Legal Risk of Growing Opium Poppies
Papaver somniferum is Illegal but are the Flowers Worth the Risk
Sep 15, 2009
Papaver somniferum, commonly known as opium poppy or bread seed poppy has been cultivated for aestheic, medicinal, culinary and recreational purposes since around 3400 B.C. It is widely known for its incredibly beautiful flowers, its culinary seeds and its milky sap that contains the constituents of opium. The seeds of opium poppy are legal to possess and consume but growing an opium poppy, even if it is just to obtain your own culinary seeds, is illegal.
Penalties for Growing Poppies
It is the seed pod itself that is the source of most of the controlled substances in the plant. Listed as Schedule II substances by the DEA, the substances found in opium poppies (morphine, codeine and thebaine, to name a few), are considered to have accepted medical use but also to have high abuse potential and a potential for addiction. According to the Controlled Substances Act , Schedule II substances cannot be manufactured, distributed, dispensed or possessed unless accompanied by a physician's prescription. As such, possessing a small amount of any Schedule II substance can lead a first time offender to a five year prison term and up to $1,000,000 in fines while growing (manufacturing) a poppy plant is punishable by a prison term of up to 20 years.
Although the poppy contains quite a few harmful elements, none of the products manufactured from the plant can be done so without a significant amount of knowledge and processing leading many growers to feel comfortable that they will not be prosecuted for maintaining a few plants in their garden for flowers and/or seeds. While it is true that law enforcement rarely interferes with a few garden plants, the law itself is hard and fast. DEA regulations and consequences are the same regardless of the amount of plants. "Poppy straw" (dried poppy plants) are also illegal to possess and come with the same potential prison terms and fines.
Has Anyone Been Arrested for Growing Poppies?
According to Michael Pollan in his 1997 Harper's article "Opium Made Easy," growing poppies can come with an arrest and prison time as he explains the details of two events of this nature in California. More recently, and also in California, a man was arrested for selling poppy pods on eBay in 2003 and another was arrested for brewing poppy seed beer in 2008. It seems clear that despite the fact that it would take hundreds, if not thousands of poppy plants combined with knowledge, skill and processing equipment to create the drugs and medicines the DEA would like to control, anyone growing opium poppies or in possession of any part of the plant can be at risk of prosecution.
Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds continue to be used regularly in cooking and are legal to purchase and use. Poppy seeds are even legal to purchase from garden catalogs and nurseries although recently the DEA has attempted to deter the sale of seeds meant for cultivation. Although the seeds do not contain significant amounts of opiates, they can cause a positive drug screen when eaten within 24 hours of the test.
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