Tasmania grows about 45% of the world's legal poppies for the pharmaceutical industry

Protect your mates

The human body cannot process the chemicals in the Tasmanian poppy. Use in any way, including poppy tea, should be treated as an emergency. Any dose is a toxic dose, seek help immediately.

SMS ‘poppy’ to 0439 835 563 confidential Australian Drug Foundation.

Call 000 in an emergency

More important info →

Image of a poppy

Know your poppies

Tasmanian poppies are highly toxic if ingested. They are uniquely different to standard poppies and have been developed to produce chemicals suitable for industrial processing only.

Understanding the Poppy Industry and its benefits in Tasmania

The opiate alkaloid industry is ideally suited to Tasmania because of a combination of agricultural and security factors. Agricultural factors include rich soils, highly skilled farmers, reliable spring and early summer rains and access to irrigation, followed by long hours of sunlight. From the point of view of security, Tasmania’s island status and the existence of a law-abiding local population are of vital importance.

All poppy cultivation and initial processing, as well as a significant proportion of manufacture, is undertaken in Tasmania. The Australian opiate alkaloid industry is a success story of international significance.

An initiative of the Poppy Industry Public Safety and Education Committee
DEN - Drug Education Network Sun Pharma Poppy Growers Tasmania Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group Extractas Tasmanian Government