Pharmacology - Poppy Tea Made With Lemons

[thestranger]

SWIM has been making poppy tea with real pure lemonade. He has noticed that the tea turns dark dark brown.

His question is, what does the citric acid in lemon juice convert the morphine and/or codiene into?

does it turn it into a crude version of diacytlemorphine or what?

[Oneiros]

No, they turn into morphine/codeine citrate.

[thestranger]

Originally Posted by Oneiros

No, they turn into morphine/codeine citrate.

I see.

Does morphine/codeine citrate get metabolized quicker than plain old morphine HCL or whatever is present in not adulterated poppy pods/ tea?

[Oneiros]

It isn't metabolized any quicker, but I believe morphine citrate is more soluble in water than morphine meconate, the morphine in the poppy.


Now that I think about it, I'm not convinced that citric acid would do anything to morphine meconate at all.

[thestranger]

Originally Posted by Oneiros

It isn't metabolized any quicker, but I believe morphine citrate is more soluble in water than morphine meconate, the morphine in the poppy.


Now that I think about it, I'm not convinced that citric acid would do anything to morphine meconate at all.

Why do people say to add lemon juice then?

[ironmics]

Originally Posted by thestranger

Why do people say to add lemon juice then?

Taste, it's so strong it covers the awful opium taste.

[thestranger]

Originally Posted by ironmics

Taste, it's so strong it covers the awful opium taste.

I really dont find the tea by itself that nasty, and thats with 10 giant pods in a batch

[Oneiros]

Well, it would react with any morphine base that might be present, making it soluble. The thing is, there really shouldn't be very much morphine base in opium at all. Maybe the lemon juice proponents aren't familiar with the poppy acid.

I can tell you this: I've made knock-you-to-the-ground potent, mother-in-law bitter, dark, dark brown tea with just regular old neutral distilled water.