Opioids are increasingly prescribed in the United States. The statistics show the sales of
prescription opioids in the US nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014 [1]. However, in view of
their addiction liability, they are commonly misused/abused. The abuse is rapidly rising, the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2012) indicate that 12.5 million Americans have
abused prescription opioids, a 2.5-fold increase from 4.9 million in 1992 (over 20 years)[2].
The supervised and time-limited use of opioids is safe and effective for conditions like …