This section is from the "A Practical Treatise On Materia Medica And Therapeutics" book, by Roberts Bartholow. Also available from Amazon: A Practical Treatise On Materia Medica And Therapeutics
To this group belong the so-called narcotics, the anaesthetics, and some of those usually classed as antispasmodics. They all agree in these respects: their effects are expended, chiefly, on the nervous system; they first stimulate the functions of the brain, but this stage of excitement, which may be of shorter or longer duration, is followed by sopor, coma, and complete insensibility.
 
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