The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ narkō, "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties.
Legally speaking, the term "narcotic" may be imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations.[Julien, Robert M. A Primer of Drug Action. 11th edition. Claire D. Advokat, Joseph E. Comaty, eds. New York: Worth Publishers: 2008. page 537.][Mangione MP, Matoka M: Improving Pain Management Communication. How Patients Understand the terms "Opioid" and "Narcotic." Journal of General Internal Medicine 2008; vol 23:9 1336–1338.] When used in a legal context in the U.S., a narcotic drug is totally prohibited, such as heroin, or one that is used in violation of legal regulation (in this word sense, equal to any controlled substance or illicit drug).
In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and generally does not carry the same negative connotations.[ NIH.gov Retrieved November 10, 2015][ Oxford Dictionaries (note definition 1.1 (medicine)) Retrieved November 10, 2015][ Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Retrieved November 10, 2015]
Statutory classification of a drug as a narcotic often increases the penalties for violation of drug control statutes. For example, although U.S. federal law classifies both cocaine and 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.
Research acknowledges that alcohol can have similar effects to narcotics in Head injury or Chest injury situations.
United Nations
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961
The adoption of this convention is regarded as a milestone in the history of the international drug ban. The Single Convention codified all existing multilateral treaties on drug control and extended the existing control systems to include the cultivation of plants that were grown as the raw material of narcotic drugs. The principal objectives of the convention are to limit the possession, use, trade, distribution, import, export, manufacture, and production of drugs exclusively for medical and scientific purposes, and to address drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers. The convention also established the International Narcotics Control Board, merging the Permanent Central Board and the Drug Supervisory Board.
[ Convention 1961 . Incb.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.]
The 1961 Convention seeks to control over 116 drugs that it classifies as narcotic. These include:
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plant-based products such as opium and its derivatives morphine, codeine, and heroin (the primary category of drug listed in the convention);
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synthetic narcotics such as methadone and pethidine; and
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cannabis, coca, and cocaine.
The Convention divides drugs into four groups, or schedules, to enforce a greater or lesser degree of control for the various substances and compounds. Opium smoking and eating, coca leaf chewing, cannabis resin smoking, and the non-medical use of cannabis are prohibited. The 1972 Protocol to this Convention calls for increased efforts to prevent illicit production of, traffic in, and use of narcotics as defined by the convention, while highlighting the need to provide treatment and rehabilitation services to drug abusers.
[ Illicit Drugs – Drug Definitions. UNODC. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.]
INCB Yellow List
This document contains the current list of narcotic drugs under international control and additional
information to assist governments in filling in the International Narcotics Control Board questionnaires
related to narcotic drugs, namely, form A, form B and form C.
[ LIST OF NARCOTIC DRUGS UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL . Yellow List. International Narcotics Control Board. 49th edition, December 2010]
In medicine, a chemical agent that induces stupor, coma, or insensibility to pain
(also called narcotic analgesic).
In the context of international drug control, "narcotic drug" means any drug
defined as such under the 1961 Convention.[ TERMINOLOGY AND INFORMATION ON DRUGS. (PDF) . Second edition. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2003. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.]
World Health Organization
Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms published by the World Health Organization
The term usually refers to opiates or opioids, which are called narcotic analgesics. In common parlance and legal usage, it is often used imprecisely to mean illicit drugs, irrespective of their pharmacology. For example, narcotics control legislation in Canada, the US, and certain other countries includes cocaine and cannabis as well as opioids (see also conventions, international drug). Because of this variation in usage, the term is best replaced by one with a more specific meaning (e.g. opioid).
[ WHO | Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms published by the World Health Organization. Who.int (2010-12-09). Retrieved on 2011-09-24.]
United States
Section 1300.01 Definitions relating to controlled substances:
A 1984 amendment to 21 USC (Controlled Substances Act), Section 802
expanded and revised definition of "narcotic drug", including within term poppy straw, cocaine, and ecgonine.[ Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act. Section 802. Definitions . US Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration]
U.S. v. Stieren
608 F.2d 1135
History
The term "narcotic" is believed to have been coined by the Greek physician
Galen to refer to agents that numb or deaden, causing
paralysis or loss of
feeling. It is based on the Greek word
ναρκωσις (narcosis)
, the term used by
Hippocrates for the process of numbing or the numbed state. Galen listed
mandrake root, altercus (eclata),
seeds, and
poppy tea (
opium) as the chief examples.
It originally referred to any substance that relieved pain, dulled the senses, or induced sleep.
[Julien, Robert M. See A Primer of Drug Action full citation above.] Now, the term is used in many ways. Some people might define narcotics as substances that bind at
(cellular membrane proteins activated by substances like heroin or morphine), while others refer to any
illicit substance as a narcotic. From a U.S.
legal perspective, narcotics refer to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic substitutes,
[ Narcotics Drug Addiction Help Rehabilitation Recovery Resource. Drug-rehab-referral.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.] though in U.S. law, due to its numbing properties, cocaine is also considered a narcotic.
The definition encompassing "any illegal drug" was first recorded in 1926. Its first use as an adjective is first attested to .[ Online Etymology Dictionary. Etymonline.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.] There are many different types of narcotics. The two most common forms of narcotic drugs are morphine and codeine. Both are synthesized from opium for medicinal use. The most commonly used drug for recreational purposes created from opium is heroin. Synthesized drugs created with an opium base for use in pain management are fentanyl, oxycodone, tramadol, pethidine (Demerol), hydrocodone, methadone, and hydromorphone.
New forms of existing pain medications are being created regularly. The newest formulation to come out was in 2014 when zohydro, an increased dosage formula of hydrocodone, was released; this is so far the strongest hydrocodone formulation created for pain management, on par with a moderate dose of oxycodone .
Analgesics
Analgesics are drugs that relieve
pain. There are two main types: non-narcotic analgesics for mild pain, and narcotic analgesics for severe pain.
[ General Drug Categories. Fda.gov (2009-08-11). Retrieved on 2011-09-24.]
Narcotic analgesics
Narcotic analgesics tend to be
. They bind to
which are G protein-coupled receptors distributed in brain, spinal cord, digestive tract, peripheral neurons.
Mechanism
There are three types of opioid receptors: mu (μ-opioid receptors), delta, and kappa (κ-opioid receptor). Endogenous opioids (
enkephalins,
dynorphin,
endorphin) do not bind specifically to any particular opioid receptor. Receptor binding of the opioid causes a cascade leading to the channel opening and hyperpolarization of the neuron. The opioid receptors have the following channel types: mu, K
+ channel; l delta, K
+ channel; kappa, Ca
2+ channel. Hyperpolarization can lead to post-synaptic neural inhibition and presynaptic inhibition of neurotransmitter release. Post-synaptic neural inhibition can reduce analgesia and central hyperactivity may reduce its efficacy. The mechanism of kappa receptors is slightly different from mu and delta, in that Ca
2+ channels close instead of K
+ channels, and K
+ channels open in mu and delta.
See also
External links
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Pharmer.org—A non-profit site providing detailed descriptions of most narcotic analgesics
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List of controlled substances , some of which are classified as "narcotics", in the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Not all of the classified ones are chemically narcotic, as described at the top of this page.
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M. C. Cooke (1860), The Seven Sisters of Sleep, Popular History of the Seven Prevailing Narcotics of the World.
