ABSTRACT
The term narcotic has a number of different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. Strictly speaking, narcotics are opiates, which are substances iso lated from the opium poppy. Opioids are drugs, naturally occurring or synthetic, that have opium or morphine-like activity. Narcotics also include the semisynthetic opium derivatives, all of which produce tolerance and depen dence and have the ability to suppress narcotic withdrawal (1). In the popular sense, narcotics include any drug that can be substituted for heroin or morphine in abuse poten tial. This definition includes the synthetic opium deriva tives, some of which are incapable of suppressing narcotic withdrawal. All these drugs are considered opioids. Endogenous opioids are released in response to stress, electrical brain stimulation, acupuncture, and exogenous opioid analgesics. Unless otherwise noted, the terms opi oid, opiate, and narcotic are used interchangeably.
