Victorian poppy trials

In Australia at present, the growing and processing of alkaloid poppies — also known as opium poppies — is restricted to Tasmania. The Bill effectively provides for the expansion of the poppy industry to Victoria. This Research Brief provides an overview of the Minister's second reading speech and background information on the poppy industry in Tasmania and the planned expansion to Victoria.

It also provides an overview of the Bill and further information on the regulation of the poppy industry in Tasmania. The Minister began his speech by stating that the Bill proposes to amend the Act to enable the establishment of a licensing framework for growers and processors of alkaloid poppies, ensuring mechanisms are in place for compliance and enforcement.

The Minister stated that the Bill represents a significant opportunity for growers in regional Victoria as alkaloid poppies are a high value crop and have been successfully trialled in the state for the last two years. The Minister stated that the Bill takes into account Australia's obligations under the international Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs , its reputation as a well regulated supplier of high-quality alkaloids, and issues of community safety.

The Minister continued on to outline the administrative and enforcement framework for the new provisions, stating that they will rest with the Department of Environment and Primary Industries DEPI and its Minister, while the Department of Health will continue to regulate the manufacture and extraction of opiates. The Minister briefly described the cultivation and processing of poppy straw for legitimate alkaloid production.

He emphasised the various interventions built into the licensing provisions that will ensure the exclusion of unsuitable persons from the Victorian poppy industry. The Minister then outlined the terms and conditions under the licensing scheme dealing with cultivation, harvesting and disposal of alkaloid poppy crops, and the measures in place should any of these conditions be contravened.

The Background section provides a brief history of the opium poppy and the poppy industry. It looks at the development of the poppy industry in Tasmania, the regulation of the industry and the development of the thebaine poppy.

There are about different species of poppy world-wide. The sap of the opium poppy — Papaver somniferum — produces the pain relieving drug opium. The sap inside the 'capsule' of the opium poppy contains alkaloids such as morphine, codeine and thebaine alkaloids are compounds produced by plants that can have physiological effects on humans.

A more detailed description of the alkaloids morphine, codeine and thebaine is provided in Appendix 1. The traditional method of harvesting opium is to score or cut the immature poppy capsule so that the sap leaks out and dries into a hard brown resin raw opium that is later scraped off and collected for use.

In the early nineteenth century, a process for extracting the alkaloid morphine from opium was developed, which allowed for pain relief to be administered more accurately. Today, opium poppies can be grown legally for the licit pharmaceutical industry or illegally for the illicit drugs trade.

The main countries growing poppies for the illicit drugs trade are Afghanistan, and the Southeast Asian countries that make up the 'Golden Triangle': Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. These countries use the traditional method of harvesting opium. With the exception of India, these countries use a different method of harvesting where, at maturity, the dry crop is mechanically harvested producing what is known as 'poppy straw'.

During processing, the crop is threshed to separate seed from poppy straw. The alkaloids are extracted from the poppy straw to produce concentrate of poppy straw CPS , which can be sold as a narcotic raw material, or utilised in the manufacture of APIs [footnote active pharmaceutical ingredients].

The poppy straw process is considered to be the safer method for the commercial production of alkaloids because it helps to insure against leakage of raw opium into the illicit market.

In Australia, small quantities of poppies were grown for the production of opium following European settlement, however, after Federation, growing opium poppies was made illegal. During World War Two, shortages of morphine highlighted a need for reliable and stable sources of opium poppies.

The trials were more successful in Tasmania than the other states and the decision was made to restrict further investigations to Tasmania. In , Glaxo contracted farmers to grow poppies on a commercial basis. Frappell explains that over the next five years there were many crop failures and much work was done by Glaxo field staff, the Tasmanian state government, farmers and contractors to improve growing and harvesting techniques.

In , Glaxo announced that it would proceed with the commercial development of poppy growing in Tasmania and built a factory in Latrobe in northwest Tasmania to separate the seed from the poppy straw. Frappell explains that 'The pulverised and compressed straw was then transported to Port Fairy in Victoria where Glaxo had an under-utilised dairy processing operation that had been converted into an alkaloid extraction plant'.

