Opiates are an effective pain-killer, with a proven track record in treating cancer pain. The use of opiates to treat chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is both more recent and more controversial. Opiate prescriptions rose 300 percent between 1992 and 2007. As of 2016, opiate use continues to rise. In 2013, Simon Holliday, an Australian GP and addication specialist, wrote a paper outlining what is known, and what is unknown, about the use ...