History of the Poppy

The earliest evidence for the deliberate use of poppies are the poppy seeds and poppy capsules, which have been found from archaeological unearthing of buildings on stilts, dating back to the early Stone Age (3000-2500 BC) in the shallow lakes of Switzerland (cantons Zurich, Thurgau, Bern). [69] Similar discoveries have been made in the provinces of Milan, Savoy and Provence. The poppy was presumably used as a spice in foodstuffs and for the preparation of vegetable oUs. 

36 Von Hohenheim used the nom de plume Paracelsus in order to protect himself from the Fugger family, by whom he felt threatened. They imported guaiacum wood for treatment of syphilis. Paracelsus spoiled their business, because he exposed the ineffectiveness of guaiacum wood extracts. 

37 Theriac, a mixture of up to 300 components, was produced in huge quantities from wine all over Europe. The inscription on the barrel In the Museum of Pharmacy at Krakow reads as follows Vinum Creticum Generosum ad Theriaces (Cretan noble wine for Theriac). 

When smoking of opium became fashionable in China during the second half of the 17th century - presumably in response of the ban on tobacco smoking under Emperor Tsung Cheng-, the East India Company cultivated the poppy in Bengal as a source of opium (Fig. 5.38). 

In 1820, the Chinese authorities enacted a ban on the import of opium, presumably because of the drug problem. As a result, opium smuggling took place to an enormous extent. The destruction of 20,000 cases of opium, with a value of 4 million sterling, led to the opium war between China and Britain during the years 1840-1842. 

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Kritikos PG, Papadaki SP (1967) The history of the poppy and of opium and their expansion in antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean area. Bull Narcot 19(3) 17-38, (4) 5-10 Lambert JJ, Durant NN, Henderson EG (1983) Drug-induced modification of ionic conductance at the neuromuscular junction. Annu Rev Pharmacol Physiol 23 505-539 Lieb WA, Scherf HJ (1956) Papaveraceae alkaloids and eye pressure. Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd 128 686-705. Cited from Chem Abstr 54 11271 (1960)... 

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