poppies. There have been incidents when importers have been slapped for not making sure that they were selling sterile seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_days](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@Future\_days](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_days)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/3 "2005-09-08T21:11:32Z")
I see. I was of the understanding that not all poppies are opium poppies. Why do they use opium poppy seeds? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/4 "2005-09-08T21:37:18Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Poppy seeds used for bagels and other culinary applications _are_ opium poppy seeds. Yes, they contain small amounts of opiates. > > Usually, they’re sterilized before they’re sold, so you can’t buy a bag of poppy seeds at the grocery store and grow opium poppies. There have been incidents when importers have been slapped for not making sure that they were selling sterile seeds. However, growing opium poppies is not illegal in most areas. Cutting into the seed pods, however, is very illegal. The [latex](http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/classes/plsc416/projects_2002/gibson/kutchan1.jpg) that oozes out of the cut seed pod as it grows is what opium is made from. If the local drug enforcement folks notice your poppies (and they will, trust me - poppies are not subtle plants, nor will they grow indoors) they may check your seed pods tp make sure they aren’t slashed. But bread poppyseeds I’ve seen are from [Breadseed Poppies](http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/vegetables/breadseed_poppy_purple.jpg) , which grow only trace amounts of opiates. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/5 "2005-09-08T21:39:18Z")
Oh, and you can order opioum poppy seeds from just about any gardening site. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/6 "2005-09-08T21:46:08Z")
Cecil Adams’ take on this subject is in [this](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_116.html) column. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poppy-seed-bread/320711/7 "2005-09-08T22:26:39Z")
I have opium poppies growing as weeds in my vegetable patch; They’re quite common around here - I can’t imagine it being all that likely that anyone would notice a few of the pods being scored for latex (even though my next-door-but-one neighbour is a policeman) - not that I’m going to do this, or even advocate it.