2. What is PCP?
Chemical Name: Phencyclidine
White crystalline powder (in its pure
form)
Easily dissolves in water or alcohol
Bitter tasting
Schedule II drug
3. Street Names
Angel Dust
Boat
Hog
Love Boat
Peace Pill
Animal Tranquilizer
Embalming Fluid
Ozone
Rocket Fuel
Wack
Shermans
Black Dust
Cliffhanger
Crystal T
Dipper
Goon Dust
Happy Sticks
Lethal Weapon
Magic Dust
Peter Pan
Paz
Kools
5. Effects of PCP
Moderate Doses High Doses
Estranged from surroundings
Numbness of the extremities
Slurred speech
Feelings of strength and
invulnerability
Auditory hallucinations
Image distortion
An exaggerated gait
Anxiety
Paranoia
Violent hostility
increase in breathing rate
Drop in blood pressure
Drop in pulse rate
Drop in respiration
Nausea
Vomiting
Blurred vision
flicking up and down of the
eyes
Drooling,
Loss of balance
Dizziness
Seizures
Death
6. How PCP Came About
In the 1950’s PCP was originally brought about to be
an intravenous anesthetic. It’s original medical name
was Sernyl. It had great potential to be successful for
surgery purposes, the only problem was that patients
would go crazy. Common symptoms after surgery
while it was in this testing phase were: jumbled
speech, delirium and hallucinations. Drawbacks of
the drug proved too problematic, so it was removed
from use in 1965. Soon after a “new” drug named
Sernylan came into the market which was simply a
renamed version of PCP and it was marketed as a
veterinary anesthetic. Several other attempts were
made to “repackage” essentially the same product
since then.
7. Who is Using PCP?
6 million U.S. residents aged 12 and older
have reported using PCP at least once in
their life
225,000 individual aged 12-17 and 777,000
individuals aged 18-25 have used PCP at
least once.
More than 3% of high school seniors in the
U.S. have used the drug at least once.
These number are from the “National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse”
8. Risks of PCP
Very addictive substance
It results in psychological dependence
Cravings
Compulsive behavior
Users often become violent or suicidal
Use amongst teens can negatively affect
hormones associated with normal growth
Long term use can lead to memory loss,
difficulty with speech or thought,
depression or weight loss.
9. My Thoughts
PCP in my opinion is one of the more dangerous drugs.
Although it does not seem to be physically addicting like
some drugs, it is heavily psychologically addicting. PCP is
a depressant meaning that it slows your body down. It
lowers your heart rate and decreases your respiration as
well as your blood pressure. These are potentially very
serious effects that can lead to very harmful
complications. Like many drugs, the user gains a
tolerance to PCP, meaning that you need more and more
of it to get the same high. If taken in high enough doses
this stuff can cause cardiac failure. PCP also produces
psychological side effects, but It’s the physiological ones
that play havoc with your internal organs that I believe
makes this one of the most dangerous recreational drugs.
10. Quote
The author of one of my sources said “For many users, a
more immediate danger involves the "behavioral toxicity"
of the drug”. She explains that the dumb, stupid behavior
such as car accidents and drowning that usually occur
with the use of this drug are one of the more serious
consequences. Sometimes I wonder how effective and
fair our drug laws are, that someone can have their whole
life ruined through our justice system because of a
mistake that effects only their own life. However when
people start negatively affecting other’s lives once on
drugs like crashing into them with a car, there should
definitely be consequences. I also think this is one of the
most serious side effects because the behavior that
comes out of this drug has the potential to harm innocent
bystanders.
11. Discussion Question
Do you believe that PCP is a common
drug in our community, either in WSU or
Worcester as a whole?
12. Sources
Burns RS, Lerner S, Corrado R. Drugs.com. 5 May
2014. 9 November 2014
<http://www.drugs.com/illicit/pcp.html>.
National Drug Intelligence Center. 1 January 2006. 9
November 2014
<http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs4/4440/#W
hat>.
NIDA. March 2011. 9 November 2014
<http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-
drugs-charts/commonly-abused-drugs-chart>.
Turney, Lisa. Do It Now. October 2012. 9 November
2014 <http://www.doitnow.org/pages/123.html>.