Dangers of Drinking Poppy Seed Tea
A poppy seed tea can sound like a safe and even delicious way to pass the time; however, when seeds are unwashed or unprocessed, the story is different. The tea provides a high and can also cause addiction and genuine health risks. Although drinking tea may sound harmless, it can have fatal consequences, especially for euphoric or self-medicating anxiety or sleep issues.
What Are Poppy Seeds?
Opium poppies (Papaver somniferum) have been grown all over the world.
The seeds contain morphine and codeine, although a low amount when concentrated in a tea, it becomes impossible to predict the strength. This is what making poppy seed tea at home can be so dangerous. The concentration of narcotics in the seeds varies widely among various brands and origination. Australian seeds, for example, can contain 40 times more morphine than the ones from Turkey. The potency also depends on the method the seeds were harvest and the exact.
Before purchasing poppy seeds online, remember: There is no way to determine the potency of these, what also results in no way to predict the risks.
Physical Effects of Using Poppy Seed Tea Include:
- Difficulty urinating
- Dry mouth
- Dehydration
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Drowsiness
- Lethargy
- Respiratory depression
- Cardiac arrest
- Death from overdose
Like all opioids, tolerance varies from individual to individual and can build with long-term use. When mixing poppy seed tea with benzodiazepines drugs such as Valium or Xanax, or alcohol, an overdose’s risks are significantly increased. Also, when opioids one decides to stop the use abruptly, withdrawal symptoms may start.
Withdrawing from Poppy Seed Tea
This homemade concoction is brewed from the pods or seeds of the opium poppy plant. The tea is commonly used recreationally and abused by some who wish to catch a high of its euphoric side effects. Physical addiction can set in quickly with regular use, often after tolerance has been established. This means the body becomes used to the opiates and requires increasingly larger doses to experience effects. Withdrawal is the process that sets in once patients attempt to detox from physical dependence to poppy tea.
Withdrawal symptoms can be harsh to manage without medical help, causing many people to keep using or relapse during at-home detox. A poppy seed withdrawal can cause weeks or months of physical and emotional side effects. Typically, anxiety, agitation, nausea, and body pain. Poppy tea withdrawal typically sets in within a few hours after last use. The length and severity can depend on factors including duration of use and dosage. It is also essential to know when the previous ingestion of poppy was.
Withdrawal symptoms can include:
- Intense drug cravings that don’t subside unless more of the drug consumed.
- Diarrhea
- Gastrointestinal Disturbances
- Agitation
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Vomiting
- Leg pain
Remember, the physical effects of poppy tea withdrawal symptoms may pass in a week or two, but some can persist for much longer, including drug cravings. Poppy tea withdrawal can be scary, but it does not mean you need to suffer a long, painful, or degrading transition to recovery. A medical solution offers you compassionate medical care and professional assistance and support throughout the detoxification phase.
Poppy Seeds Addiction Risks
Cases of death with poppy seeds are also a reality. Teens are usually the ones most affected, like a 17-year-old who, according to his parents, was self-treating anxiety with home-brewed poppy seed tea. He died of pulmonary edema caused by acute morphine and codeine intoxication after drinking poppy tea. In May 2012, a 19-year-old from Nova Scotia lost his life after drinking the tea from a poppy seed he purchased on the Internet. Lately, in the news, Steve and Betty H., parents of Stephen, who dies drinking poppy tea. Stephen was a graduate of the University of Arkansas and was found unresponsive by his roommate. The parents are trying to prevent the internet sales of unwashed poppy seeds and creating awareness about its possible danger. Sam Houston State University also documented a study showing that the technique of brewing unwashed poppy seeds can be lethal.
Exclusive Poppy Seed Tea Detox and Addiction Treatment
Each patient receives the treatment that better fits their needs. We do not believe in or use a cookie-cutter approach to addiction treatment. Patients come to a full-service accredited hospital, where a comprehensive physiological assessment occurs. Based on this assessment’s findings, our medical director will design an adequate detox protocol: a medically supervised detox starts, reducing the withdrawal symptoms, discomfort, and length. Although the Waismann Method is the most recognized and respected rapid detox center globally, we also provide non-anesthesia opioid treatments. Following the hospital, patients continue recovery at Domus Retreat. Here, guests can take advantage of holistic therapies, making the transition to an opioid-free life much more palpable. This additional support promotes long-term recovery and detox success.
We are the only facility worldwide to offer the Waismann Method® treatment; the most advanced, safe, and confidential medical opioid detox and anesthesia detoxification treatment in the country
