Opium trade
| Opium | |
|---|---|
Opium poppy seed pod exuding latex from a cut
|
|
| Product name | Opium |
| Source plant(s) | Papaver somniferum |
| Part(s) of plant | Latex |
| Geographic origin | Uncertain, possibly Southern Europe |
| Active ingredients | |
| Main producers | |
| Main consumers | Worldwide (#1: Europe) |
| Wholesale price | US$3,000 per kilogram (as of 2002[update]) |
| Retail price | US$16,000 per kilogram (as of 2002[update]) |
| Legal status |
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Opium (poppy tears, with the scientific name: Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum). Opium latex contains approximately 12 percent 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. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word "meconium" (derived from the Greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to infant stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.
The production of opium has not changed since ancient times. Through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine has been greatly increased. In modern times, much of the thebaine, which often serves as the raw material for the synthesis for hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and other semisynthetic opiates, originates from extracting Papaver orientale or Papaver bracteatum.
Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which is less bulky making it easier to smuggle, and which multiplies its potency to anywhere from twice to four times that of morphine.
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