Opium is a highly addictive narcotic derived from the poppy plant, used historically for pain relief, but now mainly known for its role in producing drugs like morphine and heroin.

The Opium Poppy Control Act of 1942 tried to prevent Americans from growing poppies altogether, but it was difficult to enforce, and the act was repealed in 1970.

To nobody’s surprise, poppy seeds are the seeds of a poppy flower—specifically the papaver somniferum.This variety, also ...

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as morphine (up to 20%), thebaine (5%), codeine (1%), papaverine (1%), and narcotine (5-8% ...

Opium poppy and Thunberg's fleabane depicted in a woodblock print by Kono Bairei, 1900. (Florilegius/Universal Images Group/Getty Images) Review by Becca Rothfeld ...

The poppy flower plant produces opium, which is what led the researchers to test the late Bronze Age artifacts for drug residue. Now, their findings are the subject of a new study published in the ...

Myanmar is now the world’s largest producer of opium, according to a United Nations report published Tuesday, overtaking Afghanistan as political turmoil drives more people to poppy farming amid ...