PCP and ketamine are dissociative anesthetics that act as NMDA receptor antagonists in the brain. PCP was first tested as an anesthetic in the 1950s but was discontinued in 1965 due to adverse effects. Ketamine was developed as a safer alternative to PCP and is still used medically and in veterinary practice. Both drugs can produce out-of-body experiences and psychosis-like symptoms at recreational doses through their interactions with glutamate and dopamine systems in the brain. While ketamine is a schedule III drug, PCP and illegal ketamine use remain controlled substances with potential health risks.

1. PCP AND KETAMINE
BY: JESSICA KLATT AND JESSIE KASPERSKI

2. Background and History of PCP
 Phencyclidine is usually abbreviated as “PCP” which comes from the drug’s
full chemical name 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine (Trade name is Sernyl).
 PCP was first tested in the mid-1950’s by Parke, Davis and Company as a
potential anesthetic agent.
 Early studies reveal that the drug produced an unusual kind of anesthesia.
 The subjects exhibited a trance like state
 PCP was initially thought to be clinically promising because it didn’t produce
the respiratory depression associated with barbiturate anesthesia, possessing
a high therapeutic index

3. Continued…
 PCP caused postoperative reactions such as blurred vision, dizziness, mild
disorientation, hallucinations, severe agitation and even violence.
Resulting in the clinical use of PCP to be terminated in 1965.
 In 1967 PCP found its way onto the streets under street names such as
“angel dust” and “hog”
 PCP is listed as a schedule 2 drug

4. Background and History of Ketamine
 Ketamine came into being as a safer alternative to PCP.
 CI-581, later named ketamine was less potent and shorter acting than
PCP.
 Ketamine was soon found to be a valuable anesthetic for certain medical
procedures, particularly in children and is also widely used in veterinarian
use.
 It is currently marketed legally as a prescription medication under the
trade names Ketalar, Ketaset, and Vetalar.
 Ketamine is a schedule 3 class drug

5.  PCP is generally obtained in powdered or pill form and the drug can be ingested by
virtually any common route.
 It can be taken orally, administered intranasally(snorting), or injected.
 Many PCP users apply it to tobacco, marijuana or parsley cigarettes for smoking purposes.
ROUTES OF ADMINISTRARTION

6.  Ketamine is marketed as an injectable liquid, however street sellers
commonly evaporate the liquid into a powder to either snort or compress
into pill form
 It’s street names are “K” or “Special K” or “Cat Valium”
 Users who wish to not be too intoxicated small lines or piles called
“bumps”

7.  The first studies on user effects of PCP were conducted in the late 1950’s
and early 1960’s.
 When given a subanesthetic dose of PCP users reported feeling detached
from their body, sensation vertigo or of floating, numbness, and sometimes
a dream like state.
 Effects of PCP have been compared with symptoms of those with
schizophrenia.
 Ketamine use and abuse is currently much greater than of PCP

8. Structure of PCP and Ketamine, Function
in the Brain
 -PCP and Ketamine are noncompetative antagonists of NMDA receptors (NMDA=N-
methyl-D-aspartate), and NMDA is a ionotropic receptor (ionotrpic meaning muscular
contractions) for glutamate. Glutamate is a ionotropic and metabotropic receptor.
 -Glutamate is a non-essential amino acid found in many areas of the brain, and is a key
compound in cellular metabolism.
 -NMDA is a glutamate receptor , and when binded with glutamate, it causes positively
charged ions to pass through the cell membrane, and it is important for synaptic
plasticity, learrning, and memory.
 -When a person uses PCP or Ketamine, they block the receptors from binding and
create cognitive deficits in memory, increased presynaptic glutamate release
(overactive glutamate transmission), and other deficits mentioned. (deficits include
positive psychotic symptoms)
 -PCP and Ketamine also have reinforcing effects in the brain, and they both activate the
midbrain area of dopamine within the frontal cortex. (frontal cortex is responsible for long
term memory, emotion, choice making, motor functions, and more). With these high
releases of dopamine in the frontal lobe, it is known to cause the reinforcing effects.

9.  PCP and Ketamine active midbrain DA cell firing and stimulate DA
release, particularly in the prefrontal cortex.
 This enhancement of dopaminergic neurotransmission could contribute
the PCP’s and Ketamine’s reinforcing effects.
 There have been many studies done on animals with Ketamine, It was
found rewarding in not only lab animals but humans as well.

10.  “The effects of Ketamine may only last an hour or less, but person's senses,
judgment, and coordination may be affected for 18 to 24 hours. Tests can
detect Ketamine in a person's system up to 48 hours of ingestion. Small
doses block the body’s pain response, causing self-injury and larger doses
lower the heart rate, leading to oxygen depletion of the brain and
muscles. Overdoses can cause the heart to stop beating and, possibly,
temporary paralysis”(Ketamine).

11. Use and Abuse
 PCP is not widely used compared with many other substances of abuse.
For example, the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that
about 48,000 people aged 12 or older used PCP for the first time that year,
which contrasts with the 2.6 million people who tried marijuana for the first
time (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012).
 In contrast to PCP, Ketamine has been growing because of the drug’s
popularity with dance scenes.

12. Legality in U.S. for Ketamine
 Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, K is a Schedule III drug. Substances
given this designation:
 Potential for abuse, but it is less than for drugs that are ranked as Schedule I or
II.
 Has an accepted medical use as a treatment within the United States.
 Abuse of the substance or drug may result in low to moderate physical
dependence or a high psychological dependence.
 Schedule III drugs, such as ketamine, may be dispensed through an oral or
written prescription. The prescription must be filled within six months of the date
it was issued. The physician who wrote the prescription cannot order more
than five refills of the medication. A patient who is being treated with a
Schedule III drug will need to see his or her physician before being allowed to
obtain any more of the drug.

13.  When ketamine is distributed by prescription, the bottle must be labeled clearly. A
warming must be placed on it clearly stating that it is a crime to distribute the drug to
anyone other than the person named on the prescription label.
 An individual convicted of the crime of possessing Vitamin K or any other Schedule III is
subject to the following sentence:
 Imprisonment for a period of up to five years and/or,
 A fine of up to $250,000 for an individual or up to $1 million where the defendant is other
than an individual
 “Ketamine is illegal to posses for personal use in the United States, because its only
legitimate use is as a veterinary anesthetic or animal tranquilizer. Because of this, the two
ways in which Ketamine is delivered into an abuser's hands is through the illegitimate
diversion of legitimate products or through burglaries of veterinarian
practices”(Ketamine).

14. Videos
Ketamine
https://youtu.be/tb5o3v4RVNQ

15. Work Cited
 Google for images
 Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior
 http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/pcp.asp
 http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/ketamine.asp
 http://www.taadas.org/factsheets/ketamine.htm
 http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml
 http://www.drugs.com/illicit/pcp.html
 http://neurotransporter.org/glutamate.html (glutamate)
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5274/ (NMDA)
 http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v7/n8/full/4001093a.html
 http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ketamine/legality.htm