Opium

Opium is a narcotic drug which is obtained from the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. or the synonym paeoniflorum).

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To harvest opium, the skin of the ripening pods is scored by a sharp blade. The slashes exude a white, milky latex, which dries to a sticky brown resin that is scraped off the pods as raw opium.

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Opium has powerful narcotic properties, and is used as a painkiller in extreme circumstances, such as in terminal stages of cancer. Therefore, a small amount of legal production is discreetly conducted under strict supervision from law enforcement. The leading legal producers of opium are France and Australia. The French company Francopia produces 20% to 25% of the world's total, with total sales of approximately 60 million €.

Narcotic: The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word narkoticos, meaning "benumbing or deadening", originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). In the U.S. legal context, narcotic refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semisynthetic or totally syntheti...

Drug: A drug is any substance that can be used to modify a chemical process or processes in the body, for example to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, enhance a performance or ability, or to alter states of mind. The word "drug" is etymologically derived from the Dutch/Low German word "droog", which me...

Opium poppy: The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as heroin are extracted, as well as an important food item....

Opium related Images and Photos (experimental)

Opium Wars British Bombard Canton

Puck Magazine: The Opium-Joint of the Republican

Confessions of an Opium Eater

Tulips an Opium Poppy Hyacinths Anemones Auricolas Convolvuli a Peony and Other Flowers 1782