According to American folk medicine herbals-they were used by the native americans-the sap for toothache-tea for colic in babies-used for mild pain as a tea or soaked in hot water then used as a compress.

Used by pioneers to treat insomnia, nervous disorders, pain, muscle spasm. Also a diuretic because of its affect on cramping pain, water retention and anxiety. It was used by women for menstrual distress.

It has been suggested that it can be smoked as a legal sort of high, but it is unlikely that you will get any noticable effect.

The long answer on the other hand, is well... kind of. It is possible for sap to "leak" on to the seeds from inside the seed pod, coating them with miniscule amounts of alkaloids. This is documented in the many cases of positive drug tests resulting from the consumption of poppy seed food products.

Some people have tried soaking large quantities of poppy seeds (several hundered grams) in water, lemon juice etc, and then drinking the liquid the seeds were soaked in. Mild effects have been reported as a result. Often as not though, those who have tried this method have reported back no effects at all. While it has been argued that It could be just a placebo effect, this is likely not the case. It is not recommended that anyone try this looking for a cheap "legal high" -- there has been at least one recorded incidence of a young man dying after consuming poppy seed tea. So beware.

In the end, most people tend to think that even if minor effects can be obtained, given the massive quantities of poppyseed required it is not worth the hassle, waste, and potential exposure to other unknown substances in the seeds.

All ethnobotanicals, including poppy tea, should be treated with great respect.

These organic impurities can be separated away from the alkaloids using hot water. The end resultant substance is traditionally called 'cooked opium' and/or 'smoking opium', and is said to be typically 50% or so stronger in alkaloid content than was the raw opium precursor.

1. Make sure you have a good quality coffee grinder or blender - or that you use one that is effectively disposable. You can get a "disposable" blender at Wal-Mart which you will eventually burn out by pulverizing the poppies. At the other end of the spectrum are the heavy-duty, stainless steel professional models. These high-end machines will last much, much longer and are easier to use.