Phencyclidine (PCP)
Short Term Effects
Honors Health Drug Project
Long Term Effects
Psychological effects:
- feeling of calmness (even though you have adrenaline overload), feelings of strength and invulnerability, , disorientation, loss of coordination, impaired concentration, awareness, sensory perception, & thinking, hallucinations, agitation, memory loss, bizarre behavior.
Physiological effects:
- Rise in blood pressure and heart rate, flushing, profuse sweating, generalized numbness of extremities, blurred vision, grimacing facial expression, speech difficulties, anesthesia, rigid muscles.
Effects are generally dose-dependent
Heather DeMocker, Mia Bristol, Isabella Calingaert, Miguel Lopez
Long term effects for abusers of PCP can be incredibly disabling.
- Social withdrawal or isolation
- Loss of communication abilities, difficulty speaking
- Depression and anxiety disorders
- Likely memory loss and difficulty thinking clearly
- Liver issues and weight loss
A person on PCP can manifest a completely psychotic state and long-term use makes this drug-induced psychosis more lasting.
Abuse History
Medical History
- 1926 - First synthesized as an anesthetic (under the name of Sernyl) by Parke, Davis and Company
- 1950's - Marketed as a surgical anesthetic for humans and used in veterinary clinics as a tranquilizer
- 1965 - Use as a human anesthetic discontinued due to negative patient experiences (ex. anxiety, delusions, agitation.)
PCP is relatively cheap and easy to manufacture, making it a major illicit dug in North America though its popularity never really spread to other countries.
- 1960's - PCP emerges as a substance of abuse.
- Appeared in pill form
- Nicknamed the "PeaCe Pill," which contributed to today's nickname, "PCP"
- 1970's - Use of PCP spreads, most abusers snorting or smoking to reach a more immediate high
- 1978 - Peak of PCP abuse, powder form becomes popular
- 1980's - Use of PCP declines to make way for the then up-and-coming new drug, crack cocaine.
Side Effects
- Excessive salivation
- nausea and vomiting
- amnesia
- combativeness
- severe anxiety, depression
- paranoia and flashbacks
- seizures, coma, and death
- dissociative thought disorder
- depersonalization and catatonic states
All side effects are dose dependent
Song
Description & Background
The song is audio
only and was made
by other students
for a similar health
project about the
effects of PCP.
It is possible to recover from using PCP
and 'get your life back on the right track.'
Treatment
- PCP is a recreational drug formerly used as an anesthetic
- PCP is a synthetic chemical made in clandestine laboratories
- Comes in a pill, powder, and liquid form
- Powder - white crystalline that dissolves easily in water or alcohol
- Pill - colored pills, like ecstasy
- Liquid - colored yellow or tan, often sold sold in Vanilla extract bottles
- PCP is an hallucinogen
- PCP may be snorted, smoked, eaten, or injected
Recovery
Sources
The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program has a special recovery plan to help abusers of hallucinogens like PCP. This is called the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program, which is used at the beginning of recovery.
- The drug's residue must be removed from fatty tissues
- Time must be daily in a sauna to cleanse pores
- Specific nutritional and exercise regimens are implemented to activate the body's ability to flush out drug toxins while sweating.
- Each patient must be under careful supervision because even months or years after use, flashbacks to PCP trips may still occur.
Extra Video
Treatment Centers
Once physical need of the drug is gone, psychological problems are addressed as rehab centers, such as the Passages Malibu treatment centers for drug abusers.
Center for Substance Abuse Research
http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/
Drug Enforcement Administration
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
Passages Malibu Treatment Center
http://www.passagesmalibu.com/
District of Columbia Addiction Search
http://www.addictionsearch.com/
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
http://www.britannica.com/
Family Guy and a PCP arrest