[pavulon]

People who routinely deal with acute and chronic pain patients understand the pitfalls as well as the need for opiates in dealing with it. There simply is nothing else as effective and completely explains why opiates are still in use. Until something else replaces opiates, the problems associated with addiction and abuse will persist and those with pain (especially severe chronic pain) will do whatever they can find to escape it.

It's also nothing new. A bit more than a hundred years ago, it was opium then morphine and heroin. Not much has really changed because people and people problems have not fundamentally changed. They remain susceptible to addiction. The vast majority of substance addicts I see each week are alcoholics or food addicts--but that's one kettle of fish over.