[waterhouse]

My mom said that, when recovering in the hospital from a certain operation, she was prescribed morphine for pain, and when she had some, "colors looked brighter, the air smelled sweeter, and everything just felt nicer"; when it wore off, she said, "Wooooow. So that's how drugs can be addictive." She refused all morphine after that.

[goldenkey]

Some people get that joy while others get nauseous upon first introduction to opioids. In any case, it's short lived, the honeymoon phase. Good on your mom - we will eventually get non-opioid, effective pain relievers. I am subbed to /r/drugnerds and there is a bit going on in the R and D of that area.