Poppy tea drinking in East Anglia

Poppy tea drinking was a widespread traditional practice in the Fenlands of East Anglia during the nineteenth century. The subsequent social changes which led to greater integration of the area with the rest of the country may have contributed to a decline in the practice. In recent years poppy tea drinking has been revived within the illicit drug using community and a survey using a self-report questionnaire was carried out among patients attending the Cambridge Drug Dependency Unit. Forty-three patients admitted to drinking poppy tea, usually during the summer months and on an intermittent basis. The potency of the infusion varied and was unpredictable but in general was low. Although poisoning from herbicides and pesticides was seen as the main risk, it is in the main perceived by drug users as a harmless secondary activity existing alongside the more regular and more potent drugs of misuse.