Stadol NS (butorphanol) is a nasal spray form of pain killer. Bristol-Myers Squibb, the manufacturer of Stadol, claims that Stadol has a much reduced risk of addictive qualities compared to other pain killers. Due to the manufacturer's claim of an extremely low potential for abuse, the FDA allowed physicians to prescribe Stadol without government control. Contrary to the manufacturer's claims, in the last few years it has been revealed that the synthetic opiate in Stadol is extremely addictive and has been blamed for several deaths.

The FDA has logged reports of a significant number of deaths and severe addictions associated with Stadol. An injectable version took the blame in some of those cases. However the nasal spray has brought most of the complaints. The spray has been linked to hundreds of cases of addiction and numerous deaths.

Bristol-Myers Squibb asked the FDA to recommend that Stadol NS be considered a controlled substance. A year later, the company expanded its request to control Stadol NS by including the injectable form of the drug used to sedate patients before surgery. A controlled substance is more difficult for doctors to prescribe. The question arises as to why Bristol-Myers Squibb did not initially recommend Stadol NS be labled as a controlled substance and why the company worked hard to argue the drug's non-addictive benefits to FDA.