Since poppies were first planted in 1970, production has grown at such a rate there are now more than 1200 growers who cultivate 200 square km of the plant every year. What’s more, it’s the only place in the southern hemisphere where opium is legally grown, the poppies seemingly in love with Tasmania’s rich healthy soils.
Perhaps the craziest thing about the set up is the fact that it’s thrust in ya face. There’s no growing behind closed doors or off out in the wilderness. Nope, it’s there for all to see. The only thing stopping you hopping a fence and picking plants till your heart’s content is the odd sign advising it might not be too clever a thing to do!
Using a Hungarian method growers extract opiate alkaloids direct from the dry poppy straw, as opposed to extracting the juice – the preferred method for illegal producers around the world – and then drying it as a concentrate. Put it this way, if you stand down wind of a Tasmanian poppy field on the day of harvest the chances of you getting stoned as a monkey are pretty darn high (farmers have reported cattle grazing in nearby fields doing some pretty funny shit!)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Did you know...
While beer and wine are two unsung Tasmanian delights destined for greatness, this small island is responsible for a whole lot more on the production front. Perhaps our biggest surprise, however, came in learning that one of Tasmania’s most lucrative industries is opium. Believe it or not the state now produces over 40% of the world’s “legal” opium, boasting conglomerates Glaxon & Kline, and Johnston & Johnston among its growing client list.
Since poppies were first planted in 1970, production has grown at such a rate there are now more than 1200 growers who cultivate 200 square km of the plant every year. What’s more, it’s the only place in the southern hemisphere where opium is legally grown, the poppies seemingly in love with Tasmania’s rich healthy soils.
Perhaps the craziest thing about the set up is the fact that it’s thrust in ya face. There’s no growing behind closed doors or off out in the wilderness. Nope, it’s there for all to see. The only thing stopping you hopping a fence and picking plants till your heart’s content is the odd sign advising it might not be too clever a thing to do!
Using a Hungarian method growers extract opiate alkaloids direct from the dry poppy straw, as opposed to extracting the juice – the preferred method for illegal producers around the world – and then drying it as a concentrate. Put it this way, if you stand down wind of a Tasmanian poppy field on the day of harvest the chances of you getting stoned as a monkey are pretty darn high (farmers have reported cattle grazing in nearby fields doing some pretty funny shit!)
Since poppies were first planted in 1970, production has grown at such a rate there are now more than 1200 growers who cultivate 200 square km of the plant every year. What’s more, it’s the only place in the southern hemisphere where opium is legally grown, the poppies seemingly in love with Tasmania’s rich healthy soils.
Perhaps the craziest thing about the set up is the fact that it’s thrust in ya face. There’s no growing behind closed doors or off out in the wilderness. Nope, it’s there for all to see. The only thing stopping you hopping a fence and picking plants till your heart’s content is the odd sign advising it might not be too clever a thing to do!
Using a Hungarian method growers extract opiate alkaloids direct from the dry poppy straw, as opposed to extracting the juice – the preferred method for illegal producers around the world – and then drying it as a concentrate. Put it this way, if you stand down wind of a Tasmanian poppy field on the day of harvest the chances of you getting stoned as a monkey are pretty darn high (farmers have reported cattle grazing in nearby fields doing some pretty funny shit!)
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