Morphine Patch Is Very Addictive

In their most recent study, Norwegian researchers have found that morphine patches, which were at first created to reduce and control painkiller consumption, actually create addiction in the very people who were trying to quit the drugs. One of the main reasons for this, experts at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim believe, is that physicians who prescribe the medication often do so on the wrong assumptions, and also because patients tend to use them incorrectly. Since 2005, the Norwegian morphine patch market has grown significantly, with more and more people buying such painkillers everyday, PhysOrg reports.

“The reason for this incorrect usage is that there is not enough information out there, and a lack of expertise in individuals who are writing prescriptions,” the head of the Norwegian National Center for Complex Disorders, Professor Petter Borchgrevink, said. He added that such erroneous information often resulted in dependency, both physical and psychological. Morphine has been known since its creation to be one of the most dangerous substances on the planet, in terms of addictiveness. It acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS), and its primary use was to alleviate pain in 20th century hospitals.

The patches are regularly used for people who require the drug over extended periods of time, and not large, immediate doses. They release their active ingredient in gradual steps, over several hours, during which time the patients are not forced to remain confined to their beds on account of the severe pains they are experiencing. However, in the specific case of Norway, it would seem that some physicians actually prescribed the morphine to their patients alongside other drugs as well. Such combinations, rather than ensuring a reduction in dependency levels, actually promote it, the experts stress.

“For some patients, it would be appropriate to give morphine-like drugs for strong chronic pain. The big challenge is to avoid backsliding when it comes to medical indications for the use of the drug; in other words, we don’t want the drug to be given to patients who do not need it. Experience from other countries, including Denmark, shows that the large consumption of morphine and similar drugs by people with chronic pain that is not caused by cancer can provide significant problems with addiction,” NTNU Professor and Director of the research group on cancer and palliation Stein Kaasa, who is also an expert in pain-relief medicine, pinpointed.