• Propoxyphene is a new synthetic analgesic with the effectiveness of codeine but having less undesirable gastrointestinal side-effects when administered in 65-mg. dosage. Many of the side-effects that were reported were comparable to those elicited by placebo. Over a two-year period no patients have shown a desire for, or need of, an increased dosage of the drug, nor was any true idiosyncrasy seen.