A homemade opiate drink called "poppy seed tea" has been directly linked to the death of a James Madison University student. The police found the body of the student the next day which they believed to be the result of an overdose.
Twenty-one-year-old Steve "Austin" Underhill, a junior engineering student was found lifeless inside his fraternity house early Sunday morning. Cops believe he ingested a potent tea made from poppy seeds together with his fraternity brothers. According to the NYDaily News, the exact cause of death was still unknown, but Harrisonburg, Va. is sure that Underhill consumed the poppy seed tea before he died.
"We know based on the research we've done that it does have lethal effects and that the victim consumed it," Harrisonburg Lt. of Special Operations Chris Rush told the Daily News. Rush also said that there are a few people in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house that tried the drug, but that it's not something that is going on at the University. "This is the first case we've had around here. There's nothing to indicate there was any kind of initiation," he said.
Poppy seeds contain high concentrations of morphine and codeine, both being an opiate and controlled substance with addictive properties that can be fatal once ingested in high doses. However, since concentrations of morphine in poppy seeds vary, it makes it difficult for people to gauge how many seeds they need to reach a level of high or have already reached the level of danger, medicaldaily.com reported.
In a study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, morphine content can be anywhere between 2 to 251 in strength depending on the kind of seed, harvesting time, how well they have been washed and other different factors. Poppy seeds are sold in almost every supermarket all across the United Stated.
According to reports, Underhill and his fraternity brothers purchased their seeds at a local Harrisonburg store near the university. Drug stores and supermarket near the area decided to remove all poppy seeds from their stands after the news broke out.
