“Of all the remedies it has pleased almighty God to give man to relieve his suffering, none is so universal and so efficacious as opium.”
Thomas Sydenham 1624-1689
Long-term opioid prescribing is increasing despite poor efficacy for non-cancer pain, potential harm, and incompatibility with best practice. Questions of equality of care arise from higher prescription rates in the north of England and in areas of greater social deprivation.
British Journal of General Practice 2018
The Smell of Water 
Ironopolis, Three fine photographs, you have made that coast road look like some of Fenland. Stay safe up there, John
cheers John
That discarded Oramorph box, the saddest thing. Please God, let’s not go down the American road here.
My thoughts too Mark. I was traipsing down the road, watching the farmer sort out his harvest, I was in a rural idyll sort of frame of mind and then I saw that. I’m used to seeing discarded macdonald’s boxes and energy drinks cans but that shocked me back into the now. The linked article is a bit of a shocker, the map of the areas of the highest prescribing of opiates could be placed over a map of the most deprived areas in the north and be an almost perfect fit.
So unfortunate that the ‘modern’ ‘clean’ form of the medicine is far more addictive than in the raw….. us humans always seem to find a way of making a bad situation far worse – and then allow some people to make mountains of money out of it – I wonder if we would have the same ‘map’ if the money element was taken away….?!