Tasmania, Australia has been producing opium since the late 1960s. They currently produce 40% of the legal opium in the United States, and 50% of the world’s supply of concentrated poppy straw!
As the numbers suggest, the poppy industry is a major financial contributor to Tasmania's economy.
Standards placed on the industry by the Federal, State and US governments are stringent with very high levels of scientific expertise necessary. Since United States has controls on the entry of opiates, the export of these chemicals to the USA is limited.
No other country produces even close to as much poppy or opium as Tasmania, just one state in Australia. Turkey produces 23% of the world’s supply, while France comes in third with 21%. Spain is next at only 4%.
