Pop a cold and flu capsule or a pain relief tablet and chances are the key ingredient was grown in Tasmania.
In the multibillion-dollar global pharmaceutical market, the island state is the largest producer of the raw material for codeine, and it's all thanks to a pretty flower: the poppy.
But after decades of boasting national cropping rights, Tasmania is losing its stranglehold on the sector.
Other states are moving in and a devastating mildew is threatening crops.
To get the full picture of Tasmania's poppy history, rewind to the 1950s in the shadow of the Cold War, when allied nations feared a shortage of morphine - an important narcotic used for everything from dulling pain to inducing sleep.
India, Turkey and Eastern Bloc countries were the main source of poppies and a worldwide search was launched to find a new growing region.
With its stable government, moderate climate and reliable rainfall, Tasmania seemed a perfect fit. After some growth trials, an agreement between states and territories was signed in 1971, handing Tasmania exclusive poppy-growing rights.
The island state now produces about half the world's concentrated poppy straw - the matured and dried head and stem of the plant - from which morphine, codeine and thebaine are obtained.
"The state has grown from nothing in the 1950s to taking 50 per cent of the world market," Poppy Growers Tasmania chief executive Keith Rice said.
Unprecedented demand for raw narcotic material peaked in 2012 when about 28,000 hectares of Tasmanian farmland was used to grow poppies, returning more than $120 million for Tasmania.
Not surprisingly, other states have shown an interest and have been granted poppy rights.
In recent years, growth trials have been conducted in Victoria and the Northern Territory. Victoria will harvest its first commercial crop in early 2015.
Western Australia is also keen to start trials.
In October, TPI Enterprises - one of Tasmania's three poppy processors - announced plans to shift its manufacturing operations to Victoria.
Director Jarrod Ritchie cited the need to provide certainty to fulfil contractual agreements amid growing demand.
The company will continue to use Tasmanian-grown poppy straw, "as well as strengthening relationships with its new growers in Victoria", Mr Ritchie said.
And while the crops take off interstate, Tasmanian growers are battling a new enemy.
A fungus that stunts growth and emits airborne spores capable of travelling hundreds of kilometres has led to entire Tasmanian paddocks being lost in 2014, the ABC reports.
Fungicides appear ineffective to combat the mildew and researchers are trying to find out how it invades crops.
"There are thousands of dollars being spent on a daily basis to test and assess a whole range of programs to tackle it," industry representative Glynn Williams said.
The strain of downy mildew is concerning but the Tasmanian government is confident a solution can be found.
November and December is traditionally the time when fields along Tasmania's northwest coast and across the central midlands and east come alive with picture-postcard poppy fields.
Regulations require the crops be fenced and signposted but there are no towering walls or razor wire, despite the potentially fatal qualities of the crop.
"The thebaine crop acts on your system like strychnine poison," Mr Rice said.
In recent years, multiple Tasmanian deaths have been attributed to the plant.
The death of a 26-year-old tourist in February was linked to tea made from opium poppies.
Similar fatalities were reported in 2011 and 2012.
Mr Rice said the dangers of the plant - which is highly toxic in some forms - should not be underestimated and growers and authorities went to great lengths to prevent such tragedies.
"To get hold of the poppy, you need to trespass on private land and steal and interfere with a prohibited substance," he said.
WHAT TASMANIAN POPPIES PRODUCE
* Morphine: a highly addictive and powerful analgesic used in pain-relief medication and cough mixtures.
* Codeine: the most widely used naturally occurring narcotic, which is prescribed for moderate pain relief and cough suppression.
* Thebaine: not used therapeutically but converted for use in the production of a variety of medicinal treatments.
