Despite the Stigmas that surround this beautiful flower, Somniferum Poppies are perfectly Legal for Gardeners LIKE US, to grow for their Seeds, Culinary Uses, and/or Aesthetics (according to Reliable sources such as Wikipedia.org and WSU.edu)

Allow me to first make it clear that we are GARDENERS , with a Passion for growing Beautiful Flowers. The purpose of thie Article is to keep Gardeners Properly Informed about their Rights and Responsibilities as Growers.

(we do NOT offer, or claim to offer, Legal Advice of any kind, in ANY WAY)

Our hope is to provide some insight, as to why any confusion exists regarding the Papaver somniferum Species.

A VERY COMMON Question I come across:

Q: “What kind of Poppies Produce or Make Opium”?

A: ALL Papaver somniferum Poppies (AKA: BreadSeed Poppy, P. Paeoniflorum) & it’s Parent; P. Setigerum, Contain Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine, and other Alkaloids that Pharmaceuticals are made from, and are the same Poppies the Afghans use to create the World’s worst poison of all; Heroin



Which leads to the next Question;

YES!! It’s perfectly LEGAL to Grow Papaver Somniferum Poppies for Aesthetic and/or Culinary purposes .

NO!! It’s NOT Legal to Grow Opium Poppies for the sake of Harvesting the ‘Opium’ or via ‘Poppy Straw’ method.

(The term ‘Poppy Straw’ originates from a mechanized method of processing the whole poppy plant, rather than the Lancing of their Individual Pods, thus decreasing the high cost of human labor)

BUT We’re just Gardeners! Should we worry? I’M CONFUSED.

Why do you think we took the time to create this Post? People have a Tendency to Confuse “OPIUM”, with the “Somniferum Poppy“. But to simplify, think of “Opium” as someone’s Blood. Perhaps the Blood of a Beautiful Person. Now, if the Poppy Plant was their Body, there’d be nothing wrong with appreciating their “outer Beauty“, right? Exactly!! I shouldn’t need to explain any further, since I’d rather not go into the bloody details, but let’s just agree that no matter how you look at it, accessing their “inner Beauty“ would NOT be legal (nor nice), and would probably involve Handcuffs, a Strip Search, 3 Hots, a Cot, and lot’s of Cold Concrete (and the possibility of Bubba discovering YOUR ‘Inner Beauty‘)



So, the Info that one may find while Researching Poppy Laws, may sometimes have to do with their Intent .

But feel free to read the Answers for yourself via @ the Reputable Sources below :

(Don’t see anything below? GO HERE)