Opium Poppy Cultivation:
A new UNODC report shows that Myanmar’s opium poppy cultivation has surged 17%, reaching the highest level in a decade at 53,100 hectares, driven by conflict, economic distress, and rising opium prices.Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a flowering plant cultivated for the latex-rich capsules that produce opium and its derivatives. It is the world’s primary natural source for morphine, codeine, thebaine, and other alkaloids used in medical and illicit drug markets.In India, opium production became a government-controlled monopoly under the East India Company and later the British, with major factories at Ghazipur and Patna.After Independence, cultivation and manufacturing came under the Central Government (1950).
India regulates all activities through the NDPS Act, 1985, and is the only country producing licit opium gum for pharmaceuticals.
