Chinese woman who grew opium plants in her backyard held by police

A woman in northern China has been detained in a police raid after she allegedly planted thousands of opium poppy flowers behind her house in the belief that eating the plants would be good for her health, according to a newspaper report.

Law enforcement officers found and confiscated as many as 2,275 opium plants cultivated in a yard owned by the woman in Dongming county in eastern Shandong province, the Qilu Evening News reported.

An investigation showed the woman, whose full name was not given, got the seeds from her mother-in-law and started to grow the plants around her house ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday as she had learned opium poppies could be used for self-medication.

‘Do you want opium with that?’ 35 restaurants busted in China for using poppies as seasoning

Some Chinese believe that opium poppy seeds can be used as seasoning in food or in home remedies.

Police said cultivation of poppies was illegal as they could be used to produce banned drugs.

Growing poppies or cannabis plants can lead to jail terms of over five years in China.

Small-scale offenders can be fined several thousand yuan or detained for up to 15 days, according to the newspaper.