[Driving ban for patients on chronic opioid therapy unfounded].

Dutch law states that persons who are on treatment with morphine preparations, even if these are slow-release drugs, are unfit to drive a motor vehicle. There is no scientific basis for such a measure, however. On the contrary, current evidence indicates that e.g. cancer patients using 209 mg morphine daily for three months do not differ significantly from a control group with respect to thinking abilities, alertness, concentration, reaction speed and dividing attention. For obvious reasons utmost care must be observed with the use of morphine by traffic participants. But a rigorous prohibition of driving for patients requiring chronic alleviation of severe pain needlessly restricts their mobility.