I’ve got a bet going with a few co-workers here.
Is marijuana a narcotic?
I say it’s not a narcotic nor a stimulant nor a depressant, it’s just pot.
From dictionary.com entry for “narcotic”
nar·cot·ic (när-ktk)
n.
An addictive drug, such as opium, that reduces pain, alters mood and behavior, and usually induces sleep or stupor. Natural and synthetic narcotics are used in medicine to control pain.
A soothing, numbing agent or thing: “There was the blessed narcotic of bridge, at the Colony or at the home of friends” (Louis Auchincloss).
As you can see, part of the confusion lies with the fact that “narcotic” does not have a very specific meaning. Narcotics usually refer to stronger drugs derived from plants such as cocaine, opium, and heroin and does not usually refer to marijuana in popular usage so I tend to agree with you if you are debating popular usage.
The active ingrediant in marijuana is THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannibinol) which acts on specific THC receptors in the brain (a sub-type of the GABA A receptor) and may be called a depressant.
The problem with this debate is that you and your coworkers are throwing around casual terms like stimulant and depressant and narcotic that have no hard scientific meaning. However, I agree with you if you are debating popular usage.
While I agree that the effects of marijuana certainly seem like a depressant it is actually classified as a hallucinogen.