Which of the following is a plant that is used to make heroin?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Poppy
Heroin, commonly called smack, is an opioid. Chemically it is diacetylmorphine. It is made by acetylation of morphine, and morphine is extracted from the latex of the poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. Cannabis gives a different group of drugs (cannabinoids, such as marijuana and charas), and coca gives cocaine (a coca alkaloid), so “All of the above” does not fit.
NCERT Extract:
Drugs and Alcohol Abuse – “… The drugs, which are commonly abused are opioids, cannabinoids and coca alkaloids. Majority of these are obtained from flowering plants. Some are obtained from fungi. Opioids are the drugs, which bind to specific opioid receptors present in our central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. Heroin (Figure 7.7), commonly called smack is chemically diacetylmorphine which is a white, odourless, bitter crystalline compound. This is obtained by acetylation of morphine (Figure 7.7), which is extracted from the latex of poppy plant Papaver somniferum (Figure 7.8).”