Poppy straw: Difference between revisions

'''Poppy straw''' (also known as '''opium straw''', '''mowed opium straw''', '''crushed poppy capsule''', '''poppy chaff''', or '''poppy husk''') is derived from opium poppies (''[[Papaver somniferum]]'') that are [[harvest]]ed when fully mature and dried by mechanical means, minus the ripe [[poppy seed]]s. Opium poppy straw today can be one of several different things. It is what remains after the poppy seed harvest,pods have been harvested - that is, the dried stalks, stem and leaves of poppies grown for their seeds.<ref>{{cite Theweb dried leaves| url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1953-01-01_3_page007.html stalks| aretitle=UNODC harvested- afterBulletin theon seedNarcotics pods- have1953 beenIssue used3 for- traditional006 opium extraction.}}</ref> The field -dried leaves, stalk, and seed pod are then used in commercial manufacture of [[morphine]] or other poppy -alkaloid derived drugs, by first processing the material to make poppy straw, separating the seeds, and then making concentrate of poppy straw,<ref name="Poppy the genus Papaver">{{cite book|last1=Bernáth|first1=Jenő|title=Poppy the genus Papaver|date=1998|publisher=Harwood Academic Publishers|location=Amsterdam, the Netherlands|isbn=978-0-203-30418-1|page=vii|edition=2000 eBook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iThGU8hdTIIC&lpg=PP6&pg=PP6#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=16 July 2015}}</ref> where no extraction using the traditional methods of latex extraction has been made.<ref name="Freemantle 2005">{{Cite journal

}}</ref> The [[straw]] was originally considered an agricultural [[by-product]] of the mechanised poppy seed harvest, which was primarily grown for its edible and oil-producing seed. This changed in 1927 when János Kabay developed a chemical process to extract [[morphine]] from the crushed capsule.<ref name="Poppy the genus Papaver"/> Concentrated poppy straw, consisting mainly of the crushed [[Capsule (fruit)|capsule]] without the seeds,<ref name="WDR2009"/> soon became a valuable source of morphine. Today, concentrate of 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)<ref name="WDR2008"/> and in some countries it also is a source of illegal morphine, which could be processed into illegal [[heroin]].<ref name="WDR2009"/>

Decorative Drieddried Flowerflower producer/growers and wholesalers,<ref name="RHS Herb Img">{{cite web |url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-science/RHS-Herbarium/Collections/Images |title=ArchivedImage copycollection / RHS Gardening |accessdate=2011-03-07 |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524051516/http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-science/RHS-Herbarium/Collections/Images |archivedate=2011-05-24 |df= }}</ref> hand -pick the decorative mature seeded pods/heads with or without the stalks for use asin floral decorations for visual gratification indecorative arrangements. These are then mechanically dried at high temperatures in large kilns to render insects dead and the seeds unviable, so that the harvest consists almost entirely of the dried flowered seeded pods/heads (for ease of transport, artificial stems are added afterwards, e.g. [[bird food|bird seed]] wreath making, floral arrangements and wedding boutonnières or arts/craft projects). The seeds used for this market are especially chosen for the size and shape of the mature poppy seed pod/head and not alkaloid content.

Many varieties, strains, and cultivars of ''Papaver somniferum'' are in existence, and the alkaloid content can vary significantly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cannabisbureau.nl/en/doc/pdf/Dutch%20Opium_Act_30556.pdf |title=Bureau voor Medicinale Cannabis &#124; Pagina niet gevonden |publisher=Cannabisbureau.nl |date=2013-03-19 |accessdate=2013-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120032018/http://www.cannabisbureau.nl/en/doc/pdf/Dutch%20Opium_Act_30556.pdf |archive-date=2013-01-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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]]).

}}</ref> This research was of notable interest in those countries where opium poppy was an important [[oilseed]] crop but due towhere high labor costs made the harvesting of opium was not economicuneconomic. 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 to 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 9nine European countries, the potential production of morphine from those crops was estimated to be {{convert|148800|kg}}. However, in 1950 the actual production of morphine from poppy straw was reported to be {{convert|11663|kg}}.<ref name="Anon1953">{{Cite journal

}}</ref> 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 eliminateeliminating all these disadvantages.

Poppy straw is first pulverized, then washed as many as six to ten or more times in water and/orwhich variousmay acidshave andan otheracid chemicalsadded to increase solubility, 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.<ref name="INCB TR 2008 IV">{{Cite web

|deadurlurl-status = yesdead

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.<ref>{{Cite web

PSC is an alternative to bricks of opium, as an alkaloid source in most but not all of the production methods tothat 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.<ref>{{CitationCite web needed|datetitle=DecemberComments 2009on the reported statistics on narcotic drugs - INCB |url=https://www.incb.org/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/Technical-Publications/2017/7_Part_2_comments_E.pdf |access-date=2023-12-07}}</ref> Morphine, being a large fraction of the alkaloids found in mature poppy capsules, is produced commercially from either opium or concentrated poppy straw.<ref name="Freemantle 2005"/> 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 chemicalspharmaceutical and/or optimal solution [[pH]]processes.

Annual world production of opium and poppy straw, both legal and illegal, is tabulated by the [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]], 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 {{convert|42600|metric ton}} in 1906/07 and {{convert|12600|metric ton}} in 2007. The 2007 production consisted of {{convert|8870|metric ton}} of illegal opium, {{convert|3420|metric ton}} of opium equivalent from legal poppy straw, and {{convert|300|metric ton}} of legal opium.<ref name="WDR2008">{{Cite book|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR.html|title=World Drug Report|publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime|year=2008|page=213|chapter=Achievements and unintended consequences of the international drug control system|contribution-url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR2008_100years_drug_control_achievements.pdf}}</ref> 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]], thatwere found to hadhave 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.<ref name="BruhnNyman">{{Cite journal

|lastlast1=Bruhn

|firstfirst1=J. G.

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 in 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 Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. China ceased producing licit opium after 2001.<ref>{{CitationCite web needed|date=February2001-01-12 2011|title=ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |url=https://www.unodc.org/pdf/world_drug_report_2000/chapter3_cover.pdf |access-date=2023-12-07}}</ref> Opium poppies grown principally for the seed crop, with licit poppy straw as a by-product, were produced in the Czech Republic, 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.<ref name=UNODC2005>{{Cite web

}}</ref> Illicit production of [[Polish heroin]] and other products derived from poppy straw is an ongoing problem in Poland, although it isn't as serious as in the 1980s, after poppies containing high levels of opioid alkaloids were banned in 1990s.<ref name="WDR2009"/>

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 the poppy straw residue offrom the poppy seed harvest were diverted to illicit uses.<ref name=UNODC2005/>

|publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs, Crime , and BootyCrime

|year=20162009

A common method of producing [[laudanum]] involves dissolving the PSC or latex-derived opium in alcohol and either beingallowing the allowedsolution to sit for up to a week, andbeing periodically agitated,; using fresh alcohol to do multiple washes,; or refluxing. The original patents for laudanum in various countries refer to soaking poppy straw inwith varying levels of pulverisation in plain water for a week then evaporating the water to obtain the gummy or powdery brown concentrate.

|vauthors=Booth RE, Kennedy J, Brewster T, Semerik O | title = Drug injectors and dealers in OdessaOdesa, Ukraine

Poppy straw is a raw material from which illegalIllegal [[heroin]] may be produced using poppy straw as a raw material. The alkaloid profiles of poppy straw and opium are similar, but preliminary research suggests they can be distinguished by relative quantities of alkaloids.<ref name="pmid">{{Cite journal