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>>>---> PCP <---<<<
Angel Dust, Killer Weed, supergrass, crystal cyclone,
elephant tranquilizer, hog, PeaCe Pill...PCP. It's a drug
with many names. And a bad name.
It's unpredictable and unpleasant, and yet, people use
it to get high.
The first time I tried PCP, I black out. My
friends tried to help me, but I kept falling and
hitting my head. I couldn't even talk to ask them
what happened. I was confused. That's what the
dust does to you. It was really bad. I got
scared.
--a 13-year-old girl from Chicago
Before the drug first caught on in San Francisco in
1967, advance publicity touted PCP's effects as falling
somewhere between those of marihuana and LSD. But many
early PCP experimenters soon rejected it as a bad drug after
experiencing some of its frightening effects.
In spite of its bad name, however, PCP is increasingly
seen on the street today. It's cheap and available and
often masquerades as other popular street drugs. PCP is
most often sold as THC (marihuana's active ingredient), a
drug which is rarely seen on the street. Many users take
PCP without knowing what they're taking. But, for some, PCP
is a drug of choice.
- IT'S FOR ANIMALS, NOT FOR PEOPLE
--------------------------------
Phencyclidine, or PCP, was first synthesized about 20
years ago. It was intended to be used as an anesthetic
agent in human surgery. But, PCP produced unwanted and
unpleasant side effects, and experimental studies with hu-
mans were soon discontinued. Today, its only legal to use
is in veterinary medicine.
In spite of this restriction, PCP is easy to get on the
street. That's because it's so easy to make. Using readily
available chemicals, bootleg laboratories all over the coun-
try are turning out the drug and making an attractive pro-
fit.
IT'S A VERSATILE DRUG
---------------------
PCP comes in different forms--as a powder, as a tablet,
or as a capsule in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.
It can be taken in different ways--it can be smoked, snort-
ed, swallowed, or injected.
Smoking a joint made of parsley or marihuana sprinkled
with PCP powder is by far the most popular method. Users
find they can control PCP's effects better that way. But
smoking too much can cause trouble.
I smoked so much PCP, and it was very potent. It
wasn't supposed to be that potent. I kept
smoking, even until I passed out...When I woke up,
I thought I could walk, but I couldn't feel myself
walking. My brain felt just like jelly.
--a 17-year-old girl from Beverly Hills
Taking the drug in its tablet, capsule, or pure powder
form usually means getting even larger doses of PCP than
from smoking it. But it's not easy to tell how much PCP is
in a joint or a pill or a capsule. So often the effects are
not at all what the user expects.
AND IT'S POTENT
---------------
PCP is a powerful drug even in small quantities. But,
as with all psychoactive (mind-altering) drugs, effects vary
depending on how much is taken, how it's taken, and who's
taking it.
Users often have trouble describing how they feel when
they smoke PCP. Most users agree that it's different from
other drugs. They say it feels like they're in another
world--a fantasy world which is sometimes pleasant, some-
times not. When the high wears off, users often feel mildly
depressed, irritable, and alienated from their surroundings.
Larger amounts of the drug can effect users differ-
ently. They may appear confused and agitated, but at the
same time they will have a blank, staring expression on
their faces. They may look drunk because they're so unco-
ordinated that they have trouble walking. Their speech is
often confused, and their vision may be distorted. Think-
ing, remembering, and making decisions can be very
difficult.
Some users may be violent and aggressive, while others
may be silent, withdrawn, and difficult to communicate with.
With even higher doses of PCP, users can go into a
stupor or coma which might last for a few days or several
weeks. And massive PCP overdoses can kill.
THERE ARE OTHER DANGERS
-----------------------
More PCP users die from accidents caused by the strange
behavior the drug produces in them than from the actual
chemical effect of the drug itself. People on PCP have
drowned in shallow water because they are so disoriented
they can't tell which way is up. Others have had auto
accidents, fallen off of roofs and out of windows because of
the drug's intoxicating effects. Some have died in fires
because PCP made them insensitive to the pain of burning and
so confused and disoriented that they couldn't escape from
the flames.
PCP can produce violent behavior even in people not
ordinarily prone to such behavior. These users have been
known to assault other people or to injure themselves.
Sometimes the result is murder or suicide.
IT CAN HAVE LONG-TERM EFFECTS
-----------------------------
Many users who take PCP regularly experience disturban-
ces in memory, judgment, concentration, and perception long
after they have stopped taking the drug.
In addition, these long-term users are subject to re-
curring bouts of anxiety and depression. Sporadic outbreaks
of violent behavior are common. In some people, PCP-induced
psychoses (serious mental disorders) have been reported.
SO WHY DO PEOPLE USE IT?
------------------------
For one thing many novice drug users don't know what
they're using. Sometimes dealers will cut more expensive
drugs with PCP to increase profits. So often people who
think they're getting THC, mescaline, or cocaine are really
buying PCP.
Some people take PCP because their friends are taking
it. Some take it because they aren't familiar with its
risks, or else don't believe the bad things they've heard
about the drug. And some who know about PCP's dangers take
it anyway just to prove they can handle it. Some people,
however, enjoy the effects PCP has on the and take it by
choice. The sense of oblivion, numbness, and unreality, and
PCP's peculiar distortion of sensation--no matter how un-
pleasant for most people--are appealing to them. And even
some users who have had bad experiences with PCP keep on
taking it.
MAYBE YOU CAN HELP
------------------
You may know someone who is having trouble with PCP or
some other drug. You may be able to help by referring the
person to a local drug abuse program that can provide the
kind of treatment he or she needs.
In a drug abuse emergency, you should seek help at a
drug crisis center or a hospital emergency room. If you
know what drug was taken, tell the emergency treatment
staff. It will help them to quickly decide on the proper
treatment.
Also, a person in trouble with drugs needs all the
support and understanding you can give. And that's another
way you can really help.
For more information on PCP or other drugs, write to:
National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information
Room 10A-56, Parklawn Building
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland 20857
- Due to the unstable properties of PCP it has now been
discontinued for veterinary use.
...a safer community through citizen involvement...
=BRYAN POLICE DEPARTMENT=
--CRIMEBYTE BBS
(409) 779-2936
(Bryan, Texas)