I am on Morphine along with a few other pain meds due to permanent injuries. My own prescription may seem heavy to someone who has never been on pain killers, but I have been on them for almost 30 years.
Contrary to popular opinion, therapeutic doses don't affect ones judgement or ability to comprehend or quickly adjust to situations surrounding themselves.
It is only with a significant overdose or accidental doubling up of medications by taking a following dose too quickly after a previous one that any effect can be felt.
Someone new to the medication may also experience difficulties, but they quickly adjust. Someone who has been on the meds for a few months most likely will have no impairment.
I agree that the COPs are trying to put the blame for what they did on the victim and that is very unjust and unfair to everyone who may be on a prescription pain reliever.
Measuring the level of medication within one’s bloodstream is very misleading because the longer one is on narcotic medication, the less it effects them and the larger the dose they need for it to be effective.
NSAIDs (Non-Sreroidal anti-inflamatory) meds are accompanied with long term internal damage while the Opiate based meds are far more compatible to a person's body and cause little to no physical damage.
Having been on both prescription and non-prescription NSAIDS for several years, I can attest to the damage they do and how glad I am to not have to take them.
In my own case, the VA which is providing my Meds and followup claims that narcotics will only provide a 25 to 30% improvement in the level of the pain and that is all they try for.
Indeed, the Morphine I am on is much less effective than Oxycontin which is simply a synthetic form of Morphine.
Unfortunately, the VA doesn't provide OXY, Percocet, Percodan, or any other Oxycodone based medications due most likely to the much lower cost of the Morphine in relation to the Oxycodone based products.
Oxycontin (Oxycidin in continuous release form) is not dangerous to patients who don't abuse it. It is the drug addicts (abusers) who gave it a bad name.