miyagi.sg

Poppy seeds are banned?

‘There’s no more poppy seeds in any bakery in Singapore because the police will investigate… you know? You know what poppy is used for?’

So the fella behind the counter at the Orchard Towers’ Jason’s Supermarket’s Hiestand Swiss Bakery’s (hooray for Apostrophy Man!) kiosk told me when I asked for buns with poppy seeds on them.

Is that true? How many poppy seeds do you need to eat to get stoned?

Apparently the poppy seed ban has been around for ages, and I just didn’t realise it because I seldom have a strong craving for poppy seeds on baked goods.

So there you have it, poppy seeds are contraband, and to think I actually asked for them over the counter!

Singapore Customs’ (yay, apostrophe!) tradenet website, a.k.a. ‘the banned wagon’, has poppy seeds at number 41 on their list of controlled items (‘Toy walkie talkie’ is at number 53). The population of our fair country is banned from importing or purchasing poppy seeds from places like supermarkets, as one expatriate pundit puts it:

“as they may be inclined (being illiterates as they are and mindlessly bowing to mindless rules) to abuse poppy seeds and cultivate a cash crop of opium and revert to days of yore when opium dens proliferated and the mindless populace wasted away on their backs in a drug induced coma….”

Ixora
These ain’t poppies (pictures of poppies are banned too, I reckon), but we used to consume the sweet nectar from these ixoras

Technorati Tags: ,

Facebook Comments Box

Posted

in

by

Mr Miyagi

Tags:

,

Comments

17 responses to “Poppy seeds are banned?”

  1. pmg Avatar
    pmg

    I have never known poppy seeds to make me high… Hmmmm… It was like when they originally didn’t allow Chai. I was so sad. I need my Ice Venti Soy Chai fix.

    Reply
  2. pmg Avatar
    pmg

    I have never known poppy seeds to make me high… Hmmmm… It was like when they originally didn’t allow Chai. I was so sad. I need my Ice Venti Soy Chai fix.

    Reply
  3. MissyMinz Avatar
    MissyMinz

    I absolutely love poppy seed-ed bread and biscuits! Marks and Spencers used to sell crackers with poppy seeds in them, great with cheese or on its own. And I used to eat it all the time (I seriously doubt it’s because it’s addictive. Haha.) But yeah, we can’t get them in Singapore no more…

    Reply
  4. MissyMinz Avatar
    MissyMinz

    I absolutely love poppy seed-ed bread and biscuits! Marks and Spencers used to sell crackers with poppy seeds in them, great with cheese or on its own. And I used to eat it all the time (I seriously doubt it’s because it’s addictive. Haha.) But yeah, we can’t get them in Singapore no more…

    Reply
  5. straydog Avatar
    straydog

    No wonder I can’t find them at Marks and Spencers anymore. That suck.

    Poppy can make you fail a drug test, confirmed by Mythbusters on Discovery. Maybe that’s why they are ban here.

    Reply
  6. straydog Avatar
    straydog

    No wonder I can’t find them at Marks and Spencers anymore. That suck.

    Poppy can make you fail a drug test, confirmed by Mythbusters on Discovery. Maybe that’s why they are ban here.

    Reply
  7. Tym Avatar
    Tym

    Why would chai be banned? Narcotic? Hrm, maybe that‘s why I like it so much…

    Reply
  8. Tym Avatar
    Tym

    Why would chai be banned? Narcotic? Hrm, maybe that‘s why I like it so much…

    Reply
  9. jangace Avatar
    jangace

    Oh man.. Ginseng roots are #22 on the controlled list. Who’ll declare all these stuff?

    Reply
  10. jangace Avatar
    jangace

    Oh man.. Ginseng roots are #22 on the controlled list. Who’ll declare all these stuff?

    Reply
  11. expatatlarge Avatar
    expatatlarge

    Confession time: I am a drug smuggler!

    I had looked around all the shops for quite awhile back there as The Mouse (my ex-maid – haven’t you been following my blog?) was going to make us some poppy-seed blintzes (Russian pancake like things). Eventually, I had to stash of some poppy seeds in my bag on a trip back from Hong Kong (which should not be so severe on drugs as it was founded as a shipping port for Jardine-Matheison’s Indian opium cartel to feed the Chinese addicts they had created… sort of like Colombia’s relationship with USA, though the cocaine dealers are not backed by the British Government.)

