She was hospitalized Aug. 28 after going into cardiac arrest during outpatient surgery for her throat. Dan Steinberg/AP Joan Rivers shows off her diva necklace during arrivals for the 44th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2002.
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. narcotics. n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required.
When used in a legal context in the U.S., a narcotic drug is simply one that is totally prohibited, or one that is used in violation of governmental regulation, such as heroin or cannabis. In the medical community, the term is more precisely defined and generally does not carry the same negative connotations.