The Australian industry offers a dual security guarantee in the commercial cultivation and manufacture of opiates.
Tasmania is ideally positioned geographically and demographically to strictly manage and monitor opiate production. A compact state that is separated from the Australian continent, the island's poppy production is limited to three distinct regions away from the two major population areas of Hobart and Launceston.
Drug-related offences among Tasmania's small, regional populations are also relatively low.
The Australian Federal Government and the Tasmanian State Government share responsibility for control of the poppy industry, with close co-operation between controlling and law enforcement authorities.
During the growing and harvesting season, crops are regularly monitored by Poppy Advisory and Control Board field officers and any illegal activity is investigated by Tasmania Police Poppy Task Force Officers.
The second major advantage is the industry's method of processing.
Growing poppies for poppy straw and using an extraction process which bypasses the opium stage further insures against leakage of opiate raw materials into the illicit market.
