Why is the word narcotic, misused in Law Enforcement?

Question

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.[4]

Many law enforcement officials in the United States inaccurately use the word "narcotic" to refer to any illegal drug or any unlawfully possessed drug.

Out of encylopedia Britanic

Answer 1

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23586
Narcotic: 1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosis, from the Greek "narke" for "numbness or torpor."
2. A drug such as marijuana which is subject to regulatory restrictions comparable to those for addictive narcotics.

http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/902108.htm
We know very well that, pharmacologically, the term 'narcotic' refers to the sedative effect produced by a definite group of substances, mainly opiates and alcohol. Given that the Single Convention also implicitly considers as 'narcotics' such substances as cannabis, cocaine, stimulants and psychedelics (but not alcohol), it would be the case to give its own operational definition. But, as we have seen, this didn't happen. In fact, the seemingly scientific word 'narcotics' became a legal-bureaucratic term which defines these substances according to their legal status. According to the US National Commission, "the word 'narcotics' had been purged of its scientific meaning and became, instead, a symbol of socially disapproved drugs."

http://medical.merriam-webster.com/medical/narcotic
1 : a drug (as codeine, methadone, or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions
2 : a drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of addictive narcotics whether in fact physiologically addictive and narcotic or not.

Doubleday dictionary
n. 1. Any of various drugs, as opium and its derivatives, that induce sleep and relieve pain, and are usu. addictive when used repeatedly. 2. Anything that serves to soothe, calm, or make drowsy. adj. 1. Causing narcosis or stupor. 2. Pertaining to addiction to drugs or to persons addicted. 3. Causing drowsiness or dullness.

My first point is that you shouldn't rely on just one source.

My second point is that sometimes specific words become generalized.
Styrofoam, Formica, Band-aids, Kleenex, Zambonis, Scotch tape, and Xerox are all examples of specific brand names that have entered our language and are now generalized to include all like products.

Answer 2

Because many state laws define it that way -- to mean any illegal drug.

And at the federal level, even drugs that are not chemically considered narcotics (by medical definition) are still legally in the same class, which makes the use of the single term a convenient shorthand for the class.

Answer 3

the same reason that the law can claim that someone "manufactured" marijuana

example:
a farmer growing potatoes doesn't say that he's manufacturing potatoes

Just a way to lock up anyone who messes with drugs, while they let thugs like O.J. murder, kidnap, steal, and whine, remain free

Answer 4

Maybe you should write a national training course for Police Officers on that subject.