Citation: Seeformiles. "Instead of OTC Painkillers, For Back Pain: An Experience with Poppies - Opium (exp43681)". Erowid.org. Oct 11, 2006. erowid.org/exp/43681
I recently went on a cycling and walking holiday with my wife in Northern England. Since I hadn't done a great deal of exercise for a while I managed to put my back out! We had been cycling round the grounds of a stately home when this happened. In some considerable pain we carried on with the guided tour (since we had paid £10 each to be there!) and wound up in the gift shop at the end. I spotted some dried poppies in this shop and decided to give these a go instead of using ibuprofen or similar OTC painkillers.
When we got home, I ground up three of the heads in a coffee grinder and steeped the resulting powder in hot water for about 45 minutes. I strained out the liquid and gently heated it through with a good dollop of honey. 20 minutes after drinking it down I began to feel the effects. A warm glow spread across my body accompanied by a pleasant sedation and (best of all) my pain receded into the background. This sleepy contentment was only interrupted by 2 bouts of nausea and vomiting which sounds unpleasant but didn't particularly bother me at the time. I went to bed early, had some wonderful dreams and woke up still feeling the effects until about midday the following day. Overall the strength of the tea surprised me - as did the cost of the experience (about £0.50!!). I will certainly try it again but will leave long gaps between experiences as it's a bit too nice!
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