High poppy seed trade scuttles liquor bid

A Wellington Four Square has been refused permission to sell alcohol, in part because of its roaring trade in poppy seeds.

Shalimar Four Square on Willis St in Aro Valley sold 3.8 tonnes of poppy seeds between December 2016 and December 2017.

That was the equivalent weight of two and a half Toyota Corollas at

1800kg each, a just-released decision from the Wellington District Licensing Committee stated.

The $66,255 worth of poppy seeds brought in more cash than Shalimar’s $53,000 confectionery sales.

The seeds were sometimes kept behind the counter in bags as small as

200g, meaning they were only available for sale to those who specifically asked for them, a medical officer of health said.

The committee did not directly say what the poppy seeds were used for. However, it believed they were not sold primarily as food.

It pointed to newspaper and medical papers outlining how poppy seeds “can be used to produce a tea that contains an opioid content sufficient to produce psychoactive effects and to cause withdrawal symptoms when discontinued abruptly”.

“Given the volumes sold in this case, there is a strong inference that the poppy seed sales are not for the maintenance of life or growth, or nourishment,” the committee wrote in its decision.

“It is difficult to escape the impression . . . the poppy seeds sold by the applicant in this case are being used for their psychoactive properties.”

How the poppy seeds were being consumed was important because of the type of liquor licence Shalimar Four Square applied for.

In January last year, it sought an extension to a grocery store licence to sell takeaway alcohol. The conditions of the licence meant it had to sell more food than any other product.

Shalimar produced a list of its yearly revenue showing it had sold slightly more food than any other product.

But when the list was reviewed by a liquor licensing inspector, it was found some items had been incorrectly coded as food.

Shalimar then presented a second list prepared by an accountant in which 3810kg of poppy seed sales valued at $66,255 had been moved from the “other” category of sales into the “food” category.

But the committee rejected the revised list on the basis the poppy seeds weren’t sold as food and turned down the liquor licence application.

Shalimar owner Nalini Patel told the committee the seeds were sold with the intention customers would take them home for baking or in meals.

She estimated 25-30 per cent were sold to local bakeries, and other seeds “were purchased by individuals for use in home baking”.

“If people use them for other reasons, that is outside Mrs Patel’s knowledge,” the committee wrote in summary of her testimony.

However, when the committee asked Patel how much flour she sold, she estimated it to be between 54-72kg a month. That was significantly less than the 316kg of poppy seeds sold per month.

Patel said their lawyer would provide a statement today.