Police Warn: ‘Doda,’ Poppy Plant Derivative, Is Both Addictive And Illegal
Posted January 26, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Most people are well aware of the potency, potential for abuse, and illegality of drugs like opium and heroin. But not many know about another derivative of the poppy plant called doda. The substance’s lack of mainstream exposure has led many to erroneously believe its legal, and it ‘s currently being sold throughout the GTA, especially in South Asian communities.
Many people use it as an additive to tea and it’s also started to turn up as a kind of meat seasoning. It’s also reportedly popular among cabbies and truck drivers, who say it helps them stay awake for long stretches and keeps them focused.
Anyone found selling or using the drug can be charged with possession of a controlled substance, trafficking – or both. The fines range from severe financial penalties to jail time.
“Any derivative of that plant is illegal and that’s where we get doda from. The bulb is dried out and ground down into a powder and that…is illegal,” confirms P.C. Wayne Patterson.
Doda is said to provide a quick high, with intense feelings of pleasure, well being and energy.
But it can also cause drowsiness, slurred speech, a marked decrease in appetite, aches and pains in your body and seriously affect your ability to concentrate. And worst of all, like the other drugs derived from the flower, it can be highly addictive.
It’s also quite easy to obtain. CityNews sent someone undercover to a Brampton flower shop to attempt to purchase the powder. Less than a minute later he was back out on the street with a considerable sum of doda in a plastic baggie.
“There are six guys sitting around on couches,” he explained. “There is a scale on the table and they’ve got it out on the open and they have big containers of it.
“ I just went in and the guy just looked at me and I took out $20 and didn’t say anything and he just started packaging it.”
Brampton Councillor Vicky Dhilllon claims he has seen several young lives led astray by the drug’s powerful grip.
“Sixteen years, 17 years, 19 years, and they are addicted (to) this drug, and they quit school,” he said, adding that shipments easily cross the border.
“They clear customs and say it’s dry flowers and the customs (officers) don’t check what kind of flowers they are bringing. They don’t know this is a drug flower, poppy flowers.”
How hard is it to quit once you’re hooked? A former doda addict tells his agonizing story on Tuesday’s CityNews at Five and Six.
