Did Poppy Seed Tea Kill This College Student?

Bagels, muffins, and salad dressings are all conduits for two of nature's most powerful and potentially lethal opiates.

Morphine and codeine are both present in commercially sold poppy seeds, albeit in traces amounts, but their concentration varies greatly from seed to seed, depending on factors like seed type and harvesting time. In fact, one study found that morphine concentration can range from anywhere between two and 251 times from seed to seed, and Seinfeld has done little to help the perception of the little black seed.

Now, the poppy seed is the main suspect in the death of Steven "Austin" Underhill, a 21-year-old engineering student at James Madison University. Underhill was found dead in his frat house early Sunday and police confirmed that he had ingested a "potent tea" made from store-bought poppy seeds the night before, according to the Daily News.

"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, adding that the homebrew was likely not a fraternity initiation. "This is the first case we've had around here. There's nothing to indicate there was any kind of initiation."

Still, the exact cause of Underhill's death remains unknown, pending a toxocilogy report which will confirm the exact level of opiates in his urine and blood at the time of death.

Poppy seeds, which are widely used in baking, are not regulated for opiate quantities, mainly because you would have to eat a huge amount to feel any psychoactive effects. Still, that hasn't stopped potent homebrew "poppy tea" recipes from being shared online, with sometimes lethal consequences given the variability of opiate quantities. This is hardly the first incident linking poppy seeds to death.

As a precaution, grocery stores near the James Madison campus have taken poppy seeds off their shelves. "We don't want to have any kind of a guilty conscience or to feel like we've contributed to someone's addiction," Gary Eavers, owner of the Cheese Shop in Harrisonburg, told local news network WHSV. Instead, Eavers told WHSV that he is now displaying a sign with the following written on it: "Due to recent reports of abuse of 'poppy tea' the Cheese Shop will no longer sell bulk quantities of our poppy seeds without proof of a business license."