Editing Morphine (section)

=== Access in developing countries ===
Although morphine is cheap, people in poorer countries often do not have access to it. According to a 2005 estimate by the [[International Narcotics Control Board]], six countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States) consume 79% of the world's morphine. The less affluent countries, accounting for 80% of the world's population, consumed only about 6% of the global morphine supply.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Milani B |title = Scholten |publisher = World Health Organization |location = Switzerland |pages = 1–22 |edition = 3rd |url = http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js18062en/ |access-date = 17 January 2018 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180605033251/http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js18062en/ |archive-date = 5 June 2018 }}</ref> Some countries{{which|date=June 2017}} import virtually no morphine, and in others{{which|date=June 2017}} the drug is rarely available even for relieving severe pain while dying.<ref>{{cite web | author = Human Rights Watch |title=Global State of Pain Treatment; Access to Palliative Care as a Human Right |date=2 June 2011 |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/02/global-state-pain-treatment/access-medicines-and-palliative-care#_ftn22 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=27 January 2020 |ref=p.1-3}}</ref>

Experts in pain management attribute the under-distribution of morphine to an unwarranted fear of the drug's potential for addiction and abuse. While morphine is clearly addictive, Western doctors believe it is worthwhile to use the drug and then wean the patient off when the treatment is over.<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = McNeil Jr DG |title = Drugs Banned, Many of World's Poor Suffer in Pain |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/health/10pain.html |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = 10 September 2007 |access-date = 11 September 2007 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230512162123/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/health/10pain.html |archive-date = 12 May 2023 }}</ref>