The term narcotic (??????????) is believed to have been coined by Galen to refer to agents that benumb or deaden, causing loss of feeling or paralysis. The term is based on the Greek word ???????? (narcosis), the term used by Hippocrates for the process of benumbing or the benumbed state. Galen listed mandrake root, altercus (eclata)) seeds, and poppy juice (i.e. opium) as the chief examples. In U.S. legal context, narcotic refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic or fully synthetic substitutes "as well as cocaine and coca leaves," which although classified as "narcotics" in the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA), are chemically not narcotics. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is not a narcotic. Neither are LSD and other psychedelic drugs. Many law enforcement officials in the United States inaccurately use the word "narcotic" to

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