Fossilized poppy seeds and other archeological evidence show the opium poppy was used by Neanderthal man as long as 30,000 years ago. Prehistoric use of poppies probably went beyond the use of opium, as the poppy yields abundant quantities of nutritious seed, which can be eaten raw or cooked. The dried plant also provides a clean-burning fuel and poppy straw is still used today for animal fodder. Its drug qualities could have also fulfilled a religious role of some kind.

Written evidence tells us the opium poppy has been with us for at least 6,000 years. Sumerian ideograms from about 4,000 B.C. refer to the poppy as the "plant of joy." Opium poppies were cultivated for millennia by the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt. In Greece, especially, the poppy occupied an important place in medicine and mythology.
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For a long time opium was one of the few really effective medicines in a doctor's pharmacy. As newer medicines such as aspirin, chlorals, and barbiturates were introduced, opium began to be seen as old fashioned. Strangely enough, opium itself, in the form of some of its refined components like morphine and codeine also helped push pure opium out of general use in medicine. Eventually opium became known as a drug used only by devious Chinese people, urban scum, urbane flappers and stars of Hollywood.
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The best way one could ensure a good supply of opium is to grow their own opium poppies. With fresh poppies they have the opportunity to harvest pure, fresh opium directly from the pod. They can even coax opium poppies into producing more opium than otherwise, by "milking" them, incising a head twice or more over time. And they'll still have heads and straw for making tea.