Poppy straw concentrate
Encyclopedia
Poppy straw is opium poppy
(Papaver somniferum) that is harvest
ed when fully mature and dry, minus the ripe poppy seed
s. An agricultural by-product
of the poppy seed harvest, the straw
was a waste
product before the 1930s when a chemical process became available to extract morphine
from it. Poppy straw consisting mainly of the capsule
soon became a valuable source of morphine. Today, poppy straw is a major source of many opiate
s and other alkaloid
s. It is the source of 90% of the world supply of legal morphine (for medical and scientific use) and in some countries it also is a source of illegal morphine, which could be processed into illegal heroin).
The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
defines poppy straw as "all
parts (except the seeds) of the opium poppy, after mowing".
Traditional harvesting of opium poppies to produce opiates involved the labor-intensive work of making shallow cuts in the immature fruit
s (seed pods) so that the latex
would leak out and dry, then returning the following day to scrape off the dry latex, known as raw opium
.
Harvesting of poppy straw is an alternative, largely mechanized method. The plants are allowed to mature fully, then a machine is used to harvest the entire field. The ripe poppy seeds are separated out by threshing
and winnowing, and the remainder is poppy straw. Poppy straw usually consists of only the above ground parts of the plant, but the roots may be harvested as well. Some producers mow the plants high, so that the harvest consists almost entirely of the fruits (seed pods), omitting the stalks, leaves, and roots. Poppy straw is then processed in a manner similar to opium to extract opiate
s and other alkaloid
s (see Morphine
).
Avoiding the labor-intensive harvesting of opium by hand was the topic of research for almost 100 years. This research was of notable interest in those countries where opium poppy was an important oilseed crop but due to high labor costs the harvesting of opium was not economic. 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 most countries where poppies are grown on a large scale primarily for their seeds. By 1950, about 10% of the poppy seed harvest of those countries was also yielding morphine. Based on average yields and the reported production of poppy seed in 9 European countries, the potential production of morphine from those crops was estimated to be 148800 kilograms (328,047.8 lb). However, in 1950 the actual production of morphine from poppy straw was reported to be 11663 kilograms (25,712.5 lb).
As of 1950, the average annual yield per hectare
was estimated to be 675 kilograms (1,488.1 lb) poppy seed and 450 kilograms (992.1 lb) poppy straw (dry capsule chaff), which in turn was estimated to yield about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) of morphine (in good years).
by János Kabay. This process, known as the "poppy straw method", remains in use today. Kabay applied his new process initially to fields of opium poppies between the stages of flowering and maturity, while the fruits were green. This had several disadvantages: the immature poppy seeds could not be winnowed, so not only was the seed crop lost but their poppyseed oil
interfered with the process; the abundant chlorophyll
in the green plants also interfered; and an entire year's crop had to be processed in two months, as it reached the fruit stage. Kabay soon found that the process could be applied to poppy straw residue from the poppy seed harvest, and thereby eliminate all these disadvantages.
Poppy straw is first pulverized, then washed as many as six to ten or more times in water and/or various acids and other chemicals, to produce poppy straw concentrate (PSC, also known as concentrate of poppy straw, CPS). Dried, the concentrate is a beige to brown powder. It contains salts of various alkaloids, and can range from nine to 30 times the morphine
concentration of poppy straw. Opium concentrates using solvents other than acidifed or plain water are often but not necessarily called PSC.
Poppies of the Norman and Przemko strains contain much higher amounts of thebaine and oripavine and have morphine concentrations down to under 1 per cent. versus up to 26 per cent in high-morphine strains. At least one manufacturer, Tasmanian Alkaloids, produces both high-morphine and high-thebaine/oripavine types of poppy straw concentrate; the latter is used by pharmaceutical manufacturers to make semi-synthetic and synthetic opioids such as oxycodone
, etorphine
, butorphanol
and a number of others.
PSC is an alternative to bricks of opium, as an alkaloid source in most but not all of the production methods to isolate natural alkaloids from the opium poppy. A notable exception is thebaine
, which is present in far larger fractions in opium than in poppy straw. Morphine, being a large fraction of the alkaloids found in mature poppy capsules, is produced commercially from either opium or concentrated poppy straw. To extract morphine, PSC is dissolved in water and treated with other chemicals to obtain the next intermediate, calcium morphenate
or less frequently sodium morphenate, which is then further treated to purify the drug and convert it to the desired morphine salt or base. Processes for extracting other alkaloids, such as codeine
and noscapine
, use other chemicals and/or optimal solution pH
.
, and reported in its annual World Drug Report
. The quantity of poppy straw produced is typically given as "opium equivalents". The 2002 World Drug Report estimate of the total world opium production, including opium equivalents of poppy straw, was 42600 metric ton in 1906/07 and 12600 metric ton in 2007. The 2007 production consisted of 8870 metric ton of illegal opium, 3420 metric ton of opium equivalent from legal poppy straw, and 300 metric ton of legal opium. Thus, over 90% of the world production of legal opiates, including medical morphine, now is produced from poppy straw.
With the establishment of poppy straw as the source of the majority of natural morphine and other opiates, much of the world production of opium is destined for illicit uses. In 1981 dried capsules were found being sold for decoration in Sweden
, that had been lanced 2 to 5 times with a tool having 3 to 4 blades and the opium scraped off. The morphine content of these capsules was 0.15 - 0.34%, comparable to domestic Swedish capsules not lanced. In India, poppy straw from lanced capsules had a morphine content of at least 0.2%. These levels of morphine obtained from "exhausted" plants suggests that for producers of licit opium, poppy straw may be a profitable second crop.
As of 2005, India was the only country producing licit opium (opium gum) for both domestic use and export. Licit opium was produced also in Democratic People's Republic of Korea for domestic use, and Japan for maintenance of the pertinent technology (small quantities). Opium poppies were grown principally for extraction of alkaloids (from poppy straw) in 9 other countries: Australia, China, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. China ceased producing licit opium after 2001. Opium poppies grown principally for the seed crop, with licit poppy straw as a by-product, were produced in Czech Republic, and Serbia and Montenegro. Another 6 countries cultivated opium poppies solely for the poppy seed or horticultural purposes, without extraction of alkaloids from poppy straw: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Ukraine. Illicit production of Polish heroin
and other products derived from poppy straw is an ongoing problem in Poland.
The production of licit opium in India was in accord with terms of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
. After the opium was harvested, the plants were allowed to mature and harvested for poppy seeds. The sale of poppy seeds delivered a significant proportion of the income from the licit opium crop. Unknown fractions of both the opium harvest and poppy straw residue of the poppy seed harvest were diverted to illicit uses.
The production of illegal opium from poppy straw is limited. It is reported primarily in clandestine laboratories in Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, using domestic poppy straw.
involves dissolving the PSC or latex-derived opium in alcohol and either being allowed to sit for up to a week and periodically agitated, using fresh alcohol to do multiple washes, or refluxing. The original patents for laudanum in various countries refer to soaking poppy straw in varying levels of pulverisation in plain water for a week then evaporating the water to obtain the gummy or powdery brown concentrate.
and its variants can be said to be an incomplete and/or relatively crude form of PSC aqueous solution.
Home-made poppy straw extracts including Kompot
are widely used among IV drug users in eastern Europe, including Ukraine
and Poland
.
in some opium poppies, it has been suggested that illegal heroin seized in Australia
was produced from a legal poppy straw crop stolen in Tasmania
a few years earlier.
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
(Papaver somniferum) that is harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
ed when fully mature and dry, minus the ripe poppy seed
Poppy seed
Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy . The tiny kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years...
s. An agricultural by-product
By-product
A by-product is a secondary product derived from a manufacturing process or chemical reaction. It is not the primary product or service being produced.A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be considered waste....
of the poppy seed harvest, the straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
was a waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
product before the 1930s when a chemical process became available to extract morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
from it. Poppy straw consisting mainly of the capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
soon became a valuable source of morphine. Today, poppy straw is a major source of many opiate
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
s and other alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s. It is the source of 90% of the world supply of legal morphine (for medical and scientific use) and in some countries it also is a source of illegal morphine, which could be processed into illegal heroin).
The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 is an international treaty to prohibit production and supply of specific drugs and of drugs with similar effects except under licence for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research...
defines poppy straw as "all
parts (except the seeds) of the opium poppy, after mowing".
Harvesting
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s (seed pods) so that the latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
would leak out and dry, then returning the following day to scrape off the dry latex, known as raw opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
.
Harvesting of poppy straw is an alternative, largely mechanized method. The plants are allowed to mature fully, then a machine is used to harvest the entire field. The ripe poppy seeds are separated out by threshing
Threshing
Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of cereal grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. It is the step in grain preparation after harvesting and before winnowing, which separates the loosened chaff from the grain...
and winnowing, and the remainder is poppy straw. Poppy straw usually consists of only the above ground parts of the plant, but the roots may be harvested as well. Some producers mow the plants high, so that the harvest consists almost entirely of the fruits (seed pods), omitting the stalks, leaves, and roots. Poppy straw is then processed in a manner similar to opium to extract opiate
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
s and other alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s (see Morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
).
Avoiding the labor-intensive harvesting of opium by hand was the topic of research for almost 100 years. This research was of notable interest in those countries where opium poppy was an important oilseed crop but due to high labor costs the harvesting of opium was not economic. 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 most countries where poppies are grown on a large scale primarily for their seeds. By 1950, about 10% of the poppy seed harvest of those countries was also yielding morphine. Based on average yields and the reported production of poppy seed in 9 European countries, the potential production of morphine from those crops was estimated to be 148800 kilograms (328,047.8 lb). However, in 1950 the actual production of morphine from poppy straw was reported to be 11663 kilograms (25,712.5 lb).
As of 1950, the average annual yield per hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
was estimated to be 675 kilograms (1,488.1 lb) poppy seed and 450 kilograms (992.1 lb) poppy straw (dry capsule chaff), which in turn was estimated to yield about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) of morphine (in good years).
Processing
The first commercial process by which opiates are extracted from poppy straw was invented in HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
by János Kabay. This process, known as the "poppy straw method", remains in use today. Kabay applied his new process initially to fields of opium poppies between the stages of flowering and maturity, while the fruits were green. This had several disadvantages: the immature poppy seeds could not be winnowed, so not only was the seed crop lost but their poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil is an edible oil from poppy seeds . The oil has culinary and pharmaceutical uses, as well as long established uses in the making of paints, varnishes, and soaps.Poppy seeds yield 45–50% oil...
interfered with the process; the abundant chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
in the green plants also interfered; and an entire year's crop had to be processed in two months, as it reached the fruit stage. Kabay soon found that the process could be applied to poppy straw residue from the poppy seed harvest, and thereby eliminate all these disadvantages.
Poppy straw is first pulverized, then washed as many as six to ten or more times in water and/or various acids and other chemicals, to produce poppy straw concentrate (PSC, also known as concentrate of poppy straw, CPS). Dried, the concentrate is a beige to brown powder. It contains salts of various alkaloids, and can range from nine to 30 times the morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
concentration of poppy straw. Opium concentrates using solvents other than acidifed or plain water are often but not necessarily called PSC.
Poppies of the Norman and Przemko strains contain much higher amounts of thebaine and oripavine and have morphine concentrations down to under 1 per cent. versus up to 26 per cent in high-morphine strains. At least one manufacturer, Tasmanian Alkaloids, produces both high-morphine and high-thebaine/oripavine types of poppy straw concentrate; the latter is used by pharmaceutical manufacturers to make semi-synthetic and synthetic opioids such as oxycodone
Oxycodone
Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine , and codeine.Oxycodone oral medications are generally...
, etorphine
Etorphine
Etorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid possessing an analgesic potency approximately 200 times that of morphine. It was first prepared in 1960 from oripavine, which does not generally occur in opium poppy extract but rather in "poppy straw" and in related plants, Papaver orientale and Papaver...
, butorphanol
Butorphanol
Butorphanol is a morphinan-type synthetic opioid analgesic developed by Bristol-Myers. Brand name Stadol was recently discontinued by the manufacturer. It is now only available in its generic formulations, manufactured by Novex, Mylan, Apotex and Ben Venue Laboratories. Butorphanol is most...
and a number of others.
PSC is an alternative to bricks of opium, as an alkaloid source in most but not all of the production methods to isolate natural alkaloids from the opium poppy. A notable exception is thebaine
Thebaine
Thebaine , its name coming from the Greek Θῆβαι, Thēbai, an ancient city in Upper Egypt, is an opiate alkaloid. A minor constituent of opium, thebaine is chemically similar to both morphine and codeine, but has stimulatory rather than depressant effects, causing convulsions similar to strychnine...
, which is present in far larger fractions in opium than in poppy straw. Morphine, being a large fraction of the alkaloids found in mature poppy capsules, is produced commercially from either opium or concentrated poppy straw. To extract morphine, PSC is dissolved in water and treated with other chemicals to obtain the next intermediate, calcium morphenate
Calcium morphenate
Calcium morphenate is a calcium salt which is produced by using calcium carbonate to raise the pH of an aqueous solution of opium alkaloids to 9.1. This is a method used in pharmaceutical manufacturing to separate morphine from other alkaloids and inert materials from the opium solution...
or less frequently sodium morphenate, which is then further treated to purify the drug and convert it to the desired morphine salt or base. Processes for extracting other alkaloids, such as codeine
Codeine
Codeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...
and noscapine
Noscapine
Noscapine is a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid from plants of the Papaveraceae family, without significant painkilling properties. This agent is primarily used for its antitussive effects. It has also been shown to have anticancer activity...
, use other chemicals and/or optimal solution pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
.
Poppy straw crops
Annual world production of opium and poppy straw, both legal and illegal, is tabulated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
, and reported in its annual World Drug Report
World Drug Report
The World Drug Report is a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime annual publication that analyzes market trends, compiling detailed statistics on drug markets.-References:*....
. The quantity of poppy straw produced is typically given as "opium equivalents". The 2002 World Drug Report estimate of the total world opium production, including opium equivalents of poppy straw, was 42600 metric ton in 1906/07 and 12600 metric ton in 2007. The 2007 production consisted of 8870 metric ton of illegal opium, 3420 metric ton of opium equivalent from legal poppy straw, and 300 metric ton of legal opium. Thus, over 90% of the world production of legal opiates, including medical morphine, now is produced from poppy straw.
With the establishment of poppy straw as the source of the majority of natural morphine and other opiates, much of the world production of opium is destined for illicit uses. In 1981 dried capsules were found being sold for decoration in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, that had been lanced 2 to 5 times with a tool having 3 to 4 blades and the opium scraped off. The morphine content of these capsules was 0.15 - 0.34%, comparable to domestic Swedish capsules not lanced. In India, poppy straw from lanced capsules had a morphine content of at least 0.2%. These levels of morphine obtained from "exhausted" plants suggests that for producers of licit opium, poppy straw may be a profitable second crop.
As of 2005, India was the only country producing licit opium (opium gum) for both domestic use and export. Licit opium was produced also in Democratic People's Republic of Korea for domestic use, and Japan for maintenance of the pertinent technology (small quantities). Opium poppies were grown principally for extraction of alkaloids (from poppy straw) in 9 other countries: Australia, China, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. China ceased producing licit opium after 2001. Opium poppies grown principally for the seed crop, with licit poppy straw as a by-product, were produced in Czech Republic, and Serbia and Montenegro. Another 6 countries cultivated opium poppies solely for the poppy seed or horticultural purposes, without extraction of alkaloids from poppy straw: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Ukraine. Illicit production of Polish heroin
Polish heroin
Polish heroin is a crude preparation of heroin made from poppy straw. Like heroin derived from opium, it is an addictive opiate psychoactive drug, used recreationally. Poppy straw and opium are both harvested from the opium poppy...
and other products derived from poppy straw is an ongoing problem in Poland.
The production of licit opium in India was in accord with terms of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 is an international treaty to prohibit production and supply of specific drugs and of drugs with similar effects except under licence for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research...
. After the opium was harvested, the plants were allowed to mature and harvested for poppy seeds. The sale of poppy seeds delivered a significant proportion of the income from the licit opium crop. Unknown fractions of both the opium harvest and poppy straw residue of the poppy seed harvest were diverted to illicit uses.
The production of illegal opium from poppy straw is limited. It is reported primarily in clandestine laboratories in Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, using domestic poppy straw.
Derived products
A common method of producing laudanumLaudanum
Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
involves dissolving the PSC or latex-derived opium in alcohol and either being allowed to sit for up to a week and periodically agitated, using fresh alcohol to do multiple washes, or refluxing. The original patents for laudanum in various countries refer to soaking poppy straw in varying levels of pulverisation in plain water for a week then evaporating the water to obtain the gummy or powdery brown concentrate.
Recreational use
Poppy teaPoppy tea
Poppy tea is an infusion brewed from poppy straw or seeds of several species of poppy. The species most commonly used for this purpose is Papaver somniferum, which contains opium....
and its variants can be said to be an incomplete and/or relatively crude form of PSC aqueous solution.
Home-made poppy straw extracts including Kompot
Polish heroin
Polish heroin is a crude preparation of heroin made from poppy straw. Like heroin derived from opium, it is an addictive opiate psychoactive drug, used recreationally. Poppy straw and opium are both harvested from the opium poppy...
are widely used among IV drug users in eastern Europe, including Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Tracing of illicit drugs
Poppy straw is a raw material from which illegal heroin may be produced. The alkaloid profiles of poppy straw and opium are similar, but preliminary research suggests they can be distinguished by relative quantities of alkaloids. Based on the presence of the alkaloid oripavineOripavine
Oripavine is an opiate and the major metabolite of thebaine. It is the parent compound from which a series of semi-synthetic opioids are derived, which includes the compounds etorphine and buprenorphine...
in some opium poppies, it has been suggested that illegal heroin seized in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was produced from a legal poppy straw crop stolen in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
a few years earlier.