what a great post from sqad, which i agree with entirely. having been both a palliative care nurse and a recipient of these drugs, i have experience of both sides.
When i was a palliative care nurse, dependence and addiction were not seen as problems at all - most patients would not be surviving long enough to worry about it.
I have had morphine tablets, patches and liquid prescribed at different times to help with my own pain, and have never felt addicted or dependent. However, my pain is relapsing and remitting, so the longest term i had to take them was for a period of around a year. What you need is prescribers who are on the ball, to prescribe for the shortest amount of time for people who have temporary pain, and to monitor those with longer term pain more closely, rather than just repeat prescribing