Some patients reported the poppy seed tea had an unusual dark brown color and bitter taste. Poppy seeds are used to make tea by washing or soaking large quantities to remove the residual coating.

Poppy seed tea is especially risky because the quantities of opiates in a bag of unwashed poppy seeds can vary wildly from batch to batch, making safe and consistent dosing nearly impossible.

Rather, the thieves could be using large quantities of the seeds to brew poppy seed tea -- a drink that when brewed under certain conditions can offer a narcotic, possibly hallucinogenic, high.

The 65-year-old patient used poppy seed tea for chronic pain and struggled to stop drinking it on his own, according to a case report.

Poppy seeds contaminated with opioids can be used to make a deadly brew, a watchdog group alleges in a lawsuit.

Poppy seeds are used to make tea by washing or soaking large quantities to remove the residual coating. A large quantity of unwashed poppy seeds is required to make the tea.