In , an agreement between the Commonwealth and the states was signed, confining the poppy industry to Tasmania for security reasons. In the mids, the company Tasmanian Alkaloids Pty Ltd was formed.

Tasmanian Alkaloids contracted farmers to grow poppies and constructed a factory in Westbury in northern Tasmania, which separated the seeds from the poppy straw and extracted the alkaloids. TPI is a smaller, independent company and also contracts farmers to grow poppies. It has built a factory at Cressy in northern Tasmania which both separates the seeds from the poppy straw and extracts the alkaloids. The opium poppy industry is regulated under international, commonwealth and state law.

As a signatory to the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the Protocol Amending the Single Convention, Australia is required to control and supervise the growing and production of opium poppies and the import and export of narcotic material.

Williams explains that the INCB guarantees some countries markets for their opiates if those opiates would otherwise enter the illicit drugs trade, and then limits the licensing of production elsewhere. Traditionally, thebaine is a minor constituent of opium poppies, however, it is the main alkaloid present in a new variety of opium poppy developed by the company Tasmanian Alkaloids.

Thebaine poppies now make up a large proportion of the Tasmanian poppy industry. The Agreement between interested Australian states and the Commonwealth, which restricted poppies to Tasmania, placed the Tasmanian State Government in a co-operative regulatory partnership with the Commonwealth in regard to the industry.

At the state level, the Tasmanian Government explains that the cultivation, possession or refining of opium poppies are all criminal offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act Tas unless the activity is licensed under the Poisons Act Tas. The Poppy Advisory and Control Board PACB is established under the Poisons Act to oversee and manage the industry and provide advice to the Minister with the final determination on licence applications made by the Minister. Today, Tasmania is one of the world's largest producers of licit narcotic materials and supplies about half the world's demand.

It is considered to be the most efficient producer of poppies with the highest yield per hectare of any opiate producing country. The PACB states that due to confidentiality requirements, detailed statistics on Tasmania's poppy production are not made publically available.

Speaking generally, the PACB states that there are, on average, about growers cultivating about 25, hectares of poppies annually in Tasmania. It further stated that according to the most recent figures available at that time the industry employs approximately people. The Tasmanian Government has also stated that all three poppy processors have indicated that they expect the global market for poppy products to continue to grow and for competition to increase from other producer countries.

The processor companies are arguing that in this context they need to ensure a continual supply of poppies and should avoid the risks associated with sourcing supply from one geographic area.

There is currently a Tasmanian Parliamentary Inquiry into the matter which is yet to report. An additional issue of concern to the poppy industry is the Tasmanian Government's moratorium on the growth of genetically modified crops in the state, as the industry including both growers and processors has stated that it would like to explore the benefits of genetically modified poppies. DEPI further states that: 'The trials are for cultivation only and are spread across the state to help scientists work out which areas and what growing conditions will be the most suitable to grow poppies.

Once the crop is grown, harvested and analysed, the plant matter will be destroyed'. The media release announced that following the successful passage of the legislation, an alkaloid poppy industry could be established in Victoria from as early as the growing season.

They involve small plots being grown in different areas of the state. Harvest is due to be completed by the end of January, when assessment of the trials will take place. GSK is working closely with the Victorian Government to ensure it has all the necessary information to consider and establish a regulatory framework to allow commercial poppy production in Victoria. Legislation is expected to go before Parliament over the coming months. GSK pioneered the medicinal poppy industry in Australia nearly 50 years ago when it commenced the cultivation of poppies in Tasmania.

Exploring Victorian production will ensure we can meet the growing demands of our customers and spreads geographic risk of supply. Growers have been in talks with their state government and processors to prepare an official poppy strategy.

Poppy Growers Tasmania president Glynn Williams says there's potential for industry expansion within Tasmania. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.

All three companies are looking to expand to Victoria. Tasmanian poppy growers would like to keep exclusive growing rights. More on:. Back to top.