ug prevention in general.
             The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum is the poppy that brings sleep. There are almost a hundred different kinds of poppies, but only the papaver somniferum produces opium sufficient quantity that long made it an important part of medicines of Europe, the Middle East, India and China. Within the species are many varieties, distinguished by petal and seed color, and by the number of petals. In general, they grow to a height of three to four feet, the stem is cylindrical and solid, and the roots are thick and tapering.
             The beginnings of opium use go so far back that they are lost in history. The word "opium" comes from the Greek opos (juice) and opion( poppy juice). The poppy was used and traded throughout the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia Minor and Western Europe as a multipurpose plant, supplying food, animal feed, oil and fuel. However, it is uncertain how early opium was recognized for its narcotic and medicinal properties. There have been claims been made asserting that the plant played an important part in rituals and medical treatment as far as the third millennium B.C.
             The poppy's magic comes from morphine, the principal active ingredient in opium. Morphine is an alkaloid, an organic compound was first produced in 1810 and rapidly became popular as a painkiller. As narcotics, opium morphine and heroin are drugs that relieve pain, relax spasms, reduce fevers and induce sleep. The morphine blocks messages of pain to the brain, producing euphoria and deadening anxieties and tensions. All this characteristics are invaluable in medicine, not to cure specific illnesses or injuries but to provide relief from symptoms. However, if they are taken in the wrong quantities the relief can turn injurious or fatal. For example, morphine was used widely, but not always wisely. During the Civil War, morphine was used for treatment for pain and dysentery. Sold
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