Opium

Opium, also known as poppy tears or Lachryma papaveris, is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsule of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). The latex contains numerous alkaloids, most notably morphine, which constitutes about twelve per cent of raw opium. Morphine is the precursor for heroin and many semi-synthetic medicinal opioids. Opium also contains related opiates such as codeine and thebaine, as well as non-analgesic alkaloids including papaverine and noscapine. Its psychoactive properties arise primarily from its interaction with opioid receptors, producing analgesia and euphoria but also dependence, tolerance and long-term health risks.
The traditional method of collecting opium involves cutting the unripe poppy pods so that the latex exudes and dries on the surface, forming a sticky residue that is later scraped off. Although modern industrial cultivation and extraction techniques exist, the fundamental process has changed little since antiquity. Evidence shows that people have used the opium poppy for thousands of years for food, medicine, ritual practices and pain relief. Selective breeding of P. somniferum has greatly increased its morphine, codeine and thebaine content, while modern pharmaceutical industries also extract thebaine from other species for the manufacture of synthetic and semi-synthetic opioids.

Etymology

The English term opium is derived from Latin, which in turn comes from the Greek opion, meaning “poppy juice”, itself a diminutive of ops, meaning “plant sap”. The word meconium, now used in modern medicine to describe the first faeces of a newborn infant, originally referred to weaker poppy preparations that resembled opium but were derived from other species or different parts of the plant.

Ancient Use and Early History

The Mediterranean Basin contains the earliest archaeological evidence of human interaction with opium poppies. Seeds found at Neolithic sites date back to more than 5000 BCE, indicating early cultivation and ritual or nutritional use. The first known systematic cultivation of opium poppies occurred in Mesopotamia around 3400 BCE. The Sumerians referred to the plant as hul gil, the “joy plant”, reflecting an early awareness of its psychoactive effects. Tablets discovered at Nippur describe the morning collection of poppy juice and its preparation into opium.
Opium production spread through the ancient Near East, including among the Assyrians and Babylonians, who developed techniques for pod scoring and latex extraction. Egyptian sources from around 1300 BCE refer to the cultivation of a variety known as opium thebaicum. The Egyptians valued opium primarily for medicinal and ritual uses, employing preparations in surgery and possibly in religious contexts. Trade networks run by the Phoenicians and Minoans distributed opium widely around the Mediterranean, including to Greece, Carthage and central Europe.
Archaeological discoveries throughout Europe—particularly in Switzerland, Germany and Spain—confirm the presence of P. somniferum in Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements. Finds at the Cueva de los Murciélagos (“Bat Cave”) in Spain include large numbers of poppy seed capsules placed in burial sites around 4200 BCE, suggesting symbolic or ritual significance.

Opium in the Classical World

In Ancient Greece, opium was regarded as both a potent remedy and a dangerous poison. Literary and medical sources indicate diverse methods of consumption, including inhalation of vapours, suppositories and poultices. There is also evidence of its use in toxic mixtures such as preparations combining opium with hemlock for euthanasia.
Major medical texts of the classical and medieval periods—such as the Ebers Papyrus, and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen and Avicenna—include descriptions of opium’s properties and therapeutic applications. By the Hellenistic period, it featured widely in pharmacology. A third-century BCE text by Theophrastus discusses obtaining the sap through crushing the capsules, noting that the technique of incising the pods had been lost but was later rediscovered by Scribonius Largus in the first century CE.
The opium poppy also held symbolic significance in Greek religion. The gods Hypnos, Nyx and Thanatos were depicted with poppy wreaths, reflecting associations with sleep and death. Iconography from Mycenae and Crete, including figurines bearing poppy-shaped hairpins and decorated jars (lekythoi), suggests ritual uses linked with ideas of ecstasy and oblivion. Greek myth attributes the first use of the opium plant to the goddess Demeter, said to have consumed it to ease her grief over the abduction of Persephone.
Roman authors such as Cato the Elder and Plautus mention the culinary use of poppy seeds, and archaeological remains from farmhouses include poppy seed cakes. Roman medical practice employed opium widely, particularly in preparations such as spongia somnifera, sponges soaked in opium used for inducing anaesthesia during surgery.

Opium in Islamic Societies (500–1500 CE)

Following the decline of the Roman Empire, the territories of the eastern Mediterranean came under the rule of successive Islamic states. Classical knowledge of opium and its medicinal uses was preserved and expanded upon by Islamic physicians. Texts by Avicenna and other scholars emphasised its value as an analgesic and sedative, though concerns about addiction were noted. Opium was incorporated into medical practice across the Middle East, Persia and South Asia, and trade continued along established routes.
Religious scholars debated its permissibility. Some traditions regarded intoxicants as prohibited, while others viewed medicinal use as acceptable. Despite varying interpretations, opium remained widely employed for therapeutic purposes.

Later Developments and Global Expansion

As global trade networks expanded during the medieval and early modern periods, opium spread to new regions, including the Indian subcontinent, China and Southeast Asia. Production intensified under various empires, and by the early modern period, opium had become a significant commodity in regional and global trade.
European encounters with opium increased through colonial contact. Although unprocessed opium was widely used as a painkiller into the nineteenth century—including in the American Civil War—injectable morphine and later synthetic derivatives gradually displaced raw opium in professional medical settings due to more controllable dosages.

Modern Cultivation and Production

Selective breeding of Papaver somniferum has dramatically increased the concentration of morphine, codeine and thebaine in modern poppy strains. Today, significant quantities of thebaine—used as a precursor for semi-synthetic opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and hydromorphone—are obtained from other species such as Papaver orientale and Papaver bracteatum.
Contemporary opium production has historically centred on regions in Asia, particularly Afghanistan, which for many years supplied the majority of global illicit opium. Cultivation involves scoring poppy pods to harvest the exuded latex, which is dried and processed. Recent restrictions have led to dramatic reductions in Afghan cultivation, though global production persists through both legal pharmaceutical channels and illicit networks.
For illegal drug markets, raw opium undergoes extraction to produce morphine paste, reducing weight and bulk by around eighty-eight per cent. This morphine is then chemically converted into heroin, nearly twice as potent and far more valuable per unit mass. The reduced bulk facilitates smuggling and transport.

Uses, Risks and Cultural Impact

Opium’s pharmacological effects stem primarily from morphine’s action on opioid receptors, producing analgesia, euphoria and sedation. Long-term use may lead to tolerance, dependence and increased health risks, including certain cancers. The substance has played a profound role in medicine, ritual practice, global trade and conflict, shaping cultural and political histories across continents.