Poppies may be grown locally
Poppy plants were found in bags in a home near Ephrata when law enforcement agencies served a search warrant Friday. The pods are scorched to cause the juice to seep, which when dried makes opium. GCSO courtesy photo
EPHRATA — It is believed to be the first evidence of poppy plants grown within Grant County to make opium and heroin.
Grant County Undersheriff John Turley said he hasn’t found anything to refute the idea that four large bags of poppy pods were grown locally and may be a first for the county drug trade.
The poppy pods were confiscated from a double-wide home near Ephrata on Martin Road Feb. 27 by the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET). A second house in Moses Lake was also searched during the investigation, resulting in locating rock cocaine and marijuana.
Three people were arrested.
The value of the poppy plants remains unknown.
“They don’t know because we don’t deal with opium,” said Turley. “We are waiting for the DEA to call us back.”
It is not illegal to grow poppies, but it is when used for opium production, Turley noted.
To produce opium, the poppy pods are scorch lightly with fire to force the plant to seep a white juice, which when dried produces opium.
Heroin is produced by using raw opium.
“It would take a bunch of those poppies to make just a few ounces of heroin,” said Turley.
Ten pounds of opium is needed to manufacture one pound of heroin, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators are continuing to work on locating where the plants were grown.