No cases of addiction or "getting high" on poppy seeds, says expert

Poppy seeds do not cause addiction or give a 'high" although its chemical structure is similar to heroin and morphine, according to an expert.

National Poisons Centre director, Assoc. Prof Razak Lajis said the content of kas-kas or poppy seeds was similar to that of heroin or morphine as all of them were derived from the same plant.

"Poppy seeds are from the same plant that heroine or morphine is derived from. So, the chemical structure itself is almost similar.

"As far as I know, there were no cases reported of people getting 'high' by consuming kas-kas," he told Bernama.

READ: No plans to ban poppy seeds - Health Ministry

However, he stressed that a thorough scientific study needed to be conducted to categorise whether poppy seeds are a drug or not.

He was commenting on the statement by City Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC Wan Abdullah Ishak that police had detected cases where poppy seeds were added to cakes, allegedly to boost sales.

Razak said the urine test performed on a person who has consumed poppy seeds may be positive for drugs but the result may change to negative if an in-depth test was done in a laboratory.

Meanwhile, Muslim Restaurant Operators Association (PRESMA) president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said poppy seeds was used in a minimal quantity in all dishes as a food enhancer similar to Ajinomoto and it would not cause addiction.

"We do not use it in a big quantity or directly. It is used as a food enhancer and mixed with other spices. Like durian, when we consume it once we will like it very much, but do not say durian is a drug," he said.

However, he said PRESMA will abide and accept any final decision made by the government on this issue.

The usage of poppy seeds is not a new issue as it was brought up in 2005 when Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof then claimed mamak restaurants use poppy seeds in their cooking to get customers addicted to it.