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Opium poppies

Tasmania produces , for medical purposes, the highest yield of opium in
the world.  The private farmers are under strict govt. supervision. The
fields of pale wishy-washy mauve poppies are quite a sight in season.
BUT the govt. had no control over the birds and the bees. Subsequently,
many times we have found our gardens "surprisingly" brightened by
delightful red, mauve, single or double poppy flowers popping [!] up
everywhere.
One year, I was contacted by a commercial TV station asking if they
could do an interview in the country garden.  A pre-filming meeting was
arranged with the chap to do the interview.  During our getting to know
one another chat, prior to the garden inspection, I learnt that he was
an Agriculture Dept. public servant and his position was the control of
seeds coming into the state, with emphasis on vegetables.
We started the garden walk and on turning one corner, I was horrified to
see quite a large patch of crimson opium poppies blazing in the
sunshine.
I hurriedly assured the chap that they were presents from the birds. 
Being a very nice gentleman, he told me that they would be unproductive
as a opium source as the colour was so strong.  I don't think that this
is true but I wish to remain innocent.  I need to have conviction if any
garden visitor takes me to task.  It is an annual event in the garden
and if I happen to break a seed head in a good position for a slash of
scarlet, then that's between you and me.  I religiously pull the mauve
ones out.
I think I have written this story before, so apologise if I have bored
you.
Re "What is the true Opium poppy?"
Some years ago, at the beginning of the Tassie poppy growing industry, I
happened to sit next to a gentleman at a dinner who was here from
Switzerland [I think] advising the Govt. after the first year of the
establishment of the poppy growing in Tasmania.
Making small talk, I complained that I could not import any papaver
seeds after ordering them from the free seed list of the Royal
Horticulture Society, England.  I told him that I avoided ordering  the
opium poppy but I had a burning desire to grow the huge white poppy I
had seen in a New Zealand garden.  He informed me that all white
poppies, no matter what the latin name were "opium" poppies, in fact,
that all poppies had the potential to be used for opium and it was
nonsense that the Roman soldiers were put to sleep or fell down dead by
just wandering into the field of poppies and smelling them, papaver
orientale, I believe.  It must have been some Roman orgy or something!
He also suggested if I was importing anything like Meconopsis to warn
the supplier not to use the word "poppy" in the description or the seed
packet would be taken away and burnt.  I suppose the same for the
Californian poppy tree, that's how red tape works, but not my nice chap
doing the interview.  I might add that not one poppy was seen when the
garden was filmed for the article on the TV
Regards,
-- 
Gay Klok Tasmania
http://members.tripod.com/~klok/WRINKLY_.HTM 
http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/gardening.html
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3411
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