^ Cadmium Chloride is indeed soluble in water, but the metal refineries that are the source of most of the Cadmium contamination produce Cadmium Oxide, which is not soluble in water. I'm trying to find out which compound may be used in fertilizers to determine solubility.
Edit: Since Cadmium can pass directly from soil to plant, compounds of Cadmium are never used in fertilizers (
source).
Really..I thought it was too hot for them here. You would probably need a special strain that doesn't mind the occasional hot winters day. I don't like the risk involved. For all I know Officer Poppycock lives 3 houses down and has been having a hard time at home so he's on full alert when BAM! Oh look they finally bloomed. Now I'm in prison protecting my "poppy pod". No thanks. Do you think that the bad stuff inside the seeds can leach into the tea water? I'm going to ask my Dr. to test me for heavy metals. I used to work in power plants and was exposed to some bad shit so I'll just use that excuse. I have yet to find any threads about people who's health has been effected due to tea.
Too hot? What do you think the climate is like in Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, and Colombia, which are where most of the poppy fields for the illegal drug trade are? The poppy fields for pharmaceutical companies are in India, Turkey, and Tasmania, most of which have pretty hot seasons, although Tasmania is a little cooler. Basically they can grow almost anywhere, and a "friend" grew some just fine in NY in the summer.
As for your concern about the heavy metals, well Cadmium is insoluble in water (strong acids such as hydrochloric and sulfuric are needed to dissolve it), and has a melting point of over 600 degrees Fahrenheit so tea water is not going to melt it. Cadmium can get into some crops, but mostly if the water in the region has become contaminated, usually from sources such as metal refineries (primarily those for Zinc which is closely related to Cadmium), and also from some
fertilizers that may have some amounts of Cadmium.
The main source seems to be some fertilizers, and since some of these fertilizers increase yields, they are likely to primary source of the contamination. Growing your own poppies would certainly minimize the amount of Cadmium in your poppy pods considering you don't use said fertilizers, and are not in a region that has been exposed to contamination. If you make poppy tea then I suggest filtering it since Cadmium is not soluble in water, but I don't know how fine it is since it exists as a dust from refineries, and also since it may be made into a compound which may be soluble in water. However, as you pointed out growing poppies is illegal, so you are better off avoiding them altogether.
