Narcotic
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| - | # Any class of substances or [[drug]]s, that [[reduce]]s [[pain]], [[induce]]s [[sleep]] and may [[alter]] [[mood]] or [[behaviour]] that are also illegal. | ||
| - | # Any type of [[numb]]ing drug. | ||
| - | The term '''narcotic''' ''(ναρκωτικός)'' is believed to have been coined by [[Galen]] to refer to agents that benumb or deaden, causing loss of feeling or paralysis. The term is based on the Greek word ''ναρκωσις'' (narcosis), the term used by [[Hippocrates]] for the process of benumbing or the benumbed state. Galen listed [[mandrake (plant)|mandrake]] root, [[altercus]] ([[eclata]] seeds, and [[poppy]] juice (i.e. [[opium]]) as the chief examples. | + | The term '''narcotic''' (from [[ancient Greek]] ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any [[Psychoactive drug|psychoactive]] compound with sleep-inducing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with [[opiates]] and [[opioids]], commonly [[morphine]] and [[heroin]], as well as [[Derivative (chemistry)|derivatives]] of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, [[codeine]], and [[thebaine]] (while thebaine itself is only very mildly psychoactive, it is a crucial precursor in the vast majority of semi-synthetic opioids, such as [[hydrocodone]]). Legally speaking, the term "narcotic" is imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations. When used in a legal context in the U.S., a narcotic drug is simply one that is totally prohibited, or one that is used in violation of governmental regulation, such as heroin or [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]. |
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| + | In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and generally does not carry the same negative connotations. | ||
| - | In [[United States|U.S.]]legal context, '''narcotic''' refers to [[opium]], opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic or fully synthetic substitutes "as well as [[cocaine]] and [[coca]] leaves," which although classified as "narcotics" in the U.S. [[Controlled Substances Act]] (CSA), are chemically not narcotics. Contrary to popular belief, [[marijuana]] is not a narcotic. | + | Statutory classification of a drug as a narcotic often increases the penalties for violation of drug control statutes. For example, although federal law classifies both [[cocaine]] and [[amphetamine|amphetamines]] as "Schedule II" drugs, the penalty for possession of cocaine is greater than the penalty for possession of amphetamines because cocaine, unlike amphetamines, is classified as a narcotic. |
| + | == See also == | ||
| + | * [[Opioid]] | ||
| + | * [[Opiate comparison]] | ||
| + | * [[Narcotics Anonymous]] | ||
| + | * [[Narcoterrorism]] | ||
| + | * [[Prohibition of drugs]] | ||
| - | Many law enforcement officials in the United States inaccurately use the word "narcotic" to refer to any illegal drug or any unlawfully possessed drug. An example is referring to [[cannabis]] as a narcotic. Because the term is often used broadly, inaccurately or pejoratively outside medical contexts, most medical professionals prefer the more precise term [[opioid analgesic|opioid]], which refers to natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic substances that behave pharmacologically like [[morphine]], the primary active constituent of natural [[opium poppy]]. | ||
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Revision as of 08:03, 28 November 2016
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The term narcotic (from ancient Greek ναρκῶ narkō, "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with sleep-inducing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and thebaine (while thebaine itself is only very mildly psychoactive, it is a crucial precursor in the vast majority of semi-synthetic opioids, such as hydrocodone). Legally speaking, the term "narcotic" is imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations. When used in a legal context in the U.S., a narcotic drug is simply one that is totally prohibited, or one that is used in violation of governmental regulation, such as heroin or cannabis.
In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and generally does not carry the same negative connotations.
Statutory classification of a drug as a narcotic often increases the penalties for violation of drug control statutes. For example, although federal law classifies both cocaine and amphetamines as "Schedule II" drugs, the penalty for possession of cocaine is greater than the penalty for possession of amphetamines because cocaine, unlike amphetamines, is classified as a narcotic.
See also
