A "significant" quantity of poppy capsules looted from a legal crop may have made their way into the public domain with potentially lethal consequences.
The drugs were stolen from a regulated crop growing between Tunbridge and Campbell Town in Tasmania's Northern Midlands.
A vehicle or possibly multiple vehicles were believed to be parked next to the crop between Friday and Monday when the theft occurred, according to Tasmania Police.
The vehicle would have been visible from the Midland Highway.
Police say they are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may have observed a Black VW Golf parked on the side of the highway near poppy crops or motorists passing through this area who were operating a dash camera at the time.
The Department of Health issued a warning on Wednesday afternoon, cautioning that poppy plants are toxic and ingestion can be life-threatening and should be treated as an emergency.
The flower has been linked to several deaths in Tasmania, including a Danish tourist who drank a tea made from the plant in 2014.
In NSW, at least eight people wound up in hospital with poisoning symptoms after consuming large amounts of poppy seeds in late 2022.
Cases have also been reported in other states.
Poppies have been grown in Tasmania for decades under strict regulation. The plant can be refined into powerful narcotic medicines such as morphine and codeine and is used by multinational pharmaceutical companies, while illegal producers rely on poppies to make heroin.
Unsafe ingestion can cause convulsions, asphyxiation and death.
Poppy seeds are also a common and easily obtainable ingredient in cakes and breads, with the "naturally occurring chemical" within destroyed in the baking process.
