opium

     

Opium is a narcotic forme from the latex (i.e., sap) released by lacerating (or "scoring") the immature seed pods of opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). It contains up to 10% morphine, an opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The resin also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids, such as papaverine and noscapine. Meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the poppy or different species of poppies. Modern opium production is the culmination of millennia of production, in which the source poppy, methods of extraction and processing, and methods of consumption have become increasingly potent.

Trivia about opium

  • There was a prescription for war in 1839 when Britain & China went toe-to-toe over this drug's trade
  • The second war named for this drug began in 1856 when China seized a ship under the British flag
  • The ceding of Hong Kong to Great Britain was one result of 2 wars named for this substance
  • For many centuries this drug derived from a poppy was the main painkiller used in medicine
  • Thomas De Quincey's feverish "confessions" were about an "eater" of this
  • In March 1839 the Chinese seized over 20,000 chests of this from British merchants in Guangzhou, causing war
  • YSL introduced this perfume in 1977--it's addictive