game of thrones - Why does nobody want milk of the poppy?

I've been rewatching Game of Thrones and have noticed that everytime someone is offered milk of the poppy they refuse it, If memory doesn't fail me, some examples would be: King Robert, Jaime Lannister and Maester Luwin.

Why do characters refuse milk of the poppy? I thought it was some form of anesthetic? Does it have nasty side-effects? Can it make you die? Or is it just to make the characters look tough?

Answer

In the book, several characters do accept milk of the poppy. No less a person than Eddard Stark takes it, after he's attacked by Jaime Lannister in King's Landing towards the middle of A Game of Thrones.

I do remember several times in the books when characters refuse it, often because they need to have their heads clear for some reason. I think the show creates the perception that everyone is always turning it down because when people take it in the books, it's usually mentioned in the narration; in the show, that all gets cut because it's not that important to the plot.

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