Tasman Poppy

[nabollocks]

This story made news tonight. Looks like opium addicts are out of luck...

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200903/s2523328.htm

Monday, 23/03/2009

A Tasmanian poppy processor is claiming a breakthrough with a new variety that requires minimal processing to produce the pain relief medicine, codeine.

Tasmanian Alkaloids at Westbury has bred a poppy variety called Tasman that produces natural codeine as the poppies grow in the field.

Tasmanian Alkaloids field operations manager, Rick Rockliffe, says codeine is currently produced as a derivative of morphine, in a process that uses a lot of energy and chemicals.

"It makes the process simpler", he says.

"Instead of taking the morphine material into a factory for complicated processing, you've got little sort of factories in the field if you like, already producing the natural codeine.

"We're intending to grow probably between 500 and 1000 hectares this coming season."

Discuss

 

[mukaki]

The link doesn't work.

The link doesn't work. Seems like the "con...3" part is the problem.

 

[nabollocks]

Discuss how this is possible (chemistry), and what it means for the future of the poppy industry.

 

[negrogesic]

There are varying amounts of codeine in all p. som; his strain simply contains more codeine than others.

As you likely know, there are poppies grown specifically in the interest of their thebaine content, which is then use to make numerous semi-synthetic opioids...

 

[nabollocks]

I believe these poppies do not contain morphine.

So the poppy has been changed. GE? Or just selective breeding? How is it possible?

Side question, not really AD related:
Ok... so now that we have established that we only need 2 types of poppies for human analgesia, and both cannot be used for recreation or heroin production... at least not easily, wfat does this mean for the illegal opioid trade?

 

[Lupus]

Not much considering most poppies used for black market production are grown in places like afghanistan. You cant possibly grow enough poppies in a clandestine fashion to fuel the world drug trade, so countries that are war torn or really have very few exports to fuel their economy tend to encourage or at least turn a blind eye to poppy farming.

I suppose if we (the US) really wanted to we could create some sort of pesticide to target only high morphine producing poppies, sort of like what we tried with coca plants in south america but that didnt turn out well.

 

[vecktor]

this appears to be a PR stunt, even 1000 hectares would supply a tiny fraction of the legitimate demand for codeine, additionally this hybrid/selectively bred poppy is going to be more expensive for seed than the traditional varieties so is not going to be popular in the third world producer countries. it probably makes only marginal commercial sense even in places like Australia because it is not complex or expensive to turn morphine into codeine.

Perhaps they will change the rules and allow the cultivation of low morphine no morphine poppies without lots of paperwork, then this variety has a future.

 

[nabollocks]

Codeine poppy takes off in Tasmania
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200904/s2556882.htm
Thursday, 30/04/2009

A Tasmanian poppy company is expecting to completely replace morphine production with a new poppy variety, 'Tasman', that produces codeine in the capsule.

The new codeine poppy was unveiled by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Tasmanian Alkaloids last month.

Its researchers took four years to find a genetic mechanism to block the genes responsible for the production of morphine and allow the accumulation of codeine.
Dr Tony Fist says it's another step in developing poppies tailored to produce alternative pharmaceuticals.

"It will be a competitive way of making codeine, so it really does make a better thing for the farmers to grow than morphine, so ultimately I expect this will replace morphine poppies in Tasmania," he says.

Dr Fist says Tasmanian Alkaloids has contracted about 1000 hectares for Tasman poppy production this year.

Answered my own question...

But it begs another question: 'What other alkaloids could we make the humble poppy produce? Heroin?'

 

[negrogesic]

^^^But unlike codeine, DAM does not occur naturally in poppies...

 

[nabollocks]

Correct, but some pretty potent mu opiates do, and if we could harness these... It was just to get you thinking, not an outright suggestion.

 

[jam uh weezy]

tPerhaps they will change the rules and allow the cultivation of low morphine no morphine poppies without lots of paperwork, then this variety has a future.

Tasmanian Alkaloids already produces a GMO 'Norman'(no morphine) strain that produce higher levels of thebaine and little too no morphine. In fact I believe they even purposely propagate the myth that all of their flowers are Norman strain. They look identical to the morphine producing strains. I wouldn't doubt it if even the basic morphine producing 'Tasmanian" strain is GMO'd in order too actually produce more morphine.

I dunno, I only speak from what I've read on their site and random sources online, it'd be nice if someone from australia or something could tell us what's up.

 

[Hammilton]

Not much considering most poppies used for black market production are grown in places like afghanistan. You cant possibly grow enough poppies in a clandestine fashion to fuel the world drug trade, so countries that are war torn or really have very few exports to fuel their economy tend to encourage or at least turn a blind eye to poppy farming.

What are you talking about? Something like 75% of all heroin is produced from Afghani opium. Obviously afghanistan is growing enough poppies to fuel the world drug trade, and they're certainly not encouraging it.

 

[kakti]

What are you talking about? Something like 75% of all heroin is produced from Afghani opium. Obviously afghanistan is growing enough poppies to fuel the world drug trade, and they're certainly not encouraging it.

Whether they're encouraging it depends on what region of the country you're talking about, and even then it's probably a function of the relationship of each farmer and the local elders/warlords, etc. From what I've read there is very selective destruction of poppy fields in Afghanistan. More in areas that have traditionally been competitors to Karzai, and little to none in other areas. Just google Karzai and opium for a bunch of articles.

 

[juicemon]

Its pretty simple idea

Norman poppies arent GMO's
they are a radiomutant

no-one spliced them in a lab with any foreign genes
they just exposed the seeds of the regular high morphine Tassie poppy to Radiation
not sure what kind? maybe gamma rays from Cobalt isotopes, maybe X rays, maybe UV - some kind of ionising radiation

you know how many poppy seeds in a gram so its easy to treat a large amount
and then the hard bit is screening them

they located a plant wher ethe radiation had knocked out a gene for the enzyme that turns thebaine into codeine

its a single gene. and recessive

the steps being

Thebaine
.
(enzyme)
.
Codeine
.
(enzyme)
.
Morphine

so the alk content bulges with thebaine and no codeine or morph is made

this is the next logical step
create a break between codeine and morphine so synthesis is arrested there

personally i think this is a great idea!
for some people like myself codien is the drug of choice over morphine anyway
codeine feels great while morp just makes me sick as a dog

ill be sniffing out some seeds of this when they leak out into the black market

 

[theWorldWithin]

If these codeine poppies become prevalent then we will see more hydrocodone and less DAM. It is easily produced from codeine.

 

[dread]

If these codeine poppies become prevalent then we will see more hydrocodone and less DAM. It is easily produced from codeine.

I would think we would see more desomorphine. It's an easy three-step synthesis from codeine -> alpha-chlorocodide -> desocodeine -> desomorphine. I would like some of that...

 

[flacky]

This is essentially the same idea as the predominately thebaine containing poppies used to make Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Naloxone, etc. Not new news by any means.