Customer Reviews

Opium for the Masses: A Practical Guide to Growing Poppies and Making Opium

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The title of this little book says it all. Opium has been a staple of folk remedies and recereational drug use since before the first stone in the Pyramids at Giza was laid. Taken as a tea, or eaten, opium is less dangerous than coffee. The effects are mild, and pleasant. The propaganda of the last 75 years is nothing short of criminal. Hogshire's approach to his subject is two-fold. First, he presents a history of the venerable Papaver Somniferum. Then he shows the reader how to obtain opium containing poppies and extract the drug from them. Provided you exercise some common sense and discretion, the potential for running afoul of the law is virtually nil. A truly valuable primer on the use of the oldest of tonics and medicines, and tonic in itself for what it does in setting the record straight about this supposed "hard" drug. Even if you have no intention of using opium, this is a must read for anyone interested in contemporary drug-policy, and why it has so miserably failed.

This book is a decent overall history of opium use with a bit of the authors two cents thrown in.The aftertitle is very decieving though since a very minute portion of the book is dedicated to telling the reader about the extraction process even though the information is correct.I gave it three stars because the content is good but the opium extraction methods and preparation techniques are widely available on the internet for free so,basically the book is a waste of money for that purpose.Vaults of Erowid and the Lycaeum give all this information with no charge and tons more,save your money folks.
Ponder the arcane workings of capitalism...

Nice little gem of a book but it only devoted,it turned out, about half a page or a few small paragraphs to the actual subject of how to grow poppies.No joke.And what little info there, was very scant and poor.The initial reason that had prompted me to buy the book was indeed after my own unsuccessful attempts to grow poppies. So the title does'nt make any sense and it's certainly NOT a practical guide. However it does offer alot of interesting curios and gems of knowledge on the subject of opium in many disparate fields from scientific to historical. It is not a book to take too seriously but it was very informative and i learnt a lot of stuff i previously didn't know about. On a practical level it does tell you how to slit the popppies, make poppy tea and advises youu buy' hens and chicks' variety at florists as the right ones to buy but almost next to nothing on actual cultivation.Opiate addicts or the simply curious will find it all interesting including the lovely snippets of chemistry and potted history and the like.Recommend. Enjoyable read.5/5

This is a fairly comprehensive guide, taking you through the history of opium use to how to buy or harvest it to how to use it.

However, Jim spends a lot of time on the benefits of this "wonderful" drug, so full of mysteries, etc. etc. etc.

However, my interest was primarily botanical (I grow thing like this for the challenge & novelty), and in that department it is fairly disappointing.

One thing to keep in mind - this was published in
1994 - an age ago in info terms. There's more info
available through two minutes on Google than there
is in this book - but there certainly wasn't ten
years ago.
It's true that Hogshire is recklessly optimistic about
the joys of 'opium' use - actually, what he's talking
about is poppy tea. However, every bell curve has two
ends. There are some who will get hooked with their
first mug o' tea - and some who can take it and leave
it alone. Yes, it's possible to sample opium and not
get addicted - but frankly, the odds are against it.

I gave this book three stars for entertainment value.
More complete or accurate information would have
warranted four, at least. But it is an interesting
relic of the days when information like this was
obscure and hard to find.

I wonder if Mr. Black's review isn't biased and subjective, since he is allegedly the one who narc'd on Mr. Hogshire and got him arrested- over an argument about religion!

By posting a negative review here Mr. Black, aren't you adding insult to injury?

Can't we all act like grown-ups and simply agree to disagree?

Regardless of what Mr. Black had to say, Opium For The Masses is a well written, entertaining, informative book. If you have any curiosity about Opium, the book will answer your questions. I have read few books I was willing to spend an entire evening finishing. This is one of them.

I must say thtat this book is very iformative and cotains all the infomation needed in the cultivation and manufacture of OPIUM. Even goes into further detail as to where seeds can be purchased, as well as ideas on strengthening you opium for sheer perfection. But i also must say that this is in no way a practical guide to insure you the decent and grandeur pleasures that this beautiful concoction has to offer. Such phrases such as "YEN" and the withdrawal symptoms leaves little to the notion of ever wanting to try this drug. I must say-- very scary but then again far from sugar coated.

Excellent book, I think it could've gone more into depth into cultivation, and growing particularly, but I hear theres a second version coming out, so I'll have to get that... other than that, it's an excellent book, by an excellent writer... buy it today!

Opium for the Masses, is truly a fun read. Being no novice in the drug scene I was expecting a book that would prove little more than an interesting read, but I was wrong. I must admit that I was quite surprized to read that opium was quite easily obtainable without much work.

In short, I read the book and was enjoying my new found knowledge the next day.

Well worth the few dollars the book cost.