Literally addictive: Chinese restaurant serves noodles laced with opium poppy

A Chinese noodle vendor in northern Shaanxi province has been detained for 10 days after admitting he added powdered poppy plant – from which opium is made – to his dishes to keep customers coming back. He bought 2 kg of the substance for $98. He said he added it to his food to make it taste better and to improve his business. The opium-laced noodles came to light after police stopped a vehicle driven by a 26-year-old man and tested him for drugs not long after he had consumed a bowl of the noodles. The man was detained for 15 days on charges of drug abuse and was not released until family members told police how they had also eaten at the same restaurant and tested positive for the drug. A local paper reported lacing food with opium poppy was not uncommon in China, with similar cases in 2010 and 2012.

Odd News opium noodles