DOSE:

125 g

oral

Poppies - Opium

(tea)

BODY WEIGHT:

170 lb

First off, a bit about my drug usage: I’m a daily pot-smoker and have been for the past 3 years. I’ve dabbled with oxycodone and hydromorphone a bit in the past with no ill effects. Mushrooms a few times. Lately, I’ve been taking 4-6 generic diphenhydramine or dimenhydrinate pills an hour or so before bedtime, maybe a bit too frequently, which I find produces a pleasant light-sedation that, especially when combined with pot, helps me get to sleep. This was my first and definitely last time with poppy seed tea.

Set and setting: Victoria Day long weekend in Canada. I was house-sitting for my uncle and had the house to myself. I had no plans or responsibilities for the weekend and figured I’d brew up some poppy-seed tea for the evening.

Preparation: 500 grams of poppy seeds were purchased at the local Bulk Barn. There were bits of poppy-pod mixed in with the seeds which I knew was a good sign the seeds hadn’t been washed and therefore should still contain some morphine/codeine. The seeds were funnelled into a 2 litre pop bottle, a generous squeeze of lemon juice was added and the whole thing toped up with boiling water. The mixture was shaken periodically and allowed to sit for an hour. The seeds were then strained and the resulting 4 cups of opaque yellow-brown liquid was cooled in the refrigerator for several hours.

Experience: I started drinking the foul-tasting brew at 8:00 pm. Since I had no opiate tolerance and this was my first time with poppy-seed tea, I chose to titrate my dosage to be safe; a precaution I’m glad I took. By 9:00 pm (T+1:00), I had drunk approximately 1 cup of the brew. By this time I hadn’t really felt any effects to note, aside from a mild nausea.

Its around this time, I got a phone call from the ‘rents which lasted 15 minutes or so. During the course of the phone call my nose began to run and my skin became itchy. By the end of the call (T+1:15), the itchiness had increased to an uncomfortable level and my nose became completely stuffed up. I checked myself in the mirror and found my skin was quite red and blotchy. I shortly thereafter developed hives which covered my entire body. I knew of the itchiness some people get from opiates and that it is caused by histamines, but clearly this was not typical.

Luckily, I had Benadryl on hand and took 4 pills which I chewed to speed up absorption. Within 30 minutes (T+1:45), the itchiness had subsided to a more tolerable level and the hives began to go away. I still had hives when I went to bed (T+4:00) though, but was able to ignore them and get to sleep eventually. By morning (T+12:00), the allergy symptoms were gone and I was back to normal.

Throughout this experience I did not experience any of the contentment or euphoria associated with opiates, only the unpleasant allergy symptoms. Thank goodness I only drank 1 of the 4 cups of tea I produced, otherwise the allergic reaction would surely have been too much to handle.

My intention is not to scare people, I’m all for trying new drugs, but there is a lesson to be learnt here. And it’s not a new one. Start off slow when trying new drugs, namely poppy-tea, you never know how your body might react and can never be too safe.

Exp Year: 2008	ExpID: 71269
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 13, 2010	Views: 19,433
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Poppies - Opium (43) : Preparation / Recipes (30), Health Problems (27), Alone (16)