Opium Poppy
Papaver somniferum
Family:
Papaveraceae, Poppy family
Where to find this herb:
Origin: unclear, probably around France, Spain and North Africa. Now grown, legally and illegally, all over the world
Part(s) used:
seeds, milky sap, seed pods
Special constituents:
Morphine, codein
Correspondance:
3,29 (Crowley); 3 (Lee); Moon/Water (Cunningham); Moon (Culpeper); Saturn, Moon, Neptune (Beyerl)
Uses:
the seeds: culinary, and in magical amulets
the milky sap: opium production
the seed pods: poppy tea and decoration
Slaapbol 
Opium-Valmue Opium Poppy is one of the most well-known of the magical and medicinal herbs. It's probably also the one most widely used in medicine. Where would medicine be today without the sedative and analgesic properties of morphine? Unfortunately, morphine is also very addictive - and heroine, made from opium, even more so.
Some terms:
Morphine - one of the ingredients of Opium Poppy sap. There can be up to around 20% morphine in the sap.
Opium - The white sap from the seed pods, collected and dried. The sap turns dark brown to black due to oxidation.
Heroine - the chemical name for this substance is diacetylmorphine. It is made by boiling morphine with acetic acid anhydride. It is not a naturally occuring substance. But the two drugs (morphine and heroine) are closely related.
Laudanum - opium dissolved in alcohol. A popular drink in the Victorian age. Also quite addictive. Now banned.
The Opium Poppy also exists in a lot of very pretty and colorful garden varieties:
Some contain morphine, some not.
If you want to make your own poppy tea (of course you won't do this in a country where it is illegal!!) dry your seed pods first. Take one dried pod and cut it in small pieces. Let it soak in hot water for 10 - 20 minutes. Mix with some yummie-tasting herbs such as licorice root or mint. Do NOT boil the seed pods, as this will break down the active ingredients. Careful, this tea contains morphine and can be addictive! Use sparingly, and never give to children! You should also be aware that too much opium consumption (or poppy tea drinking) leads to constipation.
If you insist on harvesting Opium like the professionals, the good time is when the "crown" on top of the seed pod points upward (see picture):
It should be around 2 weeks after the flower petals drops off. Make a test-cut first; if the latex runs down the pod it is too early. Do not water a few days prior to harvest, this increases the quality. Cut in any direction you like, ca. 1-2 mm deep. Wait 12 hours or one day, and scrape off the latex.
