> "Narcotic" means numbing

Just to be clear, for anyone else reading this, that's true in the etymological sense. But from a biological or pharmaceutical standpoint, 'narcotic' has a pretty narrower meaning, referring to a specific class of drugs (which tend to produce numbing effects, but not everything with numbing effects is a narcotic).

To make matters more confusing, law enforcement, on the other hand, uses 'narcotic' as synonymous with 'any illegal drug', whether or not it actually is a narcotic (in the biological sense) or has a narcotic effect (in the literal sense that you are referring to).

For example, the 'narcotics unit' will deal with cocaine, which is used as a topical anesthetic for numbing[0], but cocaine is very much not a narcotic from a medical standpoint.

[0] in theory, you could use cocaine for a root canal, but you're more likely to get Novocaine instead.

> Reports of euphoria are exaggerated.

No, they aren't. It depends a lot on the person, the specific narcotic, and the quantity taken. Some (most in my experience) people feel intense euphoria, others don't.

The "euphoria" is situational. It's like alcohol. Drinking alone is usually not much fun.

Having experienced euphoria once or twice from codeine (>100mg) I would dispute that.

2nding this, I've been given IV narcotics a couple times in-hospital and it created a noticeable feeling within ten seconds or so. I would say the closet analog I can think of would be slipping into a warm bath, if slipping into a warm bath also made you feel a little drunk.

My only experience with numbing is the dental anesthetic they use in your mouth, which I don't recall producing much sensations but it does noticeably take sensation away.

> My only experience with numbing is the dental anesthetic they use in your mouth, which I don't recall producing much sensations but it does noticeably take sensation away.

Those aren't narcotics (most likely). It was probably Novocaine or Lidocaine. Those drugs end in -caine because they're all part of the same family as cocaine, which is not actually a narcotic (but does have euphoric effects at sufficient dosing levels!).

Topical use of any of those drugs, however, will likely not produce euphoria.

If you were given narcotics in the hospital, then there must have been a reason. I said that if you have pain, and the drug takes it away, it feels good.

I wasn't in hospital, or in any pain. The euphoria is very real.

For the benzodiazepine class of drugs it's a little less clear cut - people who take them recreationally may well be alleviating stress or anxiety and finding that pleasurable. Opiates.... nah.

Note that there are many reasons for why anecdotes don't count as evidence.

I thought that I felt euphoria the first time I took codeine (but I honestly wasn't sure). I have taken codeine since and was never able to replicate that euphoria.

IME with opioids, there will be times when they feel good (or seem to), but those good feelings are frustratingly hard to replicate. I've taken a skeptical look back at all my use and concluded that the drugs simply don't have the power to cause euphoria all by themselves. They can be sort of like a social lubricant, and they can be reliably good when I feel like complete shit. But I never figured out a way to conjure euphoria on command using just opioids.

I've had codeine euphoria multiple times. I'm pretty sure the euphoric effects of opiates are quite well documented.

I'll throw it right back at you - your own personal experiences are worth about as much as mine when it comes to medical evidence, not a lot.

There is hard evidence here[1]. Less than 5% of people reported euphoria in clinical studies of OxyContin.

[1] http://www.rxlist.com/oxycontin-drug/side-effects-interactio...

In once case it was prior to the pain being inflicted -- for a scheduled medical procedure.

I believe you. I don't think the buzz would happen consistently if you tried to replicate it over and over. It could have been your anxiety going away, or it could have been the placebo effect.

One could easily resolve the question of whether opioids cause euphoria by doing a double-blind clinical study. I would love to do that study, in fact.

Actually, I remembered that there are relevant results from clinical studies that are available. Here are the side effects of OxyContin.[1] (Euphoria is considered a side effect.) The most commonly-reported side effects were constipation, nausea, and somnolence. If you look down further, you can see that both euphoria and dysphoria were reported rarely.

[1] http://www.rxlist.com/oxycontin-drug/side-effects-interactio...

They already do these studies to test opiates vs other painkillers. Opiates kick ass.

Or maybe you're right: they just take away pain. But it turns out a lot of us have existential pain so it works all the time.

The worse you feel, the more you will enjoy opiates.