Thebaine, also known as Paramorphine is a white, crystalline, slightly water-soluble (in pure form after a synthesis), poisonous alkaloid, with the molecular Formular: C19H21NO3, present in opium in small quantities.
Tasmania, an island off Australia’s southern coast, is the start of a global supply chain that encompasses the biggest drug companies and produces $12 billion a year of opiate painkillers.
The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as morphine (up to 20%), thebaine (5%), codeine (1%), papaverine (1%), and narcotine (5-8%) are naturally present and extracted from the poppy.
Genetically engineered yeasts: Researchers have recently figured out how "brew" major pain-killer ingredients from yeast alone, eliminating a reliance on poppies, which are finicky plants, and far too easily used for other illegal purposes.