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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''narkotik'', from Middle French ''narcotique'', from ''narcotique'', adjective, from Medieval Latin ''narcoticus'', from Greek ''narkōtikos'', from ''narkoun'' to benumb, from ''narkē'' numbness
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
==Definitions==
*1: a [[drug]] (as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium opium] or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the [[senses]], relieves [[pain]], and induces profound [[sleep]] but in excessive doses causes stupor, [[coma]], or convulsions
*2: a drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of [[addictive]] narcotics whether physiologically addictive and narcotic or not
==Description==
The term '''narcotic''' (/nɑrˈkɒtɨk/, from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek ancient Greek] ναρκῶ narkō, "Ι benumb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any [[sleep]]-inducing properties. In the [[United States]] it has since become associated with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioids opioids], commonly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine morphine] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin heroin] and their derivatives, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocodone hydrocodone]. The term is, today, 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 strict governmental regulation, such as heroin or morphine.
From a pharmacological standpoint it is not a useful term, as is evidenced by the [[fact]] that [[spirit]] and wine are [[classified]] differently due to their [[intoxicating]] power; while the narcotic principle to opium and tobacco imparts similar properties. In popular [[language]], alcohol is classed among the stimulants; and opium and tobacco among the narcotics; which are substances whose ultimate [[effect]] upon the [[animal]] system is to produce torpor and insensibility; but taken in small [[quantities]] they at first exhilarate. And since alcohol does the same, most medical [[writers]], at the present day, class it among the narcotics.
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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine cocaine] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamines 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.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotics]
[[Category: Health]]
[[Category: Chemistry]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''narkotik'', from Middle French ''narcotique'', from ''narcotique'', adjective, from Medieval Latin ''narcoticus'', from Greek ''narkōtikos'', from ''narkoun'' to benumb, from ''narkē'' numbness
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
==Definitions==
*1: a [[drug]] (as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium opium] or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the [[senses]], relieves [[pain]], and induces profound [[sleep]] but in excessive doses causes stupor, [[coma]], or convulsions
*2: a drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of [[addictive]] narcotics whether physiologically addictive and narcotic or not
==Description==
The term '''narcotic''' (/nɑrˈkɒtɨk/, from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek ancient Greek] ναρκῶ narkō, "Ι benumb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any [[sleep]]-inducing properties. In the [[United States]] it has since become associated with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioids opioids], commonly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine morphine] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin heroin] and their derivatives, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocodone hydrocodone]. The term is, today, 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 strict governmental regulation, such as heroin or morphine.
From a pharmacological standpoint it is not a useful term, as is evidenced by the [[fact]] that [[spirit]] and wine are [[classified]] differently due to their [[intoxicating]] power; while the narcotic principle to opium and tobacco imparts similar properties. In popular [[language]], alcohol is classed among the stimulants; and opium and tobacco among the narcotics; which are substances whose ultimate [[effect]] upon the [[animal]] system is to produce torpor and insensibility; but taken in small [[quantities]] they at first exhilarate. And since alcohol does the same, most medical [[writers]], at the present day, class it among the narcotics.
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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine cocaine] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamines 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.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotics]
[[Category: Health]]
[[Category: Chemistry]]