Confessions of an eBay opium addict

January 27, 2006 12:27 PM

Confessions of an eBay opium addict - Looking for drugs on the cheap, a writer found poppy pods available on the internet. He also found himself hooked. Poppy tea is as addictive as Vicodin, yet pods are readily available at your local florist and on the internet.
posted by Modem Ovary (16 comments total)

Gah! Double post. Matt, please delete.
posted by Modem Ovary at 12:33 PM on January 27, 2006

Double, though the earlier link seems to be busted.
posted by The White Hat at 12:33 PM on January 27, 2006

Double
posted by geoff. at 12:33 PM on January 27, 2006

Double, but:

Poppies International has the most popular poppy pods on the market and we experience 75-80% repeat customers.

I'll bet you do.
posted by mowglisambo at 12:47 PM on January 27, 2006

What they don't say its they're often treated with pesticides to increase yeld..which alters the quality. Sowwy you have to grown your own
posted by elpapacito at 1:05 PM on January 27, 2006

That's good info to know. I wonder how the tea tastes. I tried finding drugs on the net once, and all I found was some LSD. Unfortunately, the catch is that you need to be affiliated with a legitimate research facility, and actually be conducting a study. But, the "product detail" is pretty cool, and I swear I'm getting colors off their logo.
posted by Blingo at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2006

I saw an antique doctors kit for sale on ebay once, and it contained almost full bottles of opium and cocaine.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:17 PM on January 27, 2006

Blingo: I tried finding drugs on the net once, and all I found was some LSD.

Amazing that you have to store it at -20°C. Maybe the stuff I had that one time gave me a bad trip because it wasn't stored properly....
posted by JJ86 at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2006

I read this from the other post, and I found it fascinating, not least because the high sounded so dreadful that I couldn't really understand chasing it.
posted by OmieWise at 1:33 PM on January 27, 2006

Poppy tea is as addictive as Vicodin...

From here:

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), about 3 million Americans have used heroin. Of these, one in 10 report using the drug in the last year, and one in 20 say they've used it in the last month. The percentages for cocaine are similar. In both cases, daily use is so rare that the government does not provide figures for it. These findings indicate that the vast majority of heroin and cocaine users either never become addicted or, if they do, soon manage to moderate their use or abstain.

In other words, of all the Americans who have ever used heroin, 94% of those folks have not used it in the last month. I suspect that, of all the Americans who have ever tried poppy tea, it's a safe bet that somewhat more than 99% of those folks have not drank any in the last month, if not year.
posted by y2karl at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2006

y2karl: Let me rephrase, then. Poppy tea can be as addictive as vikes to those with addictive personalities.
posted by Modem Ovary at 1:51 PM on January 27, 2006

A far better examination of the topic is Michael Pollan's article Opium Made Easy, which appeared in Harper's about a decade ago. The legal grey area of allowing poppies to be grown and sold is still a case in which the grower's "intent" defines the legality.

Yes this stuff is really foul. In Eastern Europe it was the 1980s drug of rock zombies, and you could smell the stuff being cooked in the hallways of my friend's building every night.
posted by zaelic at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2006

Having had a fleeting romance with opium, I can tell you with great certainty that if I had regular, easy access to it, I would be chasing the dragon as we speak. It's gooooood.
posted by mikrophon at 1:54 PM on January 27, 2006

"Confessions of an eBay opium addict"

I just want to say that the Thomas deQuincey shoutout makes me very happy.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 2:01 PM on January 27, 2006

You're all under arrest.


I keeed, I keeeed....
posted by nevercalm at 2:02 PM on January 27, 2006

DeQuincy's book is a fantastic read, by the way. Not just for the crazy drug-related experiences -- the dude could *write*.
posted by uosuaq at 2:05 PM on January 27, 2006