Poor man's opium

 Latuca virosa is a weed related to lettuce known as poor man's opium.Though it is related to lettuce the taste is very bitter.Latuca virosa is widespread across much of central and southern Europe and also Punjab region of Pakistan and India.It was introduced in North America through colonialism and today is a common weed flourishing in urban abandoned lots and along highways.The milky sap of a severed stem was often used in the 19th century by physicians to ease pain when morphine or opium could not be obtained.

        Latuca virosa is also called bitter lettuce.