1. Recent evidence has hinted at a peripheral site of action of morphine analgesic efficacy. 2. Previous studies by the same authors have developed a model for testing local analgesic efficacy by placing drugs into tooth sockets after third molar surgery. 3. The present studies test the hypothesis of local morphine activity at two dosage concentrations, 100 ng ml‐1 and 100 micrograms ml‐1 after third molar surgery. 4. No significant analgesic efficacy was found at either dose when compared with placebo.