The prescription of opioids in primary-care settings to manage acute and chronic, non-cancer pain is alarming. According to a recent report from Harvard Medical School, opioid misuse is now one of the most important health problems in the United States, rivalling smoking as a cause of death. The trend is similar in Canada, with the Public Health Agency of Canada recently reporting that close to 2,500 Canadians died from apparent opioid-related overdoes last year.