Tasmanian opium poppy farming industry


The Tasmanian opium poppy farming industry was established in Tasmania in 1966.
Farms in Tasmania produce about 50% of the world's licit poppy straw that is later refined into opiates such as morphine and codeine.
Tasmanian Alkaloids is Tasmania's largest corporate grower of opium poppies.
A downy mildew outbreak in the 2014 poppy-growing season led to one Tasmanian company to look into growing poppies in the Northern Territory and Victoria of Australia.