Q: Is it illegal to have a poppy pod as part of your artwork?
I have an etsy shop and listed a handmade box and book with flower seeds. It focuses on Papaver somniferum common names are Opium Poppy, breadseed poppy. Etsy took it down today saying poppy pods and poppy straw are prohibited. I don't want to argue with them but is this just etsy or is selling a dried poppy pod (attached to an art piece with no sap present) I see the pods often in floral arrangements and there is no way you can extract anything to produce a drug. I'm really confused about the law on this.
A:
Most likely it's a subjective determination by Etsy about inclusion of a prohibited item in the product. Clearly, they appear to be taking things a bit far in this regard, but it's Etsy's platform, and therefore its terms of service (or terms of use, etc.) may empower it with the ability to remove listings that violate the terms.
Without having reviewed the terms, I suspect they may include a prohibition on selling or promoting drugs, or drug-related items. While I think you recognize that the natural form of a flower which has not been sufficiently refined into a drug is neither illegal under the law nor a precursor to someone using it to make the drug--your best bet is to simply plead your case with them that they are taking things a bit too far. Perhaps educate Etsy on just how many Poppy pods are necessary to create any useable drug (or whether they need to be living in order to produce the sap/extract to create the drug), so that your comparison between what's truly drug related and what is art demonstrates that yours is the latter, and further shows that Etsy's decision is simply overreaching and unreasonable.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
