Opium poppy is the only commercially viable source of narcotic raw materials used by the alkaloid pharmaceutical industry. Considerable advances in our knowledge of basic poppy biology and the alkaloid biosynthetic pathway have been driven by recent progress in transcriptomics, genomics, and functional genetics. However, much work remains for this knowledge to be translated into improvements in crop performance. The genetic diversity of poppy is poorly characterised and the available information is highly fragmented. The recent release of a poppy genome sequence adds a new dimension to poppy genomic research, enabling characterisation of diversity and identification of genes and molecular markers associated with valuable traits. This will create opportunities for functional genomics studies and the incorporation of more diverse germplasm into poppy improvement programmes. This review discusses the current state of poppy genetic and genomic resources, highlights the advances made in elucidating the alkaloid biosynthetic pathway that led to the emergence of poppy as a model system to study secondary metabolism in plants, and presents perspectives for future research.