What poppy seed tea is
"Poppy seed tea" is the name for a drink brewed from unwashed, untreated poppy seeds. It is not a food. Food-grade seed in the EU is cleaned and must meet a legal limit for morphine; untreated seed has met no such limit. In practice the drink is an opiate dose of unknown strength.
The documented deaths
- At least 19 deaths. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a US consumer organisation, says its research found at least 19 deaths and at least 20 non-fatal overdoses after people deliberately consumed contaminated poppy seeds (CSPI, May 2024).
- More than 100 poison centre reports. A 2021 study co-authored by CSPI staff counted more than 100 reports to US poison control centres between 2000 and 2018 involving intentional misuse of poppy seeds, as reported by KFF Health News.
- Post-mortem case reports. Toxicologists in North Carolina described four deaths in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology in 2020 (Bishop-Freeman et al.). In three of them the tea was considered the primary cause, with free morphine in the blood of 0.94, 0.62 and 0.16 mg/L.
One of those deaths is widely reported: Stephen Hacala, who died in Arkansas in 2016 of morphine poisoning after drinking tea brewed from poppy seeds ordered online (KFF Health News). His parents have since campaigned for limits on contaminated seed, and a bill in the US Congress carries his name.
Why the strength cannot be judged
The risk comes from variation, and nothing about a bag of seeds reveals it.
- The morphine on the seed varies widely. Germany's BfR found strongly varying levels driven by variety, harvest time and origin. One batch tested in a 2015 US study carried about 220 mg/kg morphine, roughly ten times the EU maximum for food seed. Other batches carry far less, and some far more.
- Codeine and thebaine come along. The drink contains several alkaloids at once, in proportions that also vary.
- Tolerance changes the picture. A drink that one person survives can kill someone else, and a familiar routine becomes dangerous with a new, stronger batch.
- Other depressants add up. Alcohol, sleeping pills, benzodiazepines and other opioids all slow breathing too. The US Drug Enforcement Administration has warned that unwashed poppy seeds can kill when used alone or with other drugs.
The authors of the 2020 case report noted that differences between batches of seed, and between one drink and the next, leave the alkaloid concentration unpredictable. That is the central point: there is no safe recipe, because the ingredient itself is unknown.
Signs of an opioid overdose
Morphine poisoning looks like any opioid overdose:
- very small pupils
- deep sleepiness, the person cannot be woken or barely responds
- slow, shallow or irregular breathing, snoring or gurgling sounds
- blue or grey lips and fingertips
Call the emergency number straight away (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) and say that an opioid may be involved. Keep the person on their side if they are breathing, and stay with them until help arrives.
Dependence
Regular use of opiates, from any source, can lead to dependence and withdrawal. Because the drink is made from a grocery item, people sometimes do not see it as an opioid. It is one. If you are worried about your own use or someone else's, talk to a doctor or a local drug service.
The legal side
Poppy seeds are exempt from the US Controlled Substances Act, but the opium contamination on them is not. According to KFF Health News, the US Justice Department has brought criminal prosecutions over sales of unwashed poppy seeds. In the EU, seeds sold as food must meet the legal maximum for morphine, and other parts of the plant fall under national drug laws. Details per country are on the legal status page.
In January 2025 the US Food and Drug Administration turned down CSPI's 2021 petition for a legal limit, citing insufficient data, and asked industry for information instead (FDA). The FDA notes that exposure to opiate alkaloids from poppy seeds has been associated with adverse effects including, in some cases, death.
Where to go next
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