The article describes the ordination of opioid analgesics in the out-of-hours general practice service to patients with pain due to an illness lasting for more than two days. The physicians working out-of-hours duty and the patient's GP answered a questionnaire. The research includes 227 contacts. The results showed that the main diagnoses were: migraine/headache (33%), angina pectoris (19%) and back-pain (11%). The physicians estimated 33% of the contacts to be "less necessary" or "unnecessary". In 78% of the cases the GPs "agreed" or "almost agreed" with the deputizing doctors' use of opioids. In most of the cases the patients' usual GPs agreed with the treatment prescribed by the deputizing doctors. There seems to be a disagreement between the GPs and the Danish National Board of Health about the principles concerning the use of opioids.