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Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy [2] or breadseed poppy, [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae.It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamental plant grown in gardens.
Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum , is the source of the narcotic drug mixture opium , which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug .
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. [4] Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade.
The Tasmanian opium industry was established in Tasmania in 1966. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Tasmania is the world's largest producer of legal narcotic opium , producing more than 50% of the world's supply. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Opium produced in Tasmania generally gets produced into opiate medications such as morphine , codeine and oxycodone .
What was needed was a process that enabled commercial extraction of opiates from opium poppies directly rather than from (comparatively pure) opium. By the 1940s, commercial production of morphine from poppy straw had spread from Hungary to Poland and finally to most countries where poppies are grown on a large scale primarily for their seeds.
Opium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world's top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report ...
The Papaveraceae family includes many plants that produce alkaloids, including opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Opium is derived from the latex of the opium poppy seed pods and has been used for centuries due to its psychoactive properties. The main alkaloids found in opium, such as morphine, and codeine have huge impact on pharmaceuticals and ...
Afghan opium kills around 100,000 people annually. [129] In 2003 The Independent reported: [130] [131] The cultivation of opium [in Afghanistan] reached its peak in 1999, when 350 square miles (910 km 2) of poppies were sown ... The following year the Taliban banned poppy cultivation, ... a move which cut production by 94 percent ...