opium poppies problem

[pagan dreams]

hi all im not sure if i put this in the right place,as im very new to growing things im a little confused about opium poppies.to cut a long story short ive bought some of these poppy seeds of ebay only to be told im breaking the law.it seems they are grown to harvest drugs from altho shocked to hear this i didnt know and i wanted them for the garden and to dry the pods to keep.are we in the uk forbidden from growing them full stop as it seems strange to sell them and not be allowed to grow them.any help would be great many thanks and blessed be

[Jeanied]

You can grow opium poppies galore if that is what you want. They are lovely plants.
What is unlawful is to start extracting opium from them. So do not do this.

[VirginVegGrower]

Ditto above. If its illegal then I'm with you in jail, as they are all over my garden. I shouldn't worry.

[rustylady]

They self seed round here and look beautiful. It's not illegal to buy or grow them.

[zazen999]

it seems they are grown to harvest drugs

The clue is in the name

I wouldn't worry about it - as long as you aren't growing them to harvest drugs you should be fine.

[daylily]

It's the white flowered, commercially grown for opium strains are banned from growing in a number of countries.

You can happily grow the rest. Chiltern seeds are also selling them, so relax. I just sowed a lot in the autumn for seeds for the kitchen.

[Madasafish]

My bees love opium poppies for the pollen.

[pagan dreams]

thanks every one for the replies,i read up a bit more and its ok to grow them.it seems that a white substance (opium)is extracted from them via slits in the pod.i have the dark purple type,so will sow them later.

[baldrick]

think they are all illegal in France tho!

[pauco]

My bees love opium poppies for the pollen.

I bet they get a real High, from them


paul.

[Snadger]

I luuurve 'poppyknot' bread buns with poppy seeds on them! Not sure if 'Shirleys' are opium poppies but methinks these are the ones grown for the edible seeds!

[Two_Sheds]

It's the sap that's used in opium production, the seeds contain very little opiate, although apparently
"the television show MythBusters demonstrated that one could test positive for narcotics after consuming four poppy seed bagels.
On the show Brainiac: Science Abuse, subjects tested positive after eating only two poppy seed bagels" !