How is opium made?
Opium is not made, rather it is drained from the seed pods of mature poppy plants (of the opium variety). Once a mature plant drops its flowers, the seed pod becomes ripe after 5-12 days. Upon ripening, the seed pods are slit open (about 1/16 inch deep) with a sharp blade, and a white latex (opium resin) drains from the cuts. After it dries, it turns to a brownish color, and is collected by the farmer. The dried latex is then either smoked as is, dissolved in warm water and filtered (then evaporated to make purified opium), or the opium is used to separate the different opiate alkaloids (like morphine, codeine, thebaine) for drug production.
