Restaurants Closed for Opium Soup, Stews

[Kadie]

Restaurants Closed for Opium Soup, Stews

13 minutes ago

SHANGHAI, China - The soup wasn't just good. It was downright addictive. Narcotics police in southwestern China shuttered 215 restaurants found to be mixing opium poppy into their soups and hot pot stews, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

Dishes at the restaurants in Guizhou province contained varying degrees of the opium derivative morphine, the report said.

"Consuming soup or hot pots mixed with poppies for a long time will make you become addicted ... and eventually lead you to drug abuse in serious cases," Wei Tao, deputy chief of the Food Institute with Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control, was quoted as saying.

more... http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040618/ap_on_fe_st/china_opium_soup_1

[thebigidea]

1. local authorities spotted Dr. Hunter S. Thompson fleeing the scene

police are on the lookout for a red Cadillac convertible. that is all.

[theivoryqueen]

2. now that's some soup! wonder what it tasted like?

wonder even more what it felt like?

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. From experience gained in my misspent youth, I can tell you...

Taste - fucking nasty. Hope they used something to cover it.

Feels pretty nice, though. Once the initial nausea wears off, that is. As long as you can put up with the itching.

[DenverDem]

3. I know soup is supposed to be medicinal, but damn?

How much for a gram of that soup?

[salin]

4. guess that is one way to ensure repeat customers...

[tabasco]

5. Ahhhh... ancient Chinese secret...

Put dope in the soup!

[Solly Mack]

6. Mmm Mmm good, Mmm Mmm good..that's what Chinese soup is

Mmm Mmm good.

[DenverDem]

7. Good one.

I can see the commercial now.

[Algomas]

8. Why that's just wonton criminal behavior!!!

[elizsan]

9. Groan

Ouch, that one hurt!

[truthisfreedom]

10. sneaky. seems kinda drastic just to sell soup, though. isn't opium

expensive? or maybe only here.

[ConsAreLiars]

11. Just old-fashioned capitalism at work

If it's good enough for Cocaine-Cola, it should be good enough for a small-time restaurateur in China. Maybe they can appeal to the Chamber of Commerce.

[ze_dscherman]

12. Bitter soup

Opium is supposed to be very bitter in taste, so this does seem strange to me.