the.com/narcotic
Technically means sleep-inducing, legally means whatever the DEA feels like that day.
means A drug that dulls the senses and induces sleep or stupor, though in law the term gets stretched to cover far more than that.
from From Greek 'narkotikos,' meaning numbing, rooted in 'narke' — the word for numbness or stiffness, the same root that gives us 'narcolepsy.' The Greeks used it for the sensation of a limb falling asleep. Legal and medical usage later borrowed the word and stretched it well past its original meaning, applying it to any drug deemed dangerous enough to regulate — whether or not it actually makes anyone sleepy.
- origin
- from Greek narke, meaning numbness
- legal vs real
- cocaine and meth aren't sedating, still called narcotics
- medical meaning
- strictly opioids, like morphine or heroin
- courtroom trick
- prosecutors use it broadly to cover any illegal drug