Definition of "narcotism" [nar•co•tism]

• Addiction to narcotics such as opium, heroin, or morphine. (noun)
• Narcosis. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This was in 1860; but only four years afterwards we find the English physician quoted above, Dr. Anstie, in his "Stimulants and Narcotics," recognising "a kind of chronic narcotism, the very existence of which is usually ignored, but which is, in truth, well marked and easy to identify as produced by habitual excess in tea and coffee.""
• "By administering them after meals I give nutrition the start of narcotism, prevent the violent action possessed by stimulants and opiates on the naked stomach, and secure a slower, more uniform distribution of the effects throughout the day."
• "The depths of repose that follow the enjoyment of the young irrigated their limbs, filling the sensuous nerves and arteries with a delicious narcotism -- a deep, quiet, healthful sleep, lulled by the chant of the serene mother-forest."