Narcotic is a substance that has a strong depressant effect upon the human nervous system. Narcotic substances cause insensibility to pain in addition to stupor, sleep, or coma, according to the amount taken. The term narcotic comes from a Greek word meaning to make numb.
Narcotics include opioid drugs such as opium, codeine, morphine, heroin, and oxycodone. When a narcotic is given in doses large enough to cause sleep or coma, the drug is called a hypnotic. The term analgesic is applied to a drug that relieves pain without causing unconsciousness. The same narcotic may be either an analgesic or a hypnotic, depending on the dosage.
Narcotics produce an analgesic effect by interacting with specific nerve cells called opioid receptors in the central nervous system. Several chemicals that occur naturally in the body, including endorphins and enkephalins, interact with the same receptors. Scientists believe these naturally occurring chemicals control the brain’s perception of pain.
Narcotic drugs are extremely useful in medicine, but they also have dangerous effects. Large doses of narcotics may cause death. The careless use of opioid drugs to relieve pain can lead to addiction. No one should use these and other narcotics except under the direction of a physician.
The United States carefully regulates the importation of narcotics as well as the manufacture and distribution of narcotic by-products. Physicians must state certain facts on narcotic prescriptions, and pharmacists must keep records of them. The Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States Department of Justice oversees all narcotics laws.
