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

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Black -- Not a Disinterested Party
Review: Before taking Mr. Black's review at face value, the reader should know that Mr. Black is alleged to have informed against the author of this book in his criminal cases. The story goes that Mr. Black was supposedly a friend and house guest of Mr. Hogshire and his wife when some sort of argument occurred. Mr. Black departed and a police raid ensued shortly thereafter. It is alleged that Mr. Black "dropped a dime" (actually probably 35 cents these days)on Jim Hogshire in the case under discussion. It would be interesting to hear his side of the story. That said, some of Black's observations may be taken seriously. Opium manufacture without a license is definitely a major crime in the United States. The reader is cautioned that Mr. Hoghire was indeed arrested and tried on charges related to opium poppies, although I am personally unaware of the outcome of his legal problems.

Rating:
Summary: Practical Schmractical... Guide Scmide
Review: First off the title is simply false advertisement. There is definitely nothing practical about this book at least not having to do with "growing poppies or making opium." Although in a life boat situation it would make a practical source of toilet paper. It is incredibly informative if you have never heard words opium or poppy before. Definitely not for anyone of any intelligence to profit from. I wouldn't even rate this book with one star if i had that choice, it was written purely to profit monetarily from a catchy title. 100 pages of a guy shooting his spun wad in your ear ",oh yeah it's warm, do you like that? is that what you want to here? tell daddy what you want to here" SQUIRT 4 pages of source material I dont think he even read but simply listed to fill-in all the gaps left in his b.s. (and by b.s. I don't bachelor of science). Seriously for the money and on the subject there are books infinitely more valuable. Go to books also purchased by people who purchased this one pick one at random it couldn't be worse. If for some reason you do purchase this book don't expect a practical guide to anything. By the way I am pro-freedom pro-knowledge I am anti-this book because I don't think it took two days to write and it is negligent to title it as he does ( a book like this would be marketed to 12 year olds in a free america and it would be below there readig level). By the way kids just a rule of thumb "never take more than you can handle and always know your dealer"

Rating:
Summary: Don't be a fool.
Review: I am in fact, a card-carrying member of the ACLU. I don't believe that there are "dangerous books" any more than I think there are "dangerous ideas". I do believe that the danger of ignorance is incalculable. What Mr. Hogshire has rendered here is a thin monograph of mis-information, dis-information and outright lies.

Following Mr. Hogshire's advice I took my self down to West 28th street and bought a bunch of dried ornamental poppies. I ground them, sifted them, made tea out of them, drank it and got as high as I have ever been. As a point of reference, I have had morphine for a broken leg; this tea was both stronger and longer lasting.

Like all narcotics occasional use led to daily use which led to addiction and to a nightmare of recovery that took over a year out of my productive life. I very nearly ruined my marriage, my career and everything else that mattered to me. Finally in abject humiliation and with the deepest gratitude I found people who could and did end my nightmare. My life is improving as is my health, but I have a long way to go to make up for the lies I told everyone including myself.

These are the facts. Opium in it's raw state is many time more addictive than Heroine, as some of it's many active components have a significantly longer serum half-life than heroine. Figuratively, for those of you that aren't doctors, this means that this stuff gets in your bones and wont let go for weeks.

Opium destroyed the nation of China, laying such vast waste to its people that it took nearly a century for it to recover. Many foreign observers felt that the death penalty for opium use imposed by the Communist government was draconian. It was, rather, the only way to cut this cancer out of their society.

My advice: if you want to read about opium, read about the opium wars in China in the nineteenth century. Or read Mr. Hogshire's little book. But please don't think that because Mr. Hogshire wrote it is true. It in fact flies in the face of every scientific medical fact known about opium.

That this plant's dark, dark magic has held a fascination for mankind since there's been a mankind is interesting. I would expect that you wouldn't need to fire a bullet through your brain to confirm what is known about ballistic injuries. I would equally expect that you wouldn't need to voluntarily take an unholy poison to prove what has been well known to medical science for centuries or more.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely little gem but title a joke/untrue
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: Practical Schmractical... Guide Scmide
Review: Oh my, I can't put into words the joy I experienced from the reading of this book. Jim Hogshire is a master craftsman and I felt like I was listening to an old friend talk about the indian attacks he witnessed as a child on the frontiers of New Mexico. He is truly an opium guru and deserves the nation's respect. Opium indeed is awonderful substance, and I want to marry it.

Rating:
Summary: Dated, flawed, but a fun read
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Dated, flawed, but a fun read
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Fun reading
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Just Say Yes
Review: 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.