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India: Kneading crude opium with oil to make round or flat cakes at a government factory in India, late 19th century

India: Kneading crude opium with oil to make round or flat cakes at a government factory in India, late 19th century

Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine.

The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.

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