    Question is: what if had got caught? Mandatory death penalty? Media outrage? Appeals for clemency? Diplomatic crisis? Candle-lit vigils and on-line petitions for E@L? Would I have got to give my mother one last hug?

    I am going home to flush those incriminating little black seeds down the toilet right this minute!

    E@L

    Reply
  12. expatatlarge Avatar
    expatatlarge

    Confession time: I am a drug smuggler!

    I had looked around all the shops for quite awhile back there as The Mouse (my ex-maid – haven’t you been following my blog?) was going to make us some poppy-seed blintzes (Russian pancake like things). Eventually, I had to stash of some poppy seeds in my bag on a trip back from Hong Kong (which should not be so severe on drugs as it was founded as a shipping port for Jardine-Matheison’s Indian opium cartel to feed the Chinese addicts they had created… sort of like Colombia’s relationship with USA, though the cocaine dealers are not backed by the British Government.)

    Question is: what if had got caught? Mandatory death penalty? Media outrage? Appeals for clemency? Diplomatic crisis? Candle-lit vigils and on-line petitions for E@L? Would I have got to give my mother one last hug?

    I am going home to flush those incriminating little black seeds down the toilet right this minute!

    E@L

    Reply
  13. Expat@Large

    […] (Miyagi recently had a craving for a poppy-seed bun, but when he asked for one he was instantly informed of his rights* and led off to a dark, dank dungeon… well not quite, but he was told that poppy-seeds are uniquely illegal in continually Astounding Singapore.) E@L made a comment… […]

    Reply
  14. More on poppy at My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}

    […] More on poppy seeds and the baked items they’re sometimes on. Because I’m still disturbed by the discovery that it is (or is it ‘they are’) a controlled item. So, it was fun looking at some articles on the matter – that being that you could fail a routine drug test if you ate a poppy seed bun. Read especially this article from a site called ‘The Straight Dope’ (the name probably doesn’t refer to a dimwitted heterosexual). […]

    Reply
  15. kalll Avatar
    kalll

    They should bring better arguments for this, I have my doubts about this because I also believe these seeds are not posing any risks, only recently I find out about that. If poppy seeds are banned what are the legal consequences for those who choose to use them. Are there any people in drug rehab center because of these seeds?

    Reply
  16. Chef Luna

    #poppy seeds #banned in #Singapore: http://bit.ly/MV5R1

    Reply
  17. Agagooga Avatar
    Agagooga

    https://www.customs.gov.sg/about-us/national-single-window/tradenet/competent-authorities-requirements-for-controlled-items/central-narcotics-bureau-cnb

    “Poppy seeds are classified as prohibited goods by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). Any company or person who wishes to import them or any foodstuff that contain the substance (regardless of the amount or purpose) must submit the Inward Declaration Form which can also be downloaded from here together with a certificate from the exporting country or the country of origin of the poppy seeds.

    The importer must send a sample of the seeds or related product to the Health Sciences Authority located at 11 Outram Road, Singapore 169078 for analysis.

    If the sample is in the form of seeds, it is to be sent to the Division Director, Illicit Drugs Division, Applied Sciences Group, Health Sciences Authority (HSA) (Attn: Dr Angeline Yap).

    If the sample is in the form of food products, it is to be sent to the Division Director, Food Safety Division, Applied Sciences Group, HSA (Attn: Ms Joanne Chan).

    The HSA report must be submitted to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). In the event HSA certifies that the poppy seeds are cleared of any controlled substances, ie no traces of morphine detected, CNB will endorse and approve the Inward Declaration Form. With the endorsement by CNB, Singapore Customs will allow the poppy seeds to be imported into Singapore. If the poppy seeds are found to contain traces of controlled substances, the approval for importation will not be given.”

    Mr Miyagi, I think you should start a business importing poppy seeds. You can do the paperwork for us and we can buy the cleared poppy seeds from you

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *