This ingredient in her tea caused the man a severe addiction for years

Tea turns out to be an addictive affair.

A case of a man who was addicted to painkillers and replaced his addiction with poppy tea raises questions about his favorite spice

Walla!

health

30/11/2021

Tuesday, 30 November 2021, 08:25 Updated: 08:38

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Winter is the season of the hot drinks that keep us out of the cold, and there are those who drink a few cups of tea a day.

Now it turns out that it is important to pay attention to the type of tea you drink.

A recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia describes a bizarre case of a man who developed a poppy tea addiction.

How is this even possible?

It turns out that once the black seeds are absorbed into the water they release morphine and other opiates that will sometimes need to be weaned off.

The report was written by doctors from the Addiction Clinic in Melbourne, Australia, where opioid (painkiller) addiction is a common problem.

More on Walla!

I'm just asking: Why do people get addicted to painkillers?

To the full article

"The man described a 10-year history of opioid addiction, first heroin, then use of over-the-counter painkillers (oxycodone and codeine)," the study authors wrote.

"For the past five years he has reported exclusive use of poppy tea. He has switched from opioids to poppy tea because of the legal status, accessibility and low cost of tea. He has spent $ 10-15 on 1-2 pounds of poppy seeds, which he has brewed into tea and mixed with 1.5 Liters of fluid every day (sometimes even with orange juice).

Although he switched from a drug source to a more home-based approach, the man found himself suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

They usually started about 24 hours after drinking poppy tea and lasted up to three weeks, including unpleasant side effects like nausea, vomiting and muscle aches.

A drug or a food?

Poppy (Photo: ShutterStock)

To help him quit the tea, doctors prescribed a subcutaneous injection of buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat opioid use.

One month after treatment, he was able to quit and did not report any adverse side effects or complications associated with the treatment.

"I no longer remember the feeling of addiction," the patient said in a statement.

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This is not the first time that poppy consumption is causing problems.

A report coming in from England this year told of a man who failed a drug test in a job interview after eating poppy seed bread.

His sister, Daniel Checkley, posted a warning on Facebook claiming that her brother's blood contained opium, even though he was afraid of injections and painkillers.

In 2018 a woman who arrived at a Maryland hospital kneeling to give birth failed a drug test and was separated from her baby for five days by welfare authorities - all because she ate a bagel with poppy seeds for breakfast.

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• tea

• weaning

• poppy seed