336 Opium
natural product, although many studies have examined drug interactions with
opiates and opioids.
Cancer.Laboratory tests find that opiumsmokemay cause cancer, as may
opium dross (waste products, such as scrapings from the inside of an opium
pipe, which some persons chew or suck). Opium is suspected of causing
esophageal and bladder cancer.
Pregnancy.A pregnant woman using paregoric can give birth to an infant
having dependence with opium.
Additional information.Seed from opium poppies is a food product com-
monly used in breads, cakes, and candies. Consumption of amounts found in
a normal meal can cause a false opiate positive in drug screens; controversy
exists about whether further analysis of results from such testing can show
that poppy seed was the cause. Poppy seed oil is a comparatively unfamiliar
product, but animal tests indicate it has good potential for human nutrition.
In some parts of the world iodized poppy seed oil has been used instead of
iodized salt to treat goiter and has been suggested as a means of preventing
nervous endemic cretinism caused by iodine deficiency in the diet of pregnant
women. Iodized poppy seed oil is taken up by cancerous portions of a liver,
giving the substance clinical usefulness if anticancer drugs are blended into
it, as the drugs then concentrate exactly where they are needed in the liver.
Results from animal research have led investigators to speculate that consum-
ing normal poppy seed oil may help prevent cancer.
Opium lettuce is not related to opium but can produce mild sensations
similar to opium. Sedative and pain relief qualities of opium lettuce have been
used for centuries. Lung and urinary tract afflictions have been treated with
it. Opium lettuce is smoked for recreational purposes, but results have not
caused the practice to gain popularity. A case report tells of individuals who
received medical care after injecting a preparation made from the plant. It has
other names including Acrid Lettuce, Bitter Lettuce, Compass Plant, Great
Lettuce, Green Endive, Lactucarium,Lactuca virosa, Poison Lettuce, Prickly
Lettuce, Strong-Scented Lettuce, and Wild Lettuce.
Additional scientific information may be found in:Aurin, M. “Chasing the Dragon: The Cultural Metamorphosis of Opium in the United
States, 1825–1935.”Medical Anthropology Quarterly14 (2000): 414–41.
Gharagozlou, H., and M.T. Behin. “Frequency of Psychiatric Symptoms among 150
Opium Addicts in Shiraz, Iran.”International Journal of the Addictions14 (1979):
1145–49.
Goodhand, J. “From Holy War to Opium War? A Case Study of the Opium Economy
in North-Eastern Afghanistan.”Disasters24 (2000): 87–102.
Haller, J.S. “Opium Usage in Nineteenth Century Therapeutics.”Bulletin of the New
York Academy of Medicine65 (1989): 591–607.
Kalant, H. “Opium Revisited: A Brief Review of Its Nature, Composition, Non-Medical
Use and Relative Risks.”Addiction92 (1997): 267–77.
Lerner, A.M., and F.J. Oerther. “Characteristics and Sequelae of Paregoric Abuse.”An-
nals of Internal Medicine65 (1966): 1019–30.
Quinones, M.A. “Drug Abuse during the Civil War (1861–1865).”International Journal
of the Addictions10 (1975): 1007–20.