You could find some hints here:

Inturrisi CE. Clinical pharmacology of opioids for pain. Clin J Pain. 2002 Jul-Aug;18(4 Suppl):S3-13.

Thanks Michael. I have now read the paper. John

Patients with schizophrenia have high prevalence of sleep apnea and opioid medications can induce central apneas making the disorder worse. Not a good combination. There are studies showing increased mortality in patients taking opioids and benzodiazepines.

Thanks Imran. I did not know about the sleep apnea and schizophrenia.

I worked in a state mental hospital in Ohio for three years. Therefore, my assumptions are from observations not empirical research.

With that said, my thoughts on the combination of schizophrenia of any type and opiodes and benzodiazepines is that they should NEVER be used on that population.

BTW, I am a sociologist.

Thanks for your thoughts on this Karen.