Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: Lachryma papaveris) is 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.
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.
Instability makes opium cultivation possible; opium buys protection and pays for weapons and foot soldiers, and these in turn create an environment in which drug lords, insurgents and terrorists can operate with impunity. "Opium is the glue that holds this murky relationship together. If profits fall, these sinister forces have the most to lose.
The opium dens of New York City's Chinatown, due to its geographical distance from China, were not as opulent as some of those to be found on the American West Coast.. According to H. H. Kane, a doctor who spent years studying opium use in New York in the 1870s and 1880s, the most popular opium dens (or "opium joints" as they were known in the parlance of the day) were located on Mott and Pell ...
Historical accounts suggest that opium first arrived in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907) as part of the merchandise of Arab traders. [10] Later on, Song Dynasty (960–1279) poet and pharmacologist Su Dongpo recorded the use of opium as a medicinal herb: "Daoists often persuade you to drink the jisu water, but even a child can prepare the yingsu soup."
Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). [1] Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) in alcohol ().
It is known as lettuce opium because of its sedative and analgesic properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Because it is a latex , lactucarium physically resembles opium , in that it is excreted as a white fluid and can be reduced to a thick smokable solid.
The psychoactive compounds found in the opium plant include morphine, codeine, and thebaine (figure below is wrong, thebaine is "3,6-Dimethoxy-"). Opiates have long been used for a variety of medical conditions, with evidence of opiate trade and use for pain relief as early as the eighth century AD. [ 4 ]