Oriental Poppy Flower

Although dramatized to imply that spending time in a field of poppies can cause an intense opiate effect on someone, The Wizard of Oz presents a satirical view of one of the many uses of the poppy plant. Perhaps the most well-known attribute of the Poppy is that it is used to produce the drug Opium, which is a narcotic drug which may induce sleep, reduce pain, and cause changes in mood or behavior. It is cultivated from the unripe seeds of the poppy plant. To harvest the drug, the skin of the undeveloped pods is scored with a very sharp blade, and a milky substance oozes from the pod. This substance is allowed to dry and then is scraped off in the form of a brown resin. The opium is then heated indirectly (not lit aflame, as is a common misconception), and the vapors are inhaled as needed.