When I was younger, I heard of people taking morphine and other similar drugs after they had surgery or were in a bad accident of some sort. Now my friends with problems like arthritis or back pain are taking these types of drugs. Why are they taking such strong drugs for problems like that?

Chronic pain is very difficult to treat. A medication that might help one person may not help the next. Of course, usually when someone begins having pain due to a chronic condition, doctors start by prescribing non-opioid medications, or drugs that aren't restricted. However, if someone isn't responding to those medications, opioids may be the only answer. As they begin taking the medications, the doses are low and are usually increased as needed.

Don't forget that chronic pain is not less severe than acute pain and still needs to be treated properly.

Reference:

Stephen F. Butler et al. Development and validation of the Current Opioid Misuse Measure. In Pain. July 2007. Vol. 130. No. 1-2. Pp. 144-156.

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When I was younger, I heard of people taking morphine and other similar drugs after they had surgery or were in a bad accident of some sort. Now my friends with problems like arthritis or back pain are taking these types of drugs. Why are they taking such strong drugs for problems like that?