Crude poppy material at any dose is highly poisonous. The alkaloids are extremely toxic and can cause convulsions, asphyxiation, and death.
Using any part of the poppy, in any way, is life-threatening; people in Tasmania have died from doing this.
Any ingestion of poppy plants should be treated as an emergency – call 000 immediately for an ambulance.
Roadside or Wild Poppies
Roadside regrowth poses a health risk if ingested and can affect Tasmania's reputation within the international poppy industry.
If you see roadside regrowth of poppies on country roads or highways, please report it to the Regulated Crops Branch.
Know Your Poppies
A range of annual and perennial species of poppy is grown in Tasmania either as commercial crops or garden plants and several species occur as weeds.
The Know Your Poppies fact sheet has been developed to identify poppies that can be grown or imported legally and alkaloid poppies.
Know Your Poppies Fact Sheet (PDF 241Kb)