Editing Narcotic (section)

== 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>