Researchers found little or no evidence that long-term opioid (narcotic drug) therapy (therapy lasting more than three months) relieves chronic pain. These findings are from a study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. This was a systematic review which looked at all relevant studies from 2008 thru August, 2014.
Opioid-related deaths have more than tripled and are estimated at 16,000 per year.
Please help me here...why are drugs that have no evidence of effectiveness for chronic conditions and kill so many people, so widely prescribed by doctors who are trained in drug usage?
Painkiller Abuses and Ignorance