Phencyclidene
Phencyclidine (PCP) was developed in the 1950s as an intravenous anesthetic, but its use was discontinued in 1965, after patients who were given the drug experienced psychotic reactions. PCP is now only manufactured illegally and comes in liquid, powder or pill.
Phencyclidene (PCP) is known as a dissociative anesthetic, because users of the drug seem to be "disconnected" from the environment around them. It distorts perceptions of sight and sound and produces feelings of detachment. Rather than visual 
hallucinations, PCP causes the user to experience distortions of reality.
PCP is a white crystalline powder that is easily soluble in water or alcohol. Therefore it can appear in liquid form. Since PCP can easily be mixed with dyes, it can appear in a variety of colors in powder, tablet and capsule form. Sometimes it is sold on the street wrapped in metallic foil.
PCP can be eaten, snorted, injected or smoked. The effects of the drug can be felt within two to five minutes if it is smoked (usually applied to a leafy material, such as mint, parsley, oregano or marijuana). The method used to take PCP in to the body can change the effects that it has on the user and how long its effects last.
Soon after PCP was introduced as a street drug in the 1960s, it gained a reputation of causing bad reactions and never became very popular with illicit drug users. Some users, though, like the feelings of strength, power and invulnerability the drug produces.
Others enjoying the numbing effect PCP can have on the mind. Therefore, some continue to use the drug despite the negative risks.
PCP can have different effects on different people. The way the drug is taken and the amount used can also change how PCP affects the user. Depending upon the dosage, PCP can have the following effects:
- Low Dosage- Feelings of euphoria, relaxation, numbness, sensory distortions, feelings of detachment from one's own body, anxiety, confusion, amnesia, illogical speech, blurred vision, blank stare.
- Medium Dosage- Confusion, agitation, analgesia, fever, excessive salivation, delusions, schizophrenic-type behavior, paranoia, disordered thinking.
- High Dosage- Seizures, respiratory failure, coma, fever, stroke and possible death.
Since PCP is only made illegally, there is no way to know exactly how much PCP is actually being taken, making the use of this drug particularly dangerous.
Low doses of PCP can produce an increase in blood pressure and heartbeat and a slight increase in breathing rate. Users can experience shallow breathing, numbness of the extremities, flushing, sweating and loss of muscular coordination.
High doses of PCP can produce a severe drop in blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rate. Users can experience nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, drooling, loss of balance, dizziness and the up and down flicking of the eyes.
Due to the possible sedative effects of PCP, if the drug is taken with other depressants, such as alcohol or benzodiazepines, it can cause a coma.
PCP abusers can become violent or suicidal while taking the drug. Although there is some research that disputes that PCP induces violence or aggression in users, more PCP users die from suicide while taking the drug than die from the effects of the drug on the central nervous system.
Memory loss, depression, difficulty speaking, difficulty thinking and weight loss have been reported by people who abused PCP for long periods of time. These symptoms can last up to one year after ending PCP use.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the repeated abuse of PCP can lead to craving and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior, despite severe adverse consequences. Therefore, by definition, it is addictive.
TREATMENT:
Users who are having a "bad trip" on PCP are usually placed in a quiet area or room with little sensory stimulation. Sometimes the user is given benzodiazepines to control seizures or extremely agitated behavior.
