Editing Narcotic

{{short description|Chemical substance with psycho-active properties}}
{{About|the drug classification|the scuba diving reference|Nitrogen narcosis|the sedative agent|Sedative|pain control medications of both narcotic and non-narcotic varieties|Analgesic|other uses|Narcotic (disambiguation)}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=August 2013}}
[[Image:Bayer Heroin bottle.jpg|thumb|[[Heroin]], a powerful opioid and narcotic]]

The term '''narcotic''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ɑːr|ˈ|k|ɒ|t|ᵻ|k}}, from [[ancient Greek]] ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any [[Psychoactive drug|psychoactive]] compound with numbing or paralyzing properties.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anstie |first1=Francis Edmund |title=Stimulants and Narcotics, Their Mutual Relations: With Special Researches on the Action of Alcohol, Aether and Chloroform on the Vital Organism |year=1865 |publisher=Lindsay and Blakiston |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBULAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA152 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[oxycodone]] or [[hydrocodone]]).

Legally speaking, the term "narcotic" may be imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations.<ref>Julien, Robert M. ''A Primer of Drug Action.'' 11th edition. Claire D. Advokat, Joseph E. Comaty, eds. New York: Worth Publishers: 2008. page 537.</ref><ref>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.</ref> 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]]<!--AHD and M-W enter this word sense, if anyone demands references to cite, but this fact is [[WP:BLUE]] for any adequately educated U.S. resident.-->). 
	
In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and generally does not carry the same negative connotations.<ref>[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007489.htm NIH.gov] Retrieved November&nbsp;10,&nbsp;2015</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141201221017/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/narcotic Oxford Dictionaries] (note definition 1.1 (medicine))&nbsp;&nbsp;Retrieved November&nbsp;10,&nbsp;2015</ref><ref>[http://www.chop.edu/patients-and-visitors/guide-your-childs-surgery/pain-control-after-surgery/narcotic-pain-medicines Children's Hospital of Philadelphia] Retrieved November&nbsp;10,&nbsp;2015</ref>

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 [[amphetamine]]s 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.<ref>{{cite journal |title=NOTE AND COMMENT: Statutory Classification of Cocaine as a Narcotic: An Illogical Anachronism and in Colombia this are more the narcotic and the drugs.
 |author=Carl B. Schultz |journal=9 Am. J. L. and Med. 225 |year=1983}}</ref>

Research acknowledges that alcohol can have similar effects to narcotics in [[Head injury|head]] or [[Chest injury|trunk trauma]] situations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sienkiewicz |first1=P |title=[Ethyl alcohol and psychoactive drugs in patients with head and trunk injuries treated at the Department of General Surgery, Provincial Hospital in Siedlce]. |journal=Annales Academiae Medicae Stetinensis |date=2011 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=96–104 |pmid=22593998}}</ref>

== 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. [[single convention on narcotic drugs|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.<ref>[http://www.incb.org/incb/convention_1961.html Convention 1961] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520040341/http://www.incb.org/incb/convention_1961.html |date=2009-05-20 }}. Incb.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>

The 1961 Convention seeks to control over 116 drugs that it classifies as narcotic. These include:
* plant-based products such as opium and its derivatives morphine, codeine, and heroin (the primary category of drug listed in the convention);
* synthetic narcotics such as methadone and pethidine; and
* 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.<ref>[http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/illicit-drugs/definitions/index.html Illicit Drugs – Drug Definitions]. UNODC. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>

=== 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.<ref>[http://www.incb.org/pdf/forms/yellow_list/49th_Edition/49thedYL_Dec_10E.pdf LIST OF NARCOTIC DRUGS UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726174630/http://www.incb.org/pdf/forms/yellow_list/49th_Edition/49thedYL_Dec_10E.pdf |date=2011-07-26 }}. Yellow List. International Narcotics Control Board. 49th edition, December 2010</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.unodc.org/pdf/publications/report_2003-09-01_1.pdf TERMINOLOGY AND INFORMATION ON DRUGS]. (PDF) . Second edition. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2003. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>

==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).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040704055537/http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/terminology/who_lexicon/en/ WHO | Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms published by the World Health Organization]. Who.int (2010-12-09). Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>

==United States==

Section 1300.01 Definitions relating to controlled substances:
{{blockquote|
(b) As used in parts 1301 through 1308 and part 1312 of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings specified:
{{blockquote|
(30) The term narcotic drug means any of the following whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin or independently using chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:
{{blockquote|
(i) Opium, opiates, derivatives of opium and opiates, including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers whenever the existence of such isomers, esters, ethers, and salts is possible within the specific chemical designation. Such a term does not include the isoquinoline alkaloids of opium.

(ii) Poppy straw and concentrate of poppy straw.

(iii) Coca leaves, except coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine, [[ecgonine]] and derivatives of ecgonine or their salts have been removed.

(iv) Cocaine, its salts, [[Optical isomerism|optical]] and [[geometric isomer]]s, and salts of isomers.

(v) Ecgonine, its derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers.

(vi) Any compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of any of the substances referred to in paragraphs (b)(31)(i) through (v) of this section.<ref>[http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr Title 21 CFR, Part 1300-1399]. US Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration. April 1, 2010</ref>
}}}}}}
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.<ref>[http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/802.htm Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act. Section 802. Definitions]. US Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration</ref>

===''U.S. v. Stieren''===
608 F.2d 1135

{{blockquote|[[United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit]]. Decided Oct. 31, 1979. LAY, Circuit Judge.

John Arthur Stieren appeals from the judgment of conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and dispense under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Stieren contends that the statute is unconstitutional because "cocaine is classified as a narcotic under Schedule II of 21 U.S.C. § 812(c) when as a matter of scientific and medical fact cocaine is not a narcotic but is a non-narcotic stimulant."

The sufficiency of the evidence is not disputed. Stieren was convicted after special agents testified that he had and attempted to sell them a large quantity of cocaine. Defendant urges that the testimony and reports by physicians and scientists demonstrate that cocaine is not a narcotic. He also cites cases that hold that cocaine is not a narcotic under the pharmacological definition of the term. ''State v. Erickson'', 574 P.2d 1 (Alaska 1978).

It is within the legislative prerogative to classify cocaine, which is a non-narcotic central nervous system stimulant, as a narcotic for penalty and regulatory purposes. 21 U.S.C. § 802(16)(A). The use of cocaine poses serious problems for the community and has a high potential for abuse. Congress's choice of penalty reflects a societal policy that must be adhered to by the courts.2 Congress has the power to reclassify cocaine. This power has been delegated to the Attorney General. 21 U.S.C. § 811(a)(1). If cocaine is to be reclassified, the defendant's arguments should be made to the legislative branch, not the courts.

We hold that Congress had a rational legislative purpose when it classified cocaine as a Schedule II narcotic drug to impose penalties.

JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.<ref>[http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/608/608.F2d.1135.79-1572.html 608 F.2d 1135] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727214852/http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/608/608.F2d.1135.79-1572.html |date=2011-07-27 }}. Bulk.resource.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>}}

== 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),<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMlcxiDMzmYC&q=altercus&pg=PA22 |title=The Laud Herbal Glossary |author=J. Richard Stracke | isbn= 9062034977| year=1974 | publisher=Rodopi}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2012}} seeds, and [[poppy tea|poppy juice]] ([[opium]]) as the chief examples.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWpxJREw_IAC&q=hippocrates+narcosis&pg=PA152 |title=Stimulants and Narcotics: their mutual relations |author=Francis Edmund Anstie |year=1865 |publisher=Arno Press |isbn=9780405135682 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chez.com/asklepios/areteus/ |title=De Furore, cap VI |language=la}}</ref> It originally referred to any substance that relieved pain, dulled the senses, or induced sleep.<ref>Julien, Robert M. See ''A Primer of Drug Action'' full citation above.</ref> Now, the term is used in many ways. Some people might define narcotics as substances that bind at [[opioid receptor]]s (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,<ref>[http://drug-rehab-referral.org/drug_rehab_narcotics.html Narcotics Drug Addiction Help Rehabilitation Recovery Resource]. Drug-rehab-referral.org. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref> 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 {{Circa|1600}}.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=narcotic Online Etymology Dictionary]. Etymonline.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref> 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 .<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/drug-types/types-of-narcotic-drugs.htm|title=List of Narcotic Drugs – Illegal and Prescription Narcotics Drugs Effects|access-date=18 March 2017}}</ref>

==Analgesics==
[[Analgesics]] are drugs that relieve [[pain]]. There are two main types: non-narcotic analgesics for mild pain, and narcotic analgesics for severe pain.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090827041427/http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/HowDrugsareDevelopedandApproved/ApprovalApplications/InvestigationalNewDrugINDApplication/ucm176533.htm General Drug Categories]. Fda.gov (2009-08-11). Retrieved on 2011-09-24.</ref>

===Narcotic analgesics===
Narcotic analgesics tend to be [[opioid]]s. They bind to [[opioid receptor]]s which are [[G protein-coupled receptor|G protein-coupled receptors]] distributed in brain, spinal cord, digestive tract, peripheral neurons.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=8981566|year=1996|last1=Dhawan|first1=B. N.|last2=Cesselin|first2=F.|last3=Raghubir|first3=R.|last4=Reisine|first4=T.|last5=Bradley|first5=P. B.|last6=Portoghese|first6=P. S.|last7=Hamon|first7=M.|title=International Union of Pharmacology. XII. Classification of opioid receptors|journal=Pharmacological Reviews|volume=48|issue=4|pages=567–92}}</ref>

====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 (biology)|hyperpolarization]] of the neuron. The opioid receptors have the following channel types: mu, K<sup>+</sup> channel; l delta, K<sup>+</sup> channel; kappa, Ca<sup>2+</sup> 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<sup>2+</sup> channels close instead of K<sup>+</sup> channels, and K<sup>+</sup> channels open in mu and delta.<ref name="Dickenson1991">{{cite journal|last1=Dickenson|first1=A H|title=Mechanisms of the analgesic actions of opiates and opioids|journal=British Medical Bulletin|volume=47|issue=3|year=1991|pages=690–702|issn=1471-8391|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a072501|pmid=1665377}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Chemistry}}
* [[Commission on Narcotic Drugs]]
* [[East African drug trade]]
* [[Equianalgesic]]
* [[Narcoterrorism]]
* [[Narcotics Anonymous]]
* [[Opioid]]
* [[Prohibition of drugs]]
* [[War on drugs]]

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== External links ==
{{wiktionary}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180409040124/http://www.pharmer.org/imprints/narcotics Pharmer.org]—A non-profit site providing detailed descriptions of most narcotic analgesics
* [http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/index.html#list 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.
* [[Mordecai Cubitt Cooke|M. C. Cooke]] (1860), [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60805 The Seven Sisters of Sleep], Popular History of the Seven Prevailing Narcotics of the World.
{{Drug use}}
{{Opioidergics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Opioids]]