The Wicked Witch of the West famously used pretty—but poisonous—poppies to put Dorothy and her band of friends to sleep in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.
Even poor little Toto, Dorothy's dog.
L. Frank Baum, the author of the book that inspired the movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—published 118 years ago on May 17—grew up during a time in the U.S. when opiates derived from poppies were a common medicine found in many homes as a pain reliever and sleeping aid.
But that all came to an end in 1914, when the U.S. banned the distribution of opiates, upon fears of a growing addiction problem.
At that point, Papaver somniferum—commonly known as the opium poppy—wound up on the same side of the law as the Wicked Witch.
In Moss Landing last week, approximately 27,000 of the illegal poppies were found growing in a field off of Dolan Road by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, according to a sheriff's department statement on May 14.
Once investigators had confirmation that the pink and purple flowers were in fact P. somniferum—and not some legal relative like Papaver nudicaule, or Iceland poppies, found in most garden centers—the Investigation Division swooped in for a big weeding operation the weekend of May 12.
They pulled out and carted off about an acre of the plants, including another 16,500 plants already harvested.
The Sheriff’s Office estimates that the yield from all the plants would be approximately 13 pounds of raw opium, which could in theory then be converted into about a pound and a half of heroin.
The street value of that heroin: approximately $45,000, according to the sheriff's office.
"This investigation is ongoing and it is anticipated that this case will be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office for prosecution of those involved with this operation," the Sheriff's Office states.