Drugs that induce sleep, stupor, or insensibility, particularly those derived from opium or synthetic equivalents.
From Greek 'narkotikos' meaning numbing, from 'narke' meaning numbness or torpor. The word entered medical terminology in the 17th century and later expanded to legal and enforcement contexts.
The word 'narcissus' (the flower) shares the same Greek root, as the mythological Narcissus became so entranced by his reflection that he became numb to everything else. Modern 'narcotics' legally includes many non-opiate drugs, making the term broader in law enforcement than in medicine.